Memory Allocation and Assignment

Abstract

In embedded systems the memory architecture can be more or less freely chosen. Different choices can lead to solutions with a very different cost, which means that it is important to make the right choice. Therefore, we have introduced a memory allocation and assignment step in our design flow, where trade-offs are made to arrive to an optimal memory architecture. In this step we take into account both the bandwidth constraints defined in chapter 10, and the target implementation technology.

This chapter defines the memory architecture problem in detail (section 11.1). Next, in section 11.2 it gives an overview of the complete memory allocation and assignment step, followed by four sections detailing each of the four sub steps. Finally, section 11.8 illustrates the methodology with an example.