Configware
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Configware (Configuration Ware) is the program source for morphware, i. e. for reconfigurable platforms like FPGAs (field-programmable gate arrays), or, to coarse- grained reconfigurable platforms like reconfigurable datapath arrays (rDPAs). Software is the counterpart to configware. In contrast to software which is instruction-stream-based and deserves procedural programming for instruction scheduling onto von-Neumann-like machine resources, configware deserves structural programming like e. g. for placement and routing before the application run time.
As configware code, configware also refers to the bit code configuration files for a FPGA (field-programmable gate array), or, for a rDPA (Morphware). These files specify the configuration of logic blocks internal to the device, and the interconnection between blocks, and external I/O. Configware code files are unique to a particular manufacturer's part. They may be handled with software-like configuration management procedures. When configuration is completed so that the resources are ready for use, suitable Flowware has to be compiled for data scheduling.
To-day, configware compilers and other configware application development support tools are usually implemented as software running on von-Neumann-like processors. This may change in the future. In contrast to operating systems for software (SW-OS), emerging operating systems for configware (CW-OS) deserve to manage multi-tasking and other administrative jobs on reconfigurable platforms.
The CW-OS is especially important for dynamically reconfigurable systems, where parts of the reconfigurable resources are at execution mode when, at the same time, other parts are at configuration mode, and also, where in addition to this a swapping of configware code modules helps flexibility and to save resources. Prof. Reiner Hartenstein, TU Kaiserslautern, has coined term "Configware" the mid 90's.
