Automatically Mapping Program Functions to Distributed Heterogeneous Platforms Based on Hardware Attributes and Specified Constraints

Abstract

A method for automatically mapping program functions to distributed heterogeneous platforms based on hardware attributes and specified constraints is disclosed. The method includes receiving a plurality of program functions and determining constraint information for each. The method further includes determining attributes of a plurality of hardware processing elements, wherein ones of the plurality of hardware processing elements have different attributes with respect to other ones of the hardware processing elements. The plurality of program functions may be automatically mapped for execution on at least a subset of the hardware processing elements, wherein the mapping is based on constraint information and the attributes.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method, comprising:
 creating a program diagram in response to user input, wherein the program diagram comprises a plurality of interconnected icons that visually illustrate functionality of a program;   creating a system diagram in response to user input, wherein the system diagram comprises a plurality of interconnected icons that visually illustrate a target system, wherein the target system comprises a plurality of heterogeneous hardware elements;   determining, by the computer system, attributes of the plurality of heterogeneous hardware elements, wherein particular ones of the plurality of the heterogeneous hardware elements have different attributes with respect to other ones of the plurality of heterogeneous hardware elements;   storing constraint information in a constraints file, wherein the constraint information includes information specifying constraints associated with particular ones of a plurality of program functions and further includes constraints associated with particular ones of the plurality of the heterogeneous hardware processing elements; and   automatically generating a mapping, using a computer system, of selected portions of the program diagram for execution on correspondingly selected ones of the plurality of heterogeneous hardware elements, wherein the mapping is based on the constraint information and the attributes.   
     
     
         2 . The method as recited in  claim 1 , automatically generating a mapping comprises a mapper engine reading information from an application graph comprising information pertaining to the program diagram, information from the constraints file, and information from a platform graph pertaining to a hardware platform in which the plurality of heterogeneous hardware elements are implemented. 
     
     
         3 . The method as recited in  claim 1 , further comprising:
 the computer system simulating execution of behavior of the plurality of program functions independent of any hardware bindings;   the computer system simulating execution of the selected ones of the plurality of program functions on the correspondingly selected ones of the plurality of heterogeneous hardware elements; and   the computer system verifying correctness of operation of the selected ones of the plurality of program functions on the correspondingly selected ones of the plurality of hardware processing elements.   
     
     
         4 . The method as recited in  claim 1 , further comprising the computer system automatically deploying the selected ones of the plurality of program functions for execution on the selected ones of the plurality of hardware processing elements, responsive to said mapping. 
     
     
         5 . The method as recited in  claim 1 , further comprising the computer system providing feedback on the quality, performance, power, and other characteristics, from the deployed execution or simulated execution of the said mapping, and subsequently guiding design exploration by suggesting alternate mappings. 
     
     
         6 . The method as recited in  claim 1 , further comprising the computer system enabling debugging of the behavior of program functions, from the deployed execution or simulated execution of said mapping. 
     
     
         7 . The method as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the attributes of various ones of the plurality of hardware processing elements include one or more of the following: number of slices, number of processing elements, number of registers, amount of memory, available bandwidth, number of communication channels, parallel processing capability, or clock frequency, and wherein the plurality of hardware processing elements include one or more interconnects between computing devices. 
     
     
         8 . The method as recited in  claim 1 , wherein constraint information associated various ones of the plurality of program functions include one or more of the following: a throughput constraint, frequency constraint, a timing constraint, an area constraint, an execution time constraint, or a memory requirement constraint. 
     
     
         9 . The method as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the constraint information for at least first and second program functions of the plurality of functions includes exclusion information indicating that the first and second program functions are to be mapped to different hardware processing elements with respect to one another. 
     
     
         10 . The method as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the constraint information for at least first and second program functions of the plurality of functions includes grouping information indicating that the first and second program functions are to be mapped to the same hardware processing element. 
     
     
         11 . The method as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the constraint information includes affinity information indicating that a program function is to be mapped to a particular type of hardware processing element. 
     
     
         12 . The method as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of program functions comprise a general multi-rate data flow program. 
     
     
         13 . A system comprising:
 a plurality of hardware processing elements;   at least one processor; and   a storage device storing a plurality of program functions, information pertaining to the plurality of hardware elements, and instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to:
 determine constraint information associated with the plurality of program functions; 
 determine attributes of the plurality of hardware processing elements, wherein particular ones of the plurality of hardware processing elements have different attributes with respect to other ones of the plurality of hardware processing elements; and 
 automatically generate a mapping of selected ones of the plurality of program functions for execution on correspondingly selected ones of the plurality of hardware processing elements, wherein the mapping is based on the constraint information and the attributes. 
   
     
     
         14 . The system as recited in  claim 13 , wherein the computer system is further configured to simulate execution of the selected ones of the plurality of program functions on the correspondingly selected ones of the plurality of hardware processing elements. 
     
     
         15 . The system as recited in  claim 13 , wherein the computer system is further configured to verify correctness of operation of the selected ones of the plurality of program functions on the correspondingly selected ones of the plurality of hardware processing elements. 
     
     
         16 . The system as recited in  claim 13 , wherein the attributes of various ones of the plurality of hardware processing elements include one or more of the following: number of slices, number of processing elements, number of registers, amount of memory, available bandwidth, number of communication channels, parallel processing capability, or clock frequency. 
     
     
         17 . The system as recited in  claim 13 , wherein constraint information associated various ones of the plurality of program functions include one or more of the following: a throughput constraint, frequency constraint, a timing constraint, an area constraint, an execution time constraint, or a memory requirement constraint 
     
     
         18 . The system as recited in  claim 13 , wherein the constraint information includes:
 exclusion information indicative of particular ones of the plurality of program functions that are to be mapped to different hardware processing elements with respect to one or more other ones of the plurality of program functions;   grouping information indicative of particular ones of the plurality of program functions that are to be mapped to a same hardware processing element as one or more other ones of the plurality of program functions; and   affinity information indicative of a particular type of hardware processing element to which a particular one of the plurality of program functions is to be mapped.   
     
     
         19 . The system as recited in  claim 13 , wherein the computer system is configured to automatically generate the mapping without prompting a user for additional input. 
     
     
         20 . A non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a computer system, cause the computer system to perform the following:
 determine constraint information associated with the plurality of program functions;   determine attributes of the plurality of hardware processing elements, wherein particular ones of the plurality of hardware processing elements have different attributes with respect to other ones of the plurality of hardware processing elements; and   automatically generate a mapping, using a computer system, of selected ones of the plurality of program functions for execution on correspondingly selected ones of the plurality of hardware processing elements, wherein the mapping is based on the constraint information and the attributes.