Beyond the crystal ball, a C synthesis reality check

So where are we at, with the vision of a better design flow, a design flow starting from abstract design representations and where production quality RTL is automatically generated, correct-by-construction?

Over the last twelve months, many tangible facts have proved that the vision has turned to reality, that the early adopters are being joined by the mainstream. Here are just three of the most recent examples.

"The Crystal Ball" by John William Waterhouse

In a recent article published in Electronics Weekly, Shawn McCloud unveiled and discussed the findings of a survey: “more than one in three design organizations expect to begin using C synthesis to generate RTL code by the end of 2009.” 1 in 3… Needless to say, this is a pretty impressive number. From verification nightmares to economic pressures, the article provides insights on the motivations driving this trend. 1 in 3… Are you one of them?

Texas Instrument’s Karl Renner will be providing a user testimonial on the “Design of an Audio/Video RF Modulator Using Catapult C Synthesis”. The presentation describes the design methodology in specifying a C code implementation of a digital RF modulator which combines audio and composite video, upsamples and modulates it for output at analog TV channel 3 or 4 frequencies. That’s on October 15, at the Mentor Graphics U2U, in Dallas, and registration is highly recommended. User testimonials are an important measure of the adoption and deployment of a new technology. The surge in testimonials on public forums – such as John Cooley’s Deepchip – or at the recent Design Automation Conference should be interpreted as a clear indication of the proliferation of C synthesis.

Fujitsu Microelectronics Solutions last month announced that it had selected Catapult C for design and consulting services. Fujitsu has witnessed its customers adopting Catapult C to tackle the challenges of increasing size and complexity of advanced IC designs. Deploying a new methodology such as high-level synthesis comes with its own challenges and Fujitsu saw the opportunity to provide a range of consulting services to facilitate the process of introducing Catapult C. This is a strong acknowledgement that C synthesis works and is being used in production design, but it is also an indicator that the Catapult C user base is large enough to constitute an economically viable market in itself.

1 in 3… C Synthesis has come a long way since its debut in 2004. Maybe now is the time to revisit it. And doing so is as simple as clicking here.

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