Hardware Pipeline Control Circuit Standardization
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Solution Overview
Problem
The complexity and time-consuming nature of designing application-specific hardware pipelines in integrated circuits (ICs) due to the need for customized control circuits for each loop construct, making the process error-prone and resource-intensive.
Innovation Solution
A method that detects loop constructs in high-level programming languages, extracts them, generates a state transition graph, prunes it by relocating operations into the loop region, and uses the pruned graph to design a pipeline hardware architecture with a standardized control circuit, allowing for efficient implementation of loop constructs in ICs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If a customized control circuit is designed for each loop construct to implement application-specific hardware pipelines, then the hardware pipeline can be precisely implemented according to the loop construct flow control, but the design process becomes complex and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies universality by creating a standardized control circuit interface that can handle multiple different loop constructs (for-loops, while-loops, do-while-loops) through a unified state transition graph framework. Instead of designing separate customized control circuits for each loop type, the system uses a universal control circuit that processes all loop constructs through the same standardized interface, thereby reducing design complexity while maintaining precise implementation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter of control circuit design from customized to standardized by introducing a universal state transition graph representation. The state transition graph uses standardized states (entry state, loop region, exit state) and transitions that can represent different loop constructs through parameter variations rather than structural changes, allowing the same control circuit to adapt to different loop types.
2Reliability
If a customized control circuit is designed for each loop construct, then the hardware pipeline accurately reflects the original high-level programming language flow control, but the design process becomes error-prone
Solution Approach 1:
The universal control circuit interface with standardized state transition graphs reduces errors by eliminating the variability and subjectivity of manual customization. The standardized framework provides a systematic approach to translating high-level programming language flow control into hardware, reducing human error while maintaining accurate representation of the original design intent.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses copying by creating a standardized template or model of the control circuit interface that can be replicated for different loop constructs. Instead of manually designing each control circuit from scratch, the system copies and adapts the standardized state transition graph framework, ensuring consistency and reducing errors through repetition of proven, validated designs.
3Measurement precision
If operations are kept separate in function entry state and function exit state, then the state transition graph accurately represents the loop construct structure, but the hardware pipeline implementation becomes less efficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies merging by combining operations from the function entry state and function exit state into the loop region during the pruning process. This consolidation allows the hardware pipeline to execute operations more efficiently by reducing the number of state transitions and enabling better resource utilization, while the pruned state transition graph maintains accurate representation of the loop construct through optimized state merging.
Data Source
AI summary
Controlling execution of application-specific hardware pipelines includes detecting, using computer hardware, a loop construct contained in a function within a design specified in a high-level programming language, extracting, using the computer hardware, the loop construct from the function into a newly generated function of the design, and generating, using the computer hardware, a state transition graph corresponding to the loop construct. The state transition graph can be pruned by relocating operations from the function entry state and the function exit state into the loop region. A circuit design defining, at least in part, a pipeline hardware architecture implementing the loop construct can be generated using the computer hardware based, at least in part, on the pruned state transition graph.