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NEXT (An old partitioning example: An external RS-232/POTS Modem.)
Hardware/Software Design Partition.
When designing a sub-system we must choose what to have as hardware, what
to have as software and whether custom or standard processors are needed.
When designing the complete SoC we must think about sharing of sub-system
load over processors.
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Example: if we are designing a digital camera, how many processors should it
have and can the steadicam and motion estimation processing be done in software ?
Would a hardware implementation use less silicon and less battery power?
- The functions of a system can be expressed in a programming
language or similar form and this can be compiled fully to hardware or
left partly as software
- Choosing what to do in hardware and what to do in software is
a key decision. Hardware gives speed (throughput) but software
supports complexity and flexibility.
- Partitioning of logic over chips or processors is motivated
by interconnection bandwidth, raw processing speed, technology and module reuse.