Abstract

This paper presents a technique for simulating processors based on the principle of compiled simulation. Unlike existing, commercially available instruction set simulators for DSPs, which are of interpretive character, the proposed technique performs instruction decoding and simulation scheduling at compile time. The technique offers up to three orders of magnitude faster simulation. The high speed allows the user to explore algorithms and hardware/software trade-offs before any hardware implementation. Moreover, the user can tailor the compiled simulation to trade speed for more accuracy. In this paper, the sources of the speedup and the limitations of the technique are analyzed and the realization of the simulation compiler is presented. Introduction Designers of today's DSP systems---such as digital cellular phones and multimedia systems---face increasing complexity and quickly changing system requirements. To deal with these challenges, designers have increasingly turned to progr...

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