Introduction to High-Level Synthesis

The basic problem of high-level synthesis is the mapping of a behavioral description of a digital system into an RTL design consisting of a data path and a control unit. The authors introduce the FSMD model, which forms the basis for synthesis. They discuss the main considerations in a high-level synthesis environment: the input description language, the internal representation, and the main synthesis tasks-allocation, scheduling, and binding. They conclude with some problems that must be solved to make high-level synthesis a widely accepted methodology.