Example of combined algorithm development and architecture design

In many modern signal processing applications, in particular real-time and adaptive signal processing, it turns out that there is a strong relationship between the algorithms (nested-loop type) that compute solutions to problems and the architectures (parallel/pipeline like) onto which the algorithms can be or should be mapped. From this observation it is believed that, within this class of applications, development of algorithms and design of architectures could better be considered simultaneously or even interchangeably. The framework in which such algorithms and architectures can best be expressed and designed is that of flow graphs which naturally describe both computations and communications between computations. In order to ensure a consistent design methodology, it is necessary to have a generic model and well-defined methods with which such designs can beformally undertaken. We introduce these ingredients in this paper by analyzing the prototype application of linear equations solving.