New tools in the market

I am a Matlab programmer by heart. I prefer to code my algorithms in Matlab to quicken the development. Those who are not familiar with Matlab - It's a tool to simulate mathematical equations. The convenience of coding in matlab manifest itself in the form of floating point implementation. It is really easy to do anything that you think with out worrying about underflows and overflows of variables (DSP engineer will understand this). But then Matlab engineer are flogged with constant criticism of being "Academics". The reason for this is that matlab algorithms can't be ported directly into the target system. They have to undergo a cycle of either conversion to ANSI C, C++ or assembly. And sometimes it is impossible to convert them at all due to implicit use of square root and division operations.

Much to the relief of DSP engineers; Xlinix has introduced two tools that will enable the Matlab Engineers to convert their design directly into the HDL languages like VHDL and Verilog. These two tools are- System Generator and Accel DSP. System generator works with Simulink. The design, first, needs to be implemented with Simulink blocks. Then these blocks are replaced with Xilinx blocksets (some 90 enriched blocks are provided). The blocks are fixed point in nature. This exposes any design deficiencies in the beginning itself. That saves an enormous amount of cost in terms of design iterations. After fixing the timing issues , HDL code is generated by just press of a button. It is as easy as it sounds. This reduces the design to implementation process from months to weeks.

Accel DSP is a similar tool; Only difference is that it works on m files. It takes the raw M files and convert the instructions/commands into fixed point format. There are certain guideline that it requires to be followed, while coding, for smooth conversion.

Of course these two tools comes with a hefty price tag. System Generator costs around 1000$ and Accel DSP cost around 5000$. For more visit Xilinx website www.xilinx.com But I must say, Xilinx has worked hard to give a heavy dividend to the DSP engineers who leverage Xilinx chips in their hardware. But recently, I visited the Mathworks website and found out that Simulink has also come up with its own HDL coder, like system generator, which is independent of any target device. This is even more cool because I think simulink add on toolbox comes at a cheaper price then product like System Generator.

Neways, they are nice tools to check out !