Hardware refactoring, or more specifically VHDL refactoring, is a technology that helps digital hardware designers create better hardware in a shorter time.
Designing, improving and reusing digital circuits traditionally involves typing a lot of code. This is a time-consuming and error-prone activity that keeps engineers from thinking about what is really important: the hardware itself. HDL refactoring tools automate modifications to hardware code, while the designer remains in full control. This way, the HDL designer can focus on the creative part, while the refactoring tool does the dirty work.
Hardware refactoring is a natural extension of software code refactoring, a well established technology in software engineering to improve code quality. The trend of applying refactoring techniques to hardware designs began with research from the University of Darmstadt and Synopsys, and has now resulted in Sigasi’s patent pending VHDL refactoring tool.
Top 5 benefits
- Increased productivity
- Higher HDL-code quality
- Complementary with existing tools and methodologies
- High interactivity and fast feedback
- Smooth learning curve