Code Generation for Silicon

Abstract

Compiler writers facea bleak future---soon everyone will be using Ada on the Nebula Architecture and there will be no further need for our services. Luckily, it appears to be possible to recycle compiler writers by encouraging them to build circuit design tools (Silicon Compilers). Many of the standard techniques used in compilers can be immediately applied in circuit design, especially for LSI circuits. In part, this paper attempts to serve as a tutorial, casting some of the problems of designing in nMOS with the Mead-Conway design rules into the vocabulary of the compiler writer. The paper also discusses experience with a Silicon compiler that has fabricated over two dozen different designs.