Task definition for specifying resource requirements

Abstract

Task definitions are used by a task scheduler and prioritizer to allocate task operations to a plurality of processing units. The task definition is an electronic record that specifies resources needed by, and other characteristics of, a task to be executed. Resources include types of processing nodes desired to execute the task, needed amount or rate of processing cycles, amount of memory capacity, number of registers, input/output ports, buffer sizes, etc. Characteristics of a task in clued maximum latency time, frequency of execution of a task, communication ports, and other characteristics. An examplary task definition language and syntax is described that uses constructs including order of attempted scheduling operations, percentage or amount of resources desired by different operations, handling of multiple executable images or modules, overlays, port aliases and other features.

1 . A computer program product comprising
 a computer readable storage structure embodying computer readable code therein, the computer readable code comprising:   a task definition code that specifies requirements of a task adapted to be executed on a configurable device having a plurality of processing nodes, the task definition code including:
 code that indicates processing node resources required by the task. 
   
     
     
         2 . The computer program product of  claim 1 , wherein the code that indicates processing node resources required by the task includes code that indicates processing power required of at least one processing node. 
     
     
         3 . The computer program product of  claim 1 , wherein the code that indicates processing node resources required by the task includes code that indicates a required execution time of at least a portion of the task. 
     
     
         4 . The computer program product of  claim 1 , wherein the code that indicates processing node resources required by the task includes code that indicates a maximum allowable latency of at least a portion of the task. 
     
     
         5 . The computer program product of  claim 1 , wherein the code that indicates processing node resources required by the task includes code that indicates a frequency of execution of at least a portion of the task. 
     
     
         6 . The computer program product of  claim 1 , wherein the task comprises one or more modules, and wherein code that indicates processing node resources required by the task includes code that indicates processing node resources required by at least one of the modules. 
     
     
         7 . The computer program product of  claim 1 , wherein the task definition code further includes code that indicates one or more types of processing nodes required to execute at least a portion of the task. 
     
     
         8 . The computer program product of  claim 1 , wherein the task definition code further includes code that indicates one or more processing nodes required to execute at least a portion of the task. 
     
     
         9 . The computer program product of  claim 1 , wherein the task definition code further includes code that indicates memory requirements of at least a portion of the task. 
     
     
         10 . The computer program product of  claim 1 , wherein the task definition code further includes code that indicates port requirements of at least a portion of the task. 
     
     
         11 . The computer program product of  claim 1 , wherein the task definition code further includes code that indicates port aliases. 
     
     
         12 . The computer program product of  claim 1 , wherein the task definition code further includes code that indicates requirements for loading of at least a portion of the task onto one or more processing nodes. 
     
     
         13 . The computer program product of  claim 12 , wherein the task comprises a plurality of modules, and wherein the code that indicates requirements for loading of at least a portion of the task includes code that specifies a group of processing nodes on which to load one or more modules. 
     
     
         14 . The computer program product of  claim 12 , wherein the task comprises a plurality of modules, and wherein the code that indicates requirements for loading of at least a portion of the task includes code that specifies at least two modules should be loaded on a single processing node. 
     
     
         15 . The computer program product of  claim 1 , wherein the task definition code further includes code that indicates the task to which the task definition is associated. 
     
     
         16 . A computer data signal embodied in a carrier wave, the computer data signal comprising:
 a task definition code that specifies requirements of a task adapted to be executed on a configurable device having a plurality of processing nodes, the task definition code including:
 code that indicates processing node resources required by the task. 
   
     
     
         17 . The computer data signal of  claim 16 , wherein the task definition code further includes code that indicates one or more types of processing nodes required to execute at least a portion of the task. 
     
     
         18 . The computer data signal of  claim 16 , wherein the task definition code further includes code that indicates one or more processing nodes required to execute at least a portion of the task. 
     
     
         19 . The computer data signal of  claim 16 , wherein the task definition code further includes code that indicates memory requirements of at least a portion of the task. 
     
     
         20 . The computer data signal of  claim 16 , wherein the task definition code further includes code that indicates port requirements of at least a portion of the task. 
     
     
         21 . The computer data signal of  claim 16 , wherein the task definition code further includes code that indicates port aliases. 
     
     
         22 . The computer data signal  claim 16 , wherein the task definition code further includes code that indicates requirements for loading of at least a portion of the task onto one or more processing nodes. 
     
     
         23 . A configurable device comprising:
 a plurality of processing nodes;   a scheduler, coupled to the plurality of processing nodes, that assigns tasks to the processing nodes for execution; and   a memory, coupled to the scheduler, the memory including a task definition code that specifies requirements of at least one task adapted to be executed by the configurable device, the task definition code having code that indicates processing node resources required by the task.