a mARTIAN dIARY

I was recently helping one of my juniors search for a seminar topic and I came across the idea of SDS (Software Defined Silicon). The following is some questions that where thrown at me while I was explaining it. A bagful of thanks to David Manners for his excellent article. Since the net is my primary source of information for me regarding this technology there might be mistakes in my understanding, so if you find any please leave a comment so that I can rectify it

Ok so what is it?
Software defined silicon is a new electronic device that is both low cost and easy to program.
 
At an abstract level, How is this different from existing ASIC/FPGA?
This is actually two questions. Traditionally Full/Partial custom ASIC is less costly that FPGA per unit when the volumes increase) where as FPGA is more suited for prototyping since the time taken for design changes to be translated to hardware is much lesser. So while choosing between FPGA and Custom ASIC is a trade-off between cost and programmability

SDS will offer the better programmability than FPGA at a much lesser cost than FPGA with lesser lead times and also in a single language (C)

At a abstract level, How is this different from existing micro processors?
Microprocessors are general purpose chips. They are designed with the traditional single threaded flow in mind. SDS can be called a "events-driven processor engine". An events-driven processor is one that is capable, when an event occurs, of executing software immediately, and then terminating, and waiting for the next event. The events are things like a pin changing state.
So it you would be able to write really "real-time" software whose performance can compare that to hardware. For example you can write real time communication protocol that’s traditionally implemented in hardware in software. Also in the creators own words “So we’ve taken a very responsive, fast, deterministic, real-time processor engine, and we’ve integrated into that very tight pin control”, says Hurley, “and we’ve developed a core-to-core communications interface. So now we can build arrays of cores that can control pins.”

Isn’t RTL similar to C?
At syntax level both are high level languages. But while writing RTL we need to be mindful of what hardware our code is going to infer so at the conceptual level its very different from C.

In one word?
“You’re implementing functionality that’s traditionally implemented in hardware in software”

How is the cost low even with better features?
From the silicon cost point of view, XMOS is using processors, which are silicon efficient, and RAM, which is the most silicon efficient structure. By using processors and RAM, it gains big cost advantages.

What about an example of development freedom?
“The development freedom the customer has is incredible because the customer can choose how to partition that capability”, says Hurley, “what’s really powerful is that a customer has a budget of processor cycles, he can choose how to spend that budget on real-time tasks such as interfaces, DSP, and control, and, more importantly, he is then able to dynamically alter that so, when they’re doing multiple products (typically consumer companies have a general platform supporting 20 or 30 products) he can choose to say: ‘I don’t want a UART in this design, but I do want to run an MP3 decoder. So I will remove the UART piece of code, and I will re-purpose those processing cycles into my DSP capability. I don’t believe anything in the market today can offer that level of capability to a customer.”

What does this mean for hardware engineers?
If this was to become the chip that survives the current war between FPGA /ASIC/PSoC/SDS , the hardware engineers outside this technology would starve

What does this mean for the software engineers?
They get more power as they can write more powerful code that can at a lot of level emulate hardware perfectly, Something that was not possible till now

What’s the different with respect to the design flow?
Usually the hardware flow would involve work on EDA software that would design the hardware to be implemented. The coding at this stage is usually done in RTL like verilog/ VHDL. Then if the hardware so implemented included processors software would be written run on the processor.
Here in SDS the design at the hardware level is generic. the resource you have is processor cycles that you can allot via your programming (in C with some additions for defining port structure and using multi-threading and parallelism) to the task to which you want to allot it to. So RTL coding is removed out of the flow.

"It’s a standard embedded software development flow starting with C/C++ source, compile, link, assemble and de-bug using standard industry development tools."

Ok what all can it currently do?
"SDS can run Ethernet MAC and the MII interface in software at 200Mbps, it has DSP capability and control capability"

I took this Personality (dis!)order test at http://www.4degreez.com/misc/personality_disorder_test.mv.

Heaven for the hypochondriac’s like me

It has come up with some interesting results

Paranoid: High

Paranoid personality disorder is characterized by a distrust of others and a constant suspicion that people around you have sinister motives. People with this disorder tend to have excessive trust in their own knowledge and abilities and usually avoid close relationships. They search for hidden meanings in everything and read hostile intentions into the actions of others. They are quick to challenge the loyalties of friends and loved ones and often appear cold and distant. They usually shift blame to other people and tend to carry long grudges.

Schizoid: Moderate

People with schizoid personality disorder avoid relationships and do not show much emotion. Unlike avoidants, schizoids genuinely prefer to be alone and do not secretly wish for popularity. They tend to seek jobs that require little social contact. Their social skills are often weak and they do not show a need for attention or acceptance. They are perceived by others as humorless and distant and often are termed "loners."

Schizotypal: High

Many believe that schizotypal personality disorder represents mild schizophrenia. The disorder is characterized by odd forms of thinking and perceiving, and individuals with this disorder often seek isolation from others. They sometimes believe to have extra sensory ability or that unrelated events relate to them in some important way. They generally engage in eccentric behavior and have difficulty concentrating for long periods of time. Their speech is often over elaborate and difficult to follow.

