A CAD TOOL FOR ARCHITECTURAL EXPLORATION IN THE CLASSROOM

COMPUTER ARCHITECTURE COURSES MAY USE A LAB-BASED APPROACH TO EMPHASIZE THE DESIGN PROCESS. HOWEVER, SUCH AN APPROACH IS SEVERELY LIMITED BY THE TIME AVAILABLE FOR THE COURSE. RESEARCHERS ARE PROVIDING A TOOL THAT WILL ABSTRACT AWAY TEDIOUS DETAILS OF THE DESIGN PROCESS AND ALLOW THE STUDENTS TO SPEND MORE TIME ON THE MORE CREATIVE ASPECTS OF DESIGN. THE ARCHITECTURAL PARTITIONING/HIGH-LEVEL SYNTHESIS TOOL ALLOWS THE USER TO BEGIN THE DESIGN PROCESS WITH AN ABSTRACT BEHAVIORAL DESCRIPTION OF THE ARCHITECTURE TO BE DESIGNED, AND PRODUCES AN RTL DESCRIPTION OF THE DESIGN, WHICH CAN BE PASSED ON TO LOWER LEVEL TOOLS FOR REALIZATION. DURING ITS DESIGN PROCESS, THE TOOLS ALLOW FOR DESIGNER CONTROL THROUGH CONSTRAINT SPECIFICATION AND DIRECT INTERACTION. INVESTIGATORS ARE DETERMINING HOW THIS TOOL COULD BEST BE USED IN AN ELECTRICAL/COMPUTER ENGINEERING CURRICULUM BY EXPLORING HOW THE TOOL CAN AID IN ONE OR MORE COURSES THAT ARE CURRENTLY PART OF THE COMPUTER ENGINEERING CURRICULUM. SUCH A TOOL CURRENTLY IS NOT AVAILABLE, EITHER COMMERCIALLY OR PEDAGOGICALLY.