HARDWARE PROGRAMMING USING C++

The use of a programming language for describing hardware is proposed in this paper. The presented approach, based on minor extensions of C++, gives an attractive way to program computers with reconfigurable hardware elements (i.e. FPGAs). It can also be used as a common implementation-level language for hardware-software codesign frameworks. The proposed approach differs from other codesign methodologies due to the use of a single, object oriented, notation for all design levels; from the most abstract OMT notations, where the system's functionality and requirements are first captured, to the detailed implementation-level C++ code.