An environment for DSP system development with extended abstract types, and dimensional design (PADDE)

A novel environment, PADDE, for hardware (VLSI) and distributed software DSP implementations is reported. Development results in a chain of simulations of increasing detail. Reuse by refinement of prior models in the chain is accomplished via switching of extended abstract type (EAT) implementations. Both behavioral and structural descriptions can be intermixed and related by refinement. Distribution and sequentialization techniques are also included. PADDE is accessed via a unique and uniform notation, PADD, for both programming-in-the-large and programming-in-the small, where large and small grain dataflow are also encompassed as special cases of the available parallel process hierarchy. Synchronous, asynchronous, and heterogeneous systems can be treated. >