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What is Flowware ?

NOTE: For flowware the term "data stream" is used as defined by systolic arrays, featuring data-transport-triggered execution (in contrast to instruction-stream-driven execution).  For terminology also see here.
Data-stream-based computing machines are programmed from flowware sources in a way, which is different from programming instruction-stream-based von Neumann machines from software. Instead of instruction streams, data streams are programmed.  Flowware determines, which data item has to meet which DPU port or DPA port at which time (fig. 1).  For terminology see table no. 1. For acronyms like DPU and DPA also see fig 1 on the data stream page.

Reconfigurable Computing goes into every application

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fig. 1: Illustration of flowware definition.


Reconfigurable data stream machines

Hardwired data stream machines need only one program source: flowware only. Reconfigurable data stream machines, owever,  need two different program sources:configware and flowware - configware for configuration before run time, and flowware to execute data streams at run time. Fig 2 illustrates a co-compilation process generating both, configware and flowware from a high level programming language source


fig. 2: Embedded memory and Configware / Flowware Co-compilation.

Embedded memory

Flowware is an important issue in designing and optimizing application-specific embedded memory (example: left side in fig. 2), a hot new R&D area.

Table no. 1: toward a consensus on basic terminology:

platform
program source running on it
 machine paradigm
hardware (not programmable)  (none)
morphware fine grain rGA (FPGA) configware
coarse grain rDPU, rDPA
reconfigurable data stream processor flowware & configware anti machine
data stream processor (hardwired) flowware
instruction stream processor software von Neumann machine
Acronyms: r = reconfigurable | FP = field-programmable | GA =  gata array | DPU = DataPath Unit | DPA = DPU array |
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