Antisocial: Low

A common misconception is that antisocial personality disorder refers to people who have poor social skills. The opposite is often the case. Instead, antisocial personality disorder is characterized by a lack of conscience. People with this disorder are prone to criminal behavior, believing that their victims are weak and deserving of being taken advantage of. Antisocials tend to lie and steal. Often, they are careless with money and take action without thinking about consequences. They are often agressive and are much more concerned with their own needs than the needs of others.

Borderline: Low

Borderline personality disorder is characterized by mood instability and poor self-image. People with this disorder are prone to constant mood swings and bouts of anger. Often, they will take their anger out on themselves, causing injury to their own body. Suicidal threats and actions are not uncommon. Borderlines think in very black and white terms and often form intense, conflict-ridden relationships. They are quick to anger when their expectations are not met.

Histrionic: High

People with histrionic personality disorder are constant attention seekers. They need to be the center of attention all the time, often interrupting others in order to dominate the conversation. They use grandiose language to discribe everyday events and seek constant praise. They may dress provacatively or exaggerate illnesses in order to gain attention. Histrionics also tend to exaggerate friendships and relationships, believing that everyone loves them. They are often manipulative.

Narcissistic: High

Narcissistic personality disorder is characterized by self-centeredness. Like histrionic disorder, people with this disorder seek attention and praise. They exaggerate their achievements, expecting others to recongize them as being superior. They tend to be choosy about picking friends, since they believe that not just anyone is worthy of being their friend. Narcissists tend to make good first impressions, yet have difficulty maintaining long-lasting relationships. They are generally uninterested in the feelings of others and may take advantage of them

Avoidant: Moderate

Avoidant personality disorder is characterized by extreme social anxiety. People with this disorder often feel inadequate, avoid social situations, and seek out jobs with little contact with others. Avoidants are fearful of being rejected and worry about embarassing themselves in front of others. They exaggerate the potential difficulties of new situations to rationalize avoiding them. Often, they will create fantasy worlds to substitute for the real one. Unlike schizoid personality disorder, avoidants yearn for social relations yet feel they are unable to obtain them. They are frequently depressed and have low self-confidence.

Dependent: High

Dependent personality disorder is characterized by a need to be taken care of. People with this disorder tend to cling to people and fear losing them. They may become suicidal when a break-up is imminent. They tend to let others make important decisions for them and often jump from relationship to relationship. Dependents often remain in abusive relationships. Over-sensitivity to disapproval is common. Dependents often feel helpless and depressed.

Obsessive-Compulsive: High

While Obsessive-Compulsive personality disorder (OCDP) sounds similar in name to obsessive-compulsive anxiety disorder, the two are markedly different disorders. People with obsessive-compulsive personality disorder are overly focused on orderliness and perfection. Their need to do everything "right" often interferes with their productivity. They tend to get caught up in the details and miss the bigger picture. They set unreasonably high standards for themselves and others, and tend to be very critical of others when they do not live up to these high standards. They avoid working in teams, believing others to be too careless or incompetent. They avoid making decisions because they fear making mistakes and are rarely generous with their time or money. They often have difficulty expressing emotion.

And to think I always imagined myself to be a complete AntiSocial…..

Seriously though I think the fact that I took the test and am spending time writing about it should in itself constitute some personality disorder

When a feeling is so deep in you, everything time you try to write about it and what it means to you, you have this huge influx of ideas of what you want to write about that ultimately you end up writing nothing at all.

 

Ever since I started proper blogging ( that’s about a little more than year ago), I have sat down umpteen times to try and write what the Blues mean to me. And all those times I would think of a 100 different things to write about and get confused where to start and ultimately end up postponing it. But enough is enough. Today I am going to write. It may be disoriented and without structure but at least it will be from my heart. So here goes…..

 

Why Everton?

 

Hmm….I guess this would be the first question to answer. I mean even when I was in Southampton, everyone that I told I was an evertonian were pleasantly (not one drunk Guy though who abused me for having stolen James Beattie) surprised. I mean, how does an Indian living in India (note the difference), leave love, but even come to know about the media unfriendly Everton. Back in India where only 4-5 teams are there England, it only gets harder for people to understand. Maybe I could come up with a lot of false but heroic/sentimental answers to this but the truth, as often, is stranger and un-romantic that fiction. The reason why I noticed Everton was, today most Evertonian’s no 1 enemy: Rooney(From FM). But here I can safely say that he only ignited the spark, for the fire to sustain there were a lot of other things that “fit” in place. In simple words

 

 

Rooney got Everton into my mind, destiny got Everton into my heart.

 

During my, now, 5-6 year courtship with the blues, I have has a rollercoaster ride of emotions (that’s something the glory hunters can’t have eh? ;)) from the highs of finishing above the RedShite (For the Uninitiated RS=RedShite=LiverPool FC) and lows of 5-1 defeat by an obscure team from Romania. But personally the day that I will never forget ever in my life is the day I visited the cradle of MY dreams, Goodison Park, I think this is appropriately the first thing I should write about regarding my Love.

 

Anyway after selecting the match, the rest was to beg someone to get me the match tickets and bus tickets over the net since I didn’t have a UK credit card. Again fate showed her benevolent face by giving me a understanding and good friend as a roommate, Laura ,who helped me book both.

 

I was to catch a bus on the preceding Saturday from Southampton to London and then catch a bus from there to Liverpