From behavior to structure: High-level synthesis

Abstract

In this tutorial, the author describes how high-level synthesis bridges the gap between behavioral specifications and hardware structure by automatically generating a circuit description from a netlist. The resulting description can be used for other design automation tools such as logic synthesis and layout. Describing high-level synthesis for synchronous digital hardware, the author explains the steps of the process, which include compilation, transformation, scheduling, and allocation. © 1990 IEEE