An embedded language framework for hardware compilation

Abstract

Various languages have been proposed to describe synchronous hardware at an abstract, yet synthesisable level. We propose a uniform framework within which such languages can be developed, and combined together for simulation, synthesis, and verification. We do this by embedding the languages in Lava — a hardware description language (HDL), itself embedded in the functional programming language Haskell. The approach allows us to easily experiment with new formal languages and language features, and also provides easy access to formal verification tools aiding program verification.