By Larry Lapides, Imperas May/02/08

We’ve been hearing for a while now that virtual platforms are the answer to system-on-chip (SoC) embedded software development problems. But, what can yesterday’s virtual platforms –– hardware virtual platforms that run at 20 MIPS top speed and cannot handle multicore architectures without slowing down another 10X –– do for embedded software development?

If these hardware virtual platforms were the answer to software development problems, companies providing this technology would be doing quite well. But this technology has failed to address the real needs of end users. Why hasn’t the technology lived up to its potential? Is it due to lack of speed and model interoperability, or insufficient infrastructure to tackle growing system-on-chip (SoC) complexity, or proprietary languages? Let’s include SystemC in the list of proprietary languages, because language “flexibility” coupled with a lack of results from SystemC committees has resulted in different flavors of SystemC for each and every user.

SoC embedded software development teams want to know how they can…

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Simon Davidmann ED Online ID #18725 April 14, 2008

“You say you want a revolution? Well, you know . . . we all want to change the world.”

John Lennon penned that opening line of The Beatles’ “Revolution” in 1968. And it’s just as relevant now as it was 40 years ago. The electronics industry stands on the threshold of an era of creative innovation as it rushes toward multicore system-on-a-chip (SoC) design.

The increased number of processors in consumer devices that formed the multicore trend has disrupted the existing sequential software flow. Unlike Lennon’s lyric that promised a revolution, the electronics industry is still waiting for one to manage the way in which multicore architectures can be handled in a productive and efficient manner.

Of course, virtual platforms with proprietary languages have been introduced throughout the last 10 years or so, but have lacked…

[For more, read the article here, or if it is not there, download a copy here]