Synchronous Data flow (SDF) graphs have a simple
and elegant semantics (essentially linear algebra) which makes
SDF graphs eminently suitable as a vehicle for studying scheduling
optimisations. We extend related work on using SPIN to
experiment with scheduling optimisations aimed at minimising
buffer requirements.We show that for a benchmark of commonly
used case studies the performance of our SPIN based scheduler
is comparable to that of state of the art research tools. The
key to success is using the semantics of SDF to prove when using
(even unsound and/or incomplete) optimisations are justified. The
main benefit of our approach lies in gaining deep insight in the
optimisations at relatively low cost