DTMS II--AN IMPROVED COMPUTER HARDWARE DESCRIPTION LANGUAGE FOR MODULES AND SYSTEMS

Descriptive Techniques for Modules and Systems II (DTMS II) is a Computer Hardware Description Language for describing complex digital hardware modules and their interconnections. The modules are described at the external pin-behavior level and their interconnections specified at the structure level. DTMS II is strongly influenced by an earlier language, DTMS (Descriptive Techniques for Modules and Systems) developed at Kansas State University. In developing DTMS II the major emphasis has been the description of processor type of modules and their interconnections. New techniques and constructs for describing such modules at the behavior level internally, while carefully detailing the interface activity, have been identified and incorporated in the language. In describing processor modules unwanted hardware details internal to the processor module can be suppressed. As a result DTMS II is particularly attractive, but not limited to the description of processor based digital systems. The language allows mixed level description, i.e., different parts of a module or system can be described at different levels with different amounts of abstraction. The more important features can be described at a more detailed structure level and less important features specified at a less detailed behavior level. DTMS II has powerful constructs to specify nonprocedural actions, serial and parallel updates, and zero and nonzero time delays. Almost an unlimited amount of parallelism is possible in DTMS II. Both synchronous and asynchronous operations can be specified. The various language features, constructs and their usage are described and then illustrated with practical examples.