1 research outputs found
Hierarchical architecture design and simulation environment
The Hierarchical Architectural design and Simulation Environment (HASE)is
intended as a flexible tool for computer architects who wish to experiment with
alternative architectural configurations and design parameters. HASE is both
a design environment and a simulator. Architecture components are described
by a hierarchical library of objects defined in terms of an object oriented simulation language. HASE instantiates these objects to simulate and animate the
execution of a computer architecture. An event trace generated by the simulator
therefore describes the interaction between architecture components, for example,
fetch stages, address and data buses, sequencers, instruction buffers and register
files. The objects can model physical components at different abstraction levels,
eg. PMS (processor memory switch), ISP (instruction set processor) and RTL
(register transfer level). HASE applies the concepts of inheritance, encapsulation
and polymorphism associated with object orientation, to simplify the design and
implementation of an architecture simulation that models component operations
at different abstraction levels. For example, HASE can probe the performance
of a processor's floating point unit, executing a multiplication operation, at a
lower level of abstraction, i.e. the RTL, whilst simulating remaining architecture
components at a PMS level of abstraction. By adopting this approach, HASE
returns a more meaningful and relevant event trace from an architecture simulation. Furthermore, an animator visualises the simulation's event trace to clarify
the collaborations and interactions between architecture components. The prototype version of HASE is based on GSS (Graphical Support System), and DEMOS
(Discrete Event Modelling On Simula)