phil@copernicus.berkeley.edu (Phil Lapsley) (08/04/90)
(Please excuse this rather lengthy posting. I hope it's worth your
while to read. --Phil).
This posting is to announce the availability of a new version of Gabriel,
a digital signal processing design environment. Gabriel is described
in great detail below, but the quick summary is:
Gabriel is a system that runs under UNIX (SunOS 4.0.3) that
allows you to design DSP applications at the block diagram
level. Your design can be simulated on the local workstation,
and assembly code for the Motorola DSP56001 (and to some degree,
the DSP96002) can then be generated. Gabriel has a graphical
interface that uses the X11R3 or X11R4 window system, and is
written in Berkeley Kyoto Common Lisp.
This is the second release we've made of Gabriel. Changes since
version 0.6 include:
* Gabriel has been ported to Berkeley Kyoto Common Lisp, which
is free and comes with the distribution.
* Gabriel now runs under X11.
* Gabriel now runs on both Sun 3s and Sun 4s.
* Gabriel now runs under SunOS 4.0.3.
* Things are generally much more robust, functional, and
better documented.
* You can now get Gabriel for free via FTP. You can also get
it on tape for $200.00 (handling fees).
There are certainly bugs in this release, both known and unknown. As our
primary mission is research, we offer this software without support, although
we're interested in hearing about bugs you encounter using it.
The attached documentation give more details on Gabriel and how to get
the release.
Phil Lapsley phil@ucbarpa.Berkeley.EDU ...!ucbvax!phil
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GABRIEL 0.7 OVERVIEW
Copyright 1989, 1990 The Regents of The University of California.
All rights reserved.
Gabriel is a hierarchical block diagram programming system for
prototyping signal processing systems on single or multiple pro-
cessors. It has an optional graphical interface. Its current
capabilities include:
1. Code generation for the Motorola DSP56000 and DSP96000 fami-
lies from block-diagrams. The extensible block library for
the DSP56000 includes digital filters, trigonometric func-
tions, interfaces to various signal I/O devices, such as A/D
and D/A converters, and sample-rate conversion. The library
for the DSP96000 is currently much smaller. Working 56000
demonstrations include a telephone channel simulator, an
FM-based music synthesis system, a digital audio reverbera-
tion system, and various simpler applications.
2. Signal analysis and algorithm design. Block diagrams can be
built for local execution on the host workstation, rather
than execution on a programmable DSP. This mode of opera-
tion is generally used for algorithm experimentation, and
for analysis of signals produced by simulations of real-time
systems.
3. Scheduling for multi-DSP architectures. Gabriel automati-
cally partitions block diagrams for execution on multiple
DSP56000s and produces multiple source-code files.
4. User-defined targets. A user can retarget Gabriel to a
variety of architectures based on the DSP56000. The
hardware-dependent features, such as memory map, I/O capa-
bilities, multi-processors interconnection, and host link of
the target are all specified by the user when a new target
architecture is defined. In our lab, Gabriel targets two
hardware architectures: (1) a Motorola Application Develop-
ment System (ADS) with a home-made AES/EBU digital audio
interface, an Ariel A/D and D/A card, an an Ariel digital
microphone, and (2) a prototype from Dolby Labs with four
DSP56001s, a digital audio interface, and an analog parame-
ter control system.
In addition, Gabriel can produce code for architectures that
are simulated in software.
5. Simulation of target architectures. Gabriel has been inter-
faced to Thor, from Stanford University, a general purpose
functional simulator for hardware systems. A user can build
a Thor model for a design using the DSP56000, have Gabriel
produce code for the new target, and run the code in simula-
tion while monitoring the behavior of the hardware and
software simultaneously.
Prospective users should be aware that the current technology of
block diagram programming is somewhat limited, and that not all
applications are easily expressed in terms of the primitive func-
tional blocks provided with the system. The system is aimed
squarely at real-time digital signal processing. Many other
types of applications will require the creation of new functional
blocks, and for some applications, the complexity of these new
functional blocks will be high. Gabriel will not be able to
parallelize such applications as effectively, because it makes no
attempt to exploit parallelism within a primitive block.
Research is under way to develop more versatile scheduling tech-
niques so that block diagrams become a fully expressive program-
ming language.
-----
GABRIEL 0.7 RELEASE INFORMATION
August 3, 1990
Availability:
Gabriel is available without support for no charge to organiza-
tions on the Internet via FTP. The procedure for obtaining
Gabriel via FTP is as follows:
1. FTP to Internet host "copernicus.Berkeley.EDU"
(128.32.240.37). Login as "anonymous"; no password is
needed. Get the shell archive "gabriel-license.shar".
2. The "gabriel-license.shar" file is a bundle of several dif-
ferent files and includes instructions on how to unbundle
them. Follow these instructions and sign and return the
enclosed license agreements.
3. When we receive your signed license agreements, we will con-
tact you to give you an account and password that will allow
you to FTP the actual Gabriel software.
Organizations without Internet FTP capability can obtain Gabriel
without support on Sun 1/4 inch cartridge tape for a $200.00 han-
dling fee from:
EECS/ERL Industrial Liaison Program Office
Software Distribution
479 Cory Hall
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720
Attn: Cindy Manly-Fields
(415) 643-6687
This includes printed documentation, including installation
instructions, a user's guide, and manual pages. The printed
documentation is available separately for $25.00 from the above
address.
If you wish to be added to the mailing list for future informa-
tion on Gabriel, please send a request to the address above.
Electronic mail can be sent to "gabriel@janus.Berkeley.EDU"
(Internet) or "...!ucbvax!janus!gabriel" (UUCP).
Additional Software:
Gabriel requires considerable additional software, some of it not
in the public domain, to be run in its full configuration. Much
of the additional software is optional, and can be omitted at the
expense of some functionality. Some of the additional software
is provided along with this release. Required and optional
software is listed below:
1. Sun UNIX version 4.0.3. Gabriel has not been tested under
SunOS 4.1, or other versions of UNIX. Not included.
2. Berkeley Kyoto Common Lisp. Gabriel runs with a version of
Kyoto Common Lisp that has been locally modified at Berke-
ley. Source and binaries for this version of KCL are
included, and require you to sign and return a licensing
agreement to Kyoto University. Included.
3. X11 window system release 3 or 4 if you want to use the
Gabriel graphical interface. Although X11R3 or R4 libraries
must be installed on your system to compile Gabriel, the use
of the X window system is optional: Gabriel can be run with
no graphical interface, although it is not appealing to do
so. Not included.
4. Octtools Distribution 3-3 includes the system on which the
graphical interface is built, plus a great deal of CAD
software. A reduced version of this system is provided
along with the Gabriel distribution (see the installation
notes). The complete version (including source code and
documentation) is available for a nominal charge from the
Industrial Liaison Program Office, address listed above.
This is optional since the graphical interface is optional.
Some Sun 3 or Sun 4 binaries included.
5. Motorola DSP56000 assembler, linker, simulator, and C com-
piler are optional. If they are installed, then code gen-
erated for the DSP56000 can be assembled and simulated on
the local workstation. Contact your nearest Motorola sales
office. Not included.
6. THOR, a general purpose behavioral hardware simulator, has
been interfaced to Gabriel and to the Motorola DSP56000
simulator so that multiprocessor architectures can be simu-
lated running the code produced by Gabriel. It is available
for a nominal charge from the Technology Licensing Office at
Stanford University. Contact David Charron, (415) 723-0651
or Jane McLean, (415) 723-0651. Pending resolution of reli-
censing rights, we are not including THOR nor the interface
code in this distribution. Not included.
Hardware Requirements:
Gabriel has only been tested on Sun 3 and Sun 4 workstations.
Although the graphics interface will run on black and white moni-
tors, it is much more appealing on a color workstation. Gabriel
requires at least eight Megabytes of memory, and about 25 Mega-
bytes of disk space.
Note that certain early Sun 3/50 workstations will not run
Gabriel because of a hardware bug in the memory management unit.
Distribution Medium:
FTP or Sun 1/4 inch tape cartridge.
Source code:
Yes.
Object code:
Some, but not all.
Licensing/Distribution restrictions:
A letter indicating non-redistribution of Gabriel will be
required. A similar letter for Kyoto Common Lisp must be
returned to Kyoto University.
Materials/Handling fee:
$200.00 for the distribution tape and documentation. Documenta-
tion may be ordered separately for $25.00.
Program Authors:
Jeff Bier, Edwin Goei, Holly Heine, Wai-Hung Ho, Phil Lapsley,
Edward A. Lee, Jonathan Lee, Maureen O'reilly, and Gil Sih.
Other Contributors:
Shuvra Bhattacharyya, Eric Cox, Martha Fratt, Eric Guntvedt, Mike
Grimwood, Soonhoi Ha, Steve How, Shriram Krishnan, Ray Kuo, Bruce
Kwan, Craig Latta, David Messerschmitt, Brian Mountford, Tom
Parks, and Andria Wong.
Acknowledgements
The development of Gabriel and the underlying and related methods
has been supported in part by the National Science Foundation,
Darpa, SRC, the State of California MICRO Program, Cygnet (a
division of Everex Systems Inc.), Motorola, Sony, Hitachi, IBM,
Dolby Labs, Digital Equipment Corp., Hayes Microcomputer Pro-
ducts, and Ariel Corp.
Further Information:
[1] E. A. Lee, W.-H. Ho, E. Goei, J. Bier, and S. Bhattacharyya,
"Gabriel: A Design Environment for DSP", IEEE Trans. on
Acoustics, Speech, and Signal Processing, Nov., 1989.
[2] J. C. Bier, E. E. Goei, W.-H. Ho, P. D. Lapsley, M.
O'Reilly, G. C. Sih, and E. A. Lee, "Gabriel: A Design
Environment for Programmable DSPs", to appear in IEEE Micro
Magazine, 1990.
[3] E. A. Lee and D. G. Messerschmitt, "Synchronous Data Flow"
IEEE Proceedings, 75(9), pp. 1235-1245, September 1987.