Posted by frank schirrmeister on October 20, 2009
It’s all about the models. We have been using this tag line here at Synopsys for a while now. Now that SystemC TLM-2.0 finds more and more adoption in the industry, the focus is shifting from proprietary simulation by itself to standards based simulation. That shift enables interoperability and with that the models become much more important, just as the productivity tools making life with simulations easier.
Sometimes the challenge with abstract models can be … that they are abstract and that they are models. Per definition they are omitting information. That may be OK for abstract are like the “Model for an Unknown Monument” to the left (Source: EspenDietrichson). It requires some thought when applied to electronic design.
At ARM TechCon3 I will present this Friday a talk on “Increasing Software Development Productivity with ARM and Synopsys Modeling Solutions”. The main theme will be that all models have their limitations and that users have to be thoughtful how to apply them. Specifically, I will talk about the eight main characteristics for choosing models, especially when used for software development in virtual platforms or on FPGA prototypes (which can be considered as yet another “model”, even though they are considerably “more real”):
The talk will be at ARM TechCon3 on Friday, 10/23, at 10:00am in the MCUs & Tools track. I am looking forward to meeting you there to discuss this further.
I will also be available on the exhibition floor on Wednesday and Thursday to present our Virtual Platform solutions and the connections to the ARM Fast Model Enablement program, through which ARM and Synopsys provide a critical mass of models to get closer to the goal of drag and drop assembly of virtual platforms. Enabled through standardization with the SystemC TLM-2.0 APIs, ARM based subsystems containing Fast Models from ARM combined with busses, peripherals and infrastructure components from the DesignWare System-Level Library can be integrated into virtual platforms using the Synopsys Innovator IDE. Together with Synopsys services to enable model customization for peripherals and processors, ARM and Synopsys partner to enable developers to get to virtual platforms with the right combination of models for software development, verification and architecture as early as possible.
Patrick Sheridan
Patrick Sheridan is responsible for Synopsys' system-level solution for virtual prototyping. In addition to his responsibilities at Synopsys, from 2005 through 2011 he served as the Executive Director of the Open SystemC Initiative (now part of the Accellera Systems Initiative). Mr. Sheridan has 30 years of experience in the marketing and business development of high technology hardware and software products for Silicon Valley companies.
Malte Doerper
Malte Doerper is responsible for driving the software oriented virtual prototyping business at Synopsys. Today he is based in Mountain View, California. Malte also spent over 7 years in Tokyo, Japan, where he led the customer facing program management practice for the Synopsys system-level products. Malte has over 12 years’ experiences in all aspects of system-level design ranging from research, engineering, product management and business development. Malte joined Synopsys through the CoWare acquisition, before CoWare he worked as researcher at the Institute for Integrated Signal Processing Systems at the Aachen University of Technology, Germany.
Tom De Schutter
Tom De Schutter is responsible for driving the physical prototyping business at Synopsys. He joined Synopsys through the acquisition of CoWare where he was the product marketing manager for transaction-level models. Tom has over 10 years of experience in system-level design through different marketing and engineering roles. Before joining the marketing team he led the transaction-level modeling team at CoWare.