Re: Architecture description languages for compilers?

eigenstr@cs.rose-hulman.edu (Todd R. Eigenschink) writes:
>I'm planning on doing some research in optimization and code generation
>next quarter. One of the topics I'm interested in is machine
>descriptions--some vanilla way to describe the architecture of a machine
>for purposes of code generation. (Numbers of registers, addressing modes,
>etc.)


Well as far as I know, is there still some work going on on this topic.
Not as much as a few years ago, when a system like ISPS was really hot
topic. VHDL sort of flattened out some of the hardware description
desires, but not the type you describe.


But still things are happening, I know of a person/group on the Munich
University who's doing a Phd on this subject. Unfortunatly is he not
allowed to show any results before the submission of the thesis. :(
Another group in Paderborn is looking into tools to describe optimisations
in a more system independant way.


It is also the field of interest in which I trying to get my Phd. And
we've come up with a sort of hierachical description system which should
eventually lead to automagical (read: semi-automatic, with the hard part
thru 'human interaction') created assemblers, compilers, simulators,
performance evaluators.


If you are interested, I can mail you a user-manual of one of the language
definitions we designed. (and implemented)


And the moderator adds:
>[There have been lots of architecture description languages over the years.
>Whether any of them can be used to mechanically generate a compiler is
>another question. I suspect they'd be more useful for validation. -John]


Well not quite true, I think the commercial variant of ISPS (endot) did
something like this. I've not been able to get much more info about this,
other than it should work. And one thing that should not be forgotten is,
that some of these languages were done before we had abundant computing
power. Some of the early systems were done in assembler. Now that we've
got more fuel to burn, some things can/should be re-investigated. Which is
what I'm currently doing.


Regards,
Willem Jan Withagen


Some bibtex reference I've got lingering around:
@article
(BarbacciISPS
,author = "Mario~R. Barbacci"
                ,title = "Instruction set processor specifications (ISPS):
     The notation and its apliccations"
                ,journal = "IEEE Transactions on computers"
,volume = "C-30"
,number = 1
                ,year = 1981
                ,month = "january"
,indexkeys = "Architecture evaluation, automatic programming,
behavioural description, computer-aided design,
computer description languages, instruction set processor
"
     ,abstract = "
The instructions set processor specifications (ISPS) computer
description language is an evolutionary step towards the
formalistation of the digital design process at the higher or
behavioral levels. It has been used as a design tool, which
covers a wider area of application than any other hardware
description language. Thus, besides simulation and synthesis of
hardware, software generation, program verification, and
architectureal evaluation and control are among the the current
applications based on ISPS. The range of current and
contemplated applicaiton areas are proff of the usefulness of
the notation and its extension mechanisms. ISPS supports a wide
range of applications and areas of research to coexist and
share machine descriptions. The second part describes some of
the current applications of ISPS."
)
@article(Barb77
,author = "M.R. Barbacci"
,title = "Evaluation of the CFA test program via formal
computer descriptions"
,journal = "Computer"
,month = oct
,year = 1977
,pages = {36-43}
)


And one which I haven't seen (yet):
@manual(Endot
,title = "N.2 Introduction and tutorial"
,organisation = "Endot Inc."
,address = "11001 cedar Ave., Cleveland, Ohio 44106"
,year = 1987
)


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