Input component¶
- Input component
- Quality assurance component
- Approximation component
- Estimation component
- Search component
- Output
Component description¶
The input component handles primarily the detection of approximation candidates, initialization of data structures, and generation of files which are later used by the other stages. It reads the input design and prepares the file for approximation, for example, by removing FrontEnd-specific annotations.
The standard FrontEnd implementation is called AnnotatedCandidates, which is also the value to assign to the Input section’s Method option to use this implementation.
AnnotatedCandidates¶
The AnnotatedCandidates FrontEnd relies on annotations in the Verilog input design, marking Verilog modules as approximation candidates. To mark a module for approximation, a Key, specified in the config. file, must be inserted in the input file between the module keyword and the module name. Additional parameters, following the Key``and framed by ``<<< and >>>, can be used to specify the applied approximation methods and quality constraints for the particular module or candidate. The additional parameter annotation uses the default CIRCA parameter syntax.
Example module definition with Key = <<<APPROX_CAND>>>:
module <<<APPROX_CAND>>><<<WC:bound=20,step=2;appMethods:PS>>> Adder(in, cout); // Module content... endmodule
Configuration options¶
Method: | AnnotatedCandidates |
|---|---|
Key: | The keyword used to mark a module as approximation candidate. Can have any string value which does not appear anywhere else in the input design file. Recommended value is <<<APPROX_CAND>>>. |
Notes and restrictions
Candidates are generated from Verilog modules, not instances. Thus, parameters set for specific instances of the Verilog module are ignored. You may use parameters in the module; however, do not change these parameters for the instances.
The size of all primary input and output signals of the top-level module of the circuit and all marked modules must be an absolute literal integer, i.e., the size must be 1 or specified as
[msb:lsb]wheremsbandlsbare integer numbers, not parameters, localparams, or expressions which resolve to an integer. Example:input clk; // size 1, ok input [3:0] in1; // size 4, ok input [4-1:0] in2; // expression, not ok parameter W = 3; output [W:0] out; // parameter, not ok