At the core of Cadence system-level design solutions, Cadence® C-to-Silicon Compiler automatically generates synthesizable RTL starting from untimed C/C++/SystemC® with as little as 10% of the effort required using manual methods. C-to-Silicon Compiler has been architected from the ground up with four unique capabilities that deliver revolutionary advantages to hardware architects and RTL designers:
Embedded logic synthesis (ELS) enables parallel optimization of control and datapath logic, greatly enhancing the quality of results
Behavior-structure-timing (BST) database enables true incremental synthesis and much faster design and verification turnaround time
Constraint-functionality separation (CFS) enables efficient reuse across multiple applications and process technologies
Fast hardware models (FHMs) accelerate verification and enable early hardware/software co-development
Features/Benefits
Accepts widest-range of C/C++/SystemC coding styles and constructs, including templates, classes, user-defined types, and certain types of pointers
Embedded Encounter® RTL Compiler delivers consistently accurate timing and area information during the entire high-level synthesis process, resulting in signoff-quality RTL for all types of designs
BST database tracks evolution of design-data starting from C/C++/SystemC source files all the way to physical implementation, enabling direct mapping of physical design data back to RTL as well as the original C/C++/SystemC source code
CFS keeps functionality, communication, and design constraints all independent, enabling designers to keep their source code “golden” and retarget new applications by only changing communication/design constraints
Approximately-timed FHMs generated in SystemC simulate 80-90% as fast as the original untimed input model, enabling fast verification and early hardware-software co-development
Interactive GUI provides a complete environment for synthesis, analysis, and debug, giving users excellent control and visibility over the high-level synthesis process