Embedded Systems Design - March 2008 - (Page 27) 0308esd.p27to31 2/14/08 12:08 PM Page 27 feature Although you may not have heard of atomic transactions, they’re likely to change how you design and verify embedded systems. verification enters the atomic age BY GEORGE HARPER Hardware/software hile the 1940s and 1950s saw the dawn of the nuclear age for power and weaponry, a half a century later we’re just now entering an atomic age of a different sort. Having little to do with radioactivity, this atomic age is about software and hardware design, specifically using atomic transactions, by far the most powerful technique for managing one of our most tricky problems, concurrency. Even if you haven’t heard of atomic transactions before, they’re likely to have an impact on your future work, whether you design embedded software, architect systems, perform verification, or design hardware. Atomic transactions are not a new technology, but the increasing complexity and amount of concurrency in systems is pressing their emergence in all of these areas. So, just what are atomic transactions? And, how are they already manifesting themselves in embedded systems software, processor, and hardware design? After introducing atomic transactions and ways in which they’re revealing themselves, this article will take a special look at their implications to verification. W e+ + + + e- ee- ATOMIC TRANSACTIONS 101 If you are familiar with database transactions, you’ve probably already been exposed to atomic transactions. When processing multiple, simultaneous transactions, databases use atomic transactions to maintain consistency. Imagine a couple who share a bank account and simultaneously make two withdrawals of $100 from separate ATM machines across town (Figure 1). Several steps are involved in each withdrawal: A) checking the www.embedded.com | embedded systems design | MARCH 2008 27 http://www.embedded.com
Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Embedded Systems Design - March 2008 Embedded Systems Design - March 2008 Contents #Include Programming Pointers Designing DSP-based Motor Control Using Fuzzy Logic Hardware/Software Verification Enters the Atomic Age Efficient CRC Calculation with Minimal Memory Footprint Programming Your Own Microcontroller Advertising Index Break Points Marketplace Embedded Systems Design - March 2008 Embedded Systems Design - March 2008 - (Page BB1) Embedded Systems Design - March 2008 - (Page BB2) Embedded Systems Design - March 2008 - Embedded Systems Design - March 2008 (Page Cover1) Embedded Systems Design - March 2008 - Embedded Systems Design - March 2008 (Page Cover2) Embedded Systems Design - March 2008 - Embedded Systems Design - March 2008 (Page 1) Embedded Systems Design - March 2008 - Embedded Systems Design - March 2008 (Page 2) Embedded Systems Design - March 2008 - Contents (Page 3) Embedded Systems Design - March 2008 - #Include (Page 4) Embedded Systems Design - March 2008 - #Include (Page 5) Embedded Systems Design - March 2008 - #Include (Page 6) Embedded Systems Design - March 2008 - #Include (Page 7) Embedded Systems Design - March 2008 - #Include (Page 8) Embedded Systems Design - March 2008 - Programming Pointers (Page 9) Embedded Systems Design - March 2008 - Programming Pointers (Page 10) Embedded Systems Design - March 2008 - Programming Pointers (Page 11) Embedded Systems Design - March 2008 - Programming Pointers (Page 12) Embedded Systems Design - March 2008 - Programming Pointers (Page 13) Embedded Systems Design - March 2008 - Programming Pointers (Page 14) Embedded Systems Design - March 2008 - Programming Pointers (Page 15) Embedded Systems Design - March 2008 - Designing DSP-based Motor Control Using Fuzzy Logic (Page 16) Embedded Systems Design - March 2008 - Designing DSP-based Motor Control Using Fuzzy Logic (Page 17) Embedded Systems Design - March 2008 - Designing DSP-based Motor Control Using Fuzzy Logic (Page 18) Embedded Systems Design - March 2008 - Designing DSP-based Motor Control Using Fuzzy Logic (Page 19) Embedded Systems Design - March 2008 - Designing DSP-based Motor Control Using Fuzzy Logic (Page 20) Embedded Systems Design - March 2008 - Designing DSP-based Motor Control Using Fuzzy Logic (Page 21) Embedded Systems Design - March 2008 - Designing DSP-based Motor Control Using Fuzzy Logic (Page 22) Embedded Systems Design - March 2008 - Designing DSP-based Motor Control Using Fuzzy Logic (Page 23) Embedded Systems Design - March 2008 - Designing DSP-based Motor Control Using Fuzzy Logic (Page 24) Embedded Systems Design - March 2008 - Designing DSP-based Motor Control Using Fuzzy Logic (Page 25) Embedded Systems Design - March 2008 - Designing DSP-based Motor Control Using Fuzzy Logic (Page 26) Embedded Systems Design - March 2008 - Hardware/Software Verification Enters the Atomic Age (Page 27) Embedded Systems Design - March 2008 - Hardware/Software Verification Enters the Atomic Age (Page 28) Embedded Systems Design - March 2008 - Hardware/Software Verification Enters the Atomic Age (Page 29) Embedded Systems Design - March 2008 - Hardware/Software Verification Enters the Atomic Age (Page 30) Embedded Systems Design - March 2008 - Hardware/Software Verification Enters the Atomic Age (Page 31) Embedded Systems Design - March 2008 - Hardware/Software Verification Enters the Atomic Age (Page 32) Embedded Systems Design - March 2008 - Efficient CRC Calculation with Minimal Memory Footprint (Page 33) Embedded Systems Design - March 2008 - Efficient CRC Calculation with Minimal Memory Footprint (Page 34) Embedded Systems Design - March 2008 - Efficient CRC Calculation with Minimal Memory Footprint (Page 35) Embedded Systems Design - March 2008 - Efficient CRC Calculation with Minimal Memory Footprint (Page 36) Embedded Systems Design - March 2008 - Efficient CRC Calculation with Minimal Memory Footprint (Page 37) Embedded Systems Design - March 2008 - Efficient CRC Calculation with Minimal Memory Footprint (Page 38) Embedded Systems Design - March 2008 - Efficient CRC Calculation with Minimal Memory Footprint (Page 39) Embedded Systems Design - March 2008 - Efficient CRC Calculation with Minimal Memory Footprint (Page 40) Embedded Systems Design - March 2008 - Programming Your Own Microcontroller (Page 41) Embedded Systems Design - March 2008 - Programming Your Own Microcontroller (Page 42) Embedded Systems Design - March 2008 - Programming Your Own Microcontroller (Page 43) Embedded Systems Design - March 2008 - Programming Your Own Microcontroller (Page 44) Embedded Systems Design - March 2008 - Programming Your Own Microcontroller (Page 45) Embedded Systems Design - March 2008 - Programming Your Own Microcontroller (Page 46) Embedded Systems Design - March 2008 - Programming Your Own Microcontroller (Page 47) Embedded Systems Design - March 2008 - Advertising Index (Page 48) Embedded Systems Design - March 2008 - Break Points (Page 49) Embedded Systems Design - March 2008 - Break Points (Page 50) Embedded Systems Design - March 2008 - Marketplace (Page 51) Embedded Systems Design - March 2008 - Marketplace (Page 52) Embedded Systems Design - March 2008 - Marketplace (Page Cover3) Embedded Systems Design - March 2008 - Marketplace (Page Cover4)
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