. . . > I think it is more common in this application area to use > discrete-event modeling (as in the DE domain) and finite > state machines (as in the FSM domain).
Several people made essentially this point; it's well-taken and I basically agree. I'm wrestling with the problem of finding a good model of computation to support design of applications that are to be implemented on coarse-grained arrays. It seems perverse to simply compile some flavor of a sequential programming language such as MATAB or C to the platform, since this requires the application designer (who is presumably familiar with that language) to simultaneously (1) think sequentially, as experience and habits would encourage, and (2) think parallel, in order to use the right patterns for the compiler to translate into good parallel code. I'm also discovering that engineers are very comfortable with graphical models like signal flow graphs and block diagrams. Thus I'm leaning towards a graphical, parallel language, likely visual. The computational model that defines its semantics, then, would have to be parallel and network-oriented as well. I'm not convinced that data-parallel models fit the application space very well, so sequential application of vector operations ala MATLAB doesn't seem appropriate. I envision an environment in which a developer can design an application in a high-level data-flow or process network notation, validate at the high level for correctness, then map onto the implementation architecture and validate for performance. A multi-model simulation environment like Ptolemy seems perfect for some of these validation tasks. In addition some tool like the French AAA/SynDEx for automagically mapping the application design onto the architecture would be nice. An important aspect of this problem is the question of appropriateness -- some problems fit the implementation platform like a glove, and others should simply be done some other way. I'd like the design environment to inform the selection decision -- bad fit would manifest as clumsy, convoluted design. So my primary question is, what appear to be good candidates for computational models to support this sort of design, if not some variety of dataflow? Many thanks, -- Bill Wood ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted to the ptolemy-hackers mailing list. Please send administrative mail for this list to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
