Global resource conflict management for an embedded application design

• US 8,813,021 B1
• Filed: 02/14/2007
• Issued: 08/19/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 02/16/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Monterey Research, LLC (Vector Capital Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Cypress Semiconductor Corporation (Infineon Technologies AG)
• Inventors: Ogami, Kenneth Y., Best, Andrew
• Primary Examiner(s): COYER, RYAN D
• Application Number:
  US11/707,201
• Time in Patent Office: 2,743 Days
• Field of Search: 717/100, 717104-105, 717124-135, 714 37- 57, 703 23- 28
• US Class Current: 717/100
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3203 Power management, i.e. event-based initiation of a power-saving mode
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/048 Interaction techniques based on graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0484 for the control of specific functions or operations, e.g. selecting or manipulating an object, an image or a displayed text element, setting a parameter value or selecting a range
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/30 Circuit design
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/44552 Conflict resolution, i.e. enabling coexistence of conflicting executables
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 19/0175 Coupling arrangements; Interface arrangements interface arrangements for digital computers G06F3/00, G06F13/00

Abstract

A design tool provides global resource conflict management. The design tool identifies a conflict in requested values of a global resource during development of an embedded application. The design tool further calculates new values of the global resource, and proposes the new values of the global resource as an alternative to the requested values to assist a user in resolution of the conflict.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method, comprising:

identifying a conflict in requested values of a global resource during development of an embedded application in response to determining that at least two drivers are requesting different values from the global resource, wherein a first one of the values is incompatible with a second one of the values, and wherein each of the values represents an operating characteristic of the global resource;

after determining whether a plurality of new values of the global resource resolves the conflict, proposing the new values of the global resource that resolve the conflict as an alternative to the requested values to assist a user in resolution of the conflict; and

in response to a user selection of one of the proposed new values, propagating the selected one of the proposed new values to the at least two drivers.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

optimizing a difference between the requested values and the new values.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving an adjustment to at least one of the requested values; and

determining whether the conflict is resolved by the adjustment.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

in response to the adjustment, calculating updated values of the global resource to resolve the conflict.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

propagating the new values through layers of metadata to a user interface, the layers of metadata describing at least a portion of the embedded application.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

converting the requested values from a hardware-level property of the global resource to a system-level property meaningful to the user.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

generating conflict metadata to include the requested values and the new values, the conflict metadata, when rendered on a display, presents an option for a user to adjust the requested values.

8. A computer implemented design tool, comprising:

a processor;

a memory coupled to the processor;

a design engine implemented using the processor to form a design of an embedded application, the design engine configured to allow a global resource to be used by multiple design elements, each requesting a different value of the global resource; and

a conflict manager coupled to the design engine, the conflict manager configured to identify a conflict in requested values of the global resource, determine whether an alternative set of values for the global resource resolves the conflict, and then propose the alternative set of values, wherein each of the values represents an operating characteristic of the global resource, and wherein, in response to a user selecting a value from the proposed values, the conflict manager initiates propagation of said selected value to the multiple design elements.

9. The design tool of claim 8, wherein the conflict manager comprises:

an update unit to propose calculated values of the global resource, as the alternative set of values, to resolve the conflict.

10. The design tool of claim 9, wherein the update unit is configured to calculate the calculated values to optimize a difference between the calculated values and the requested values.

11. The design tool of claim 8, wherein the conflict manager is implemented by a manager script residing in a data module coupled to the design engine.

12. The design tool of claim 11, wherein the data module includes layers of metadata describing at least a portion of the embedded application, the layers of metadata including a hardware layer, a system layer, and a hardware encapsulation layer between the hardware layer and the system layer.

13. The design tool of claim 11, wherein the data module includes a script to convert the requested values from a hardware-level property of the global resource to a system-level property meaningful to the user.

14. The design tool of claim 8, further comprising:

a user interface coupled to the conflict manager to present an option for a user to adjust the requested values.

15. An article of manufacture comprising:

a non-transitory computer-readable medium including a plurality of instructions which when executed perform a method comprising;

identifying a conflict in requested values of a global resource during development of an embedded application in response to determining that at least two drivers are requesting different values from the global resource, wherein each of the values represents an operating characteristic of the global resource;

after determining whether a plurality of new values of the global resource resolves the conflict, proposing the new values of the global resource that resolve the conflict as an alternative to the requested values to assist a user in resolution of the conflict; and

in response to a user selecting one of the proposed new values from a plurality of new values, propagating said selected new value to the at least two drivers.

16. The article of manufacture of claim 15, wherein the method further comprises:

optimizing a difference between the requested values and the new values.

17. The article of manufacture of claim 15, wherein the method further comprises:

receiving an adjustment to at least one of the requested values; and

determining whether the conflict is resolved by the adjustment.

18. The article of manufacture of claim 17, wherein the method further comprises:

in response to the adjustment, calculating updated values of the global resource to resolve the conflict.

19. The article of manufacture of claim 15, wherein the method further comprises:

converting the requested values from a hardware-level property of the global resource to a system-level property meaningful to the user.

20. The article of manufacture of claim 15, wherein the method further comprises:

generating conflict metadata to include the requested values and the new values, the conflict metadata, when rendered on a display, presents an option for a user to adjust the requested values.