High-level algorithmic complexity evaluation for system design

  • Authors:

  • Massimo Ravasi;Marco Mattavelli

  • Affiliations:

  • Signal Processing Laboratory (LTS3), Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland;Signal Processing Laboratory (LTS3), Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland

  • Venue:
  • Journal of Systems Architecture: the EUROMICRO Journal
  • Year:
  • 2003

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Abstract

The increasing complexity of processing algorithms has led to the need of more and more intensive specification and validation by means of software implementations. As the complexity grows, the intuitive understanding of the specific processing needs becomes harder and harder. Hence, the architectural implementation choices or the choices between different possible software/hardware partitioning become extremely difficult tasks. Moreover, it is also desirable to understand and measure the algorithm complexity at the highest possible level near to the algorithmic level so as to be able to take the more appropriate actions. Automatic tools to perform such analysis become nowadays a fundamental need.In this paper, the requirements of a suitable algorithmic complexity evaluation technology are discussed, with a particular emphasis to the problem of the analysis of multimedia systems and signal processing algorithms. A brief review about limitations and weaknesses of existing tools is given, specifying the characteristics of ideal "complexity evaluation systems". A new approach is described, called here Software Instrumentation Tool, SIT, yielding an automatic software tool able to extract information not depending on the simulation platform, keeping into account specific input data and resulting in a good and useful measure of the desired high-level algorithmic complexity.