Mixing manual and automatic design

An important feature of Amical is maintaining links between the initial Vhdl description, the transition table, and the data-path. These links simplify the control of the design process when manual and automatic design is mixed. Through the information submenu, the user may ask for relationships between the synthesized structure and the scheduled description (see also section 3). 

For each task there are, of course, certain rules that must be adhered to. For all manual and interactive interventions, a verification is automatically carried out by Amical. Only functionally correct changes are accepted. For instance. 

For complex designs, these feedback files provide useful indications that may guide the designer s decisions. For example, in figure 6, we note that the number of busses allocated has exceeded the imposed maximum. In order to reduce the number of busses, we can perform some manual micro-scheduling to remove some of the parallel transfers, 

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FU allocation is based on an EMUCS-like algorithm [5]. Micro-scheduling uses an ASAP algorithm. Component placement and connection allocation make use of improved constructive approaches similar to those used in APOLLON [6]. The originality of the approach is that all of these algorithms are implemented in order to allow mixed manual and automatic design. With the exception of micro-scheduling, they all use a constructive approach. At each step, a new element is allocated or placed. The four steps may be sequenced automatically or performed step by step. Each step may be executed automatically, interactively, or manually. 

J.4.1 Use of Mechanical Devices Such As Rubber Wipers. In order to reduce the amount of paint left clinging to the walls of a mix tank, rubber wipers are used to scrape the side of the tank. This operation requires manual labor and hence the percentage of waste reduction is a function of the operator. Since the benefits will be offset by increased labor, mechanization/automation should be considered. Many new mixers are available that are designed with automatic wall scrapers (Weismantel 1985). These mixers can be used with either flat or conical bottom cylindrical mix tanks. 

Amical is organized as an interactive environment where automatic and manual synthesis can be mixed. The combination of automatic and manual synthesis allows a quick and broad exploration of the design space in real time. Furthermore, AmicAL provides many facilities for analyzing the generated architecture (such as statistics, evaluation, and links between the Vhdl behavior and the architecture). Several large examples have already been used for Amical evaluation with excellent results. 

The Univ. of Illinois IBA (Interleaved binder and Allocator) system consists of several parts Illinois Mixed behavior / Structure Language (IMBSL), which performs data path synthesis RLEXT (Register Level Exploration Tool), which allows a user to manually modify a Register-Transfer level design, and then automatically repairs any errors or omissions so that the final result matches the specified behavior, COD, a control unit synthesizer LE (Layout Estimator) and Fasolt, a Register-Transfer level datapath optimizer. See also Univ. of Southern California s ADAM System — Knapp used to be involved with that stem. 

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