Soft IP Customisation Model Based on Metaprogramming Techniques

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Štuikys, Vytautas | Damaševičius, Robertas

Affiliations: Software Engineering Department, Kaunas University of Technology, Studentų 50, LT‐3031 Kaunas, Lithuania, e‐mail: [email protected], [email protected]

Abstract: We propose a layered Soft IP Customisation (SIPC) model for specifying and implementing system‐level soft IP design processes such as wrapping and customisation. The SIPC model has three layers: (1) Specification Layer for specification of a customisation process using UML class diagrams, (2) Generalisation Layer for representation of a customisation process using the metaprogramming techniques, and (3) Generation Layer for generation of the customised soft IP instances from metaspecifications. UML allows us to specify customisation of soft IPs at a high level of abstraction. Metaprogramming allows us to manage variability in a domain, develop generic domain components, and describe generation of customised component instances. The usage of the SIPC model eases and accelerates reuse, adaptation and integration of the pre‐designed soft IPs into new hardware designs.

Keywords: soft IP design, reuse, customisation, metaprogramming, UML, generation

Journal: Informatica, vol. 15, no. 1, pp. 111-126, 2004