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User: H89

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  1. Erasing the line between software and hardware. on All-Purpose Distributed Computing · · Score: 1

    Before everything else lets just answer the initial question:

    "Yes, it would be very neat!"

    Needless to say, auto-partitioning of a function into blocks is an interresting topic.

    As i have a background as both a software guy (ada, c, java) and hardware guy (mainly vhdl) i often think about how simmilar the two areas are becomming. In both areas you try to design modular components that can be collected in a library and re-used.

    To the point; Will future compilers generate code for a processor or will they generate functionblocks that are loaded into a gate array and communicates with other functionblocks on the same chip, or on another computer?

    Considering that you only can clock a processor so fast, you have a better chanse to optimize the performace if your 'programs' run as functionblocks on a gate array (using bit serial algorithms?).

    Something that would interrest me would be to design an 'operating system' that allowed a 'program' to allocate space on a gate array, provide I/O services, storage area in a ram (if you dont want to waste space in the array) and 'inter task' communications both on the same chip and via a network. Buy hey, now im just day-dreaming.