An open-source binary utility generator

ABSTRACT

Electronic system level (ESL) modeling allows early hardware-dependent software (HDS) development. Due to broad CPU diversity and shrinking time-to-market, HDS development can neither rely on hand-retargeting binary tools, nor can it rely on pre-existent tools within standard packages. As a consequence, binary utilities which can be easily adapted to new CPU targets are of increasing interest. We present in this article a framework for automatic generation of binary utilities. It relies on two innovative ideas: platform-aware modeling and more inclusive relocation handling. Generated assemblers, linkers, disassemblers and debuggers were validated for MIPS, SPARC, PowerPC, i8051 and PIC16F84. An open-source prototype generator is available for download.

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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  C. Computer Systems Organization
  C.3 SPECIAL-PURPOSE AND APPLICATION-BASED SYSTEMS

Additional Classification:
  D. Software
  D.3 PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES
      D.3.4 Processors
          Subjects: Code generation

General Terms:
Design, Languages

Keywords:
Platform debugging, TLM, retargetable tools