Proposal for the WETICS Project

# Proposal to Design a Simulator for the Texas Instruments TMS320C30 Digital Signal Processor

Dogu Arifler
The University of Texas at Austin
January 28, 1997

Supervising Professor: Dr. Brian L. Evans

## PROJECT SUMMARY

In this project, I will design and develop an easy-to-use graphical user interface (GUI) software that will enable the users to work with the Texas Instruments TMS320C30 (C30) Digital Signal Processor simulator interactively. My software will be a Web-based tool and will be easily accessed by the users running a suitable Web-browser (such as Netscape 2.0 or higher) in UNIX (X Windows), Windows, and Macintosh platforms. By having access to an interactive user interface to the TMS320C30 simulator on the Web, users will not need a physical board to test their designs. System designers will be able to evaluate the C30 processor without having to purchase it.

I will develop the project in stages, starting with writing an interface to another application (for example, Matlab), understanding the working principles of the C30 simulator and writing a primitive user interface to it, and finally, adding graphics to the user interface.

## BACKGROUND

My software interface will serve as a Web-based interactive user interface for the Texas Instruments TMS320C30 Digital Signal Processor simulator. The simulator was developed at The University of Texas at Austin by Chris M. Moy and Dr. Brian L. Evans based on the code for a C30 disassembler distributed by the Applications Group at Texas Instruments Inc. in Houston, Texas [1]. In addition, the WELD (Web-based Electronic Design) Project at the University of California at Berkeley is a current research topic on Internet-wide Computer Aided Integrated Circuit Design [2].

My research interest in Web-based technologies and distributed systems aroused my interest in the project. Besides delivering the Web-based user interface, I will research the benefits of separating user interfaces from applications, and investigate the advantages of Web-enabled computer simulators for system designers. My previous experience with programming languages, the Internet, and the World Wide Web is adequate to complete this work.

## PROBLEM DESCRIPTION

My user interface, the Internet, and the C30 simulator are represented by the diagram in Figure 1.

    [ C30 user interface ] <----> The Internet <----> [ C30 simulator ]

    Client Applet	<---->	  Server Application

Figure 1. How the system will work.

The C30 user interface will be an applet embedded in a Web page. The applet will run on the user's machine. The user will interact with the simulator through graphical and textual commands via the interface program. The commands will be sent to the C30 simulator over the Internet. The simulator will execute the given command and respond to the interface. The interface, on receiving the response, will display the effect of the given command. The interface will also provide graphical icons for commonly used commands, and will keep a history of user commands so that the commands can be saved as a script.

## PROCEDURE

I will implement the interactive user interface software using Java. Java is a popular object-oriented programming language. Java will enable platform independent execution of the interface. I will first design a simple user interface to an application (for example, Matlab) to familiarize myself with the networking facilities provided by Java programming language. Then, I will work on the C30 simulator to understand how it works and how I can make my software interact with it. I will write a simple interface to the simulator and test it by giving input and receiving output. In the final stage of the project, I will add graphics to the interface and carry out more testing on the software.

## SPECIFICATIONS

The design criteria for the project are the development of an easy-to-use interactive user interface for the simulator and the output of the correct results on the interface. The project will be tested by running extensive simulations. The results of the simulations will be compared to the real results of executing the commands on the TMS320C30. The testing will involve as many possible sequences of commands as possible. However, the reliability of design will also depend on the reliability of the simulator. The design criteria will be met after extensive validation.

## RESOURCES

Required resources for this project are the Java Development Kit (JDK), a Web-browser, computers that have Internet access, and books from SunSoft (Java Series). An extensive amount of information will also be available from the Internet. I will make use of my own PC, the computers in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department's Learning Resource Center, and the computers in the Laboratory for Vision Systems. My supervising professor, Dr. Brian Evans, will also be an invaluable source of information, and he will provide guidance in the development of the project.

## COSTS AND TIME CONSIDERATIONS

It is very difficult to estimate a cost for this project. Most of the resources are already available, and software such as the JDK and Web-browsers are freely available through the Internet. However, time spent on the project will be the main cost of the project, since this project involves many topics that are under current research.

## SCHEDULE

Test Matlab Interface: Feb. 6, 1997

Learn C30 simulator: Feb. 25, 1997

Test primitive interface to C30: Mar. 20, 1997

Complete and test GUI on the Web: Apr. 24, 1997

## CONCLUSION

The project will produce a Web-based interactive user interface to the C30 simulator. System designers will be able to use the interface via a suitable Web-browser to test their designs without having to purchase the digital signal processor board. Although most of the resources are available, limited time is an important constraint for the project.

## REFERENCES

[1] Chris Moy, "Completion report on my Texas Instruments TMS320C30 simulator," University of Texas at Austin, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, EE 464H Final Report, Dec. 5, 1996.

[2] Web-Enabled Electronic Design (WELD) Project, http://www-cad.EECS.Berkeley.EDU/Respep/Research/weld/, Jan. 22, 1997.