Implementing OS components in hardware using AOP

Abstract

In this paper we propose a SystemC-based design methodology focusing on the implementation of operating system components in hardware by using Aspect-oriented Programming concepts. As a case study to validate our approach, we have designed and implemented a hardware thread scheduler and a debugging aspect program. For comparison purposes, a hand-made scheduler with debugging capabilities was also implemented. The hardware synthesis results shown that Aspect-oriented Programming concepts and techniques can be efficiently applied to digital hardware design in SystemC through the proposed methodology. The observed overhead in terms of area was less than 1% and the increase in the longest path delay for the circuit was less than 3%. Being SystemC an extension of C++, our strategy puts effective hardware implementation of operating system components into reach for many operating system developers.