| This thesis describes a new approach to behavioral synthesis which allows for designer interaction and gradual motion towards automatic synthesis. Issues in design models, input languages, internal representation and structural component characterization have been examined in detail to overcome many of the deficiencies in current synthesis models.;To validate this approach, the thesis describes EXTEND, a prototype synthesis tool which incorporates several novel features. The strengths of EXTEND are in its interactivity and comprehensive design model. Interactivity in EXTEND is achieved through the graphic input language EXEL. The design model permits specification and synthesis of partially designed structures, general timing constraints, and both synchronous and asynchronous behavior. The synthesized design is an interconnection of components derived from the GENUS generic component database, which is also described in this thesis.;The thesis concludes with a brief description of experiments performed using EXTEND to describe a range of designs which exhibit a variety of different applications, synchronous and asynchronous behavior, and different levels of user-binding in the input specification. |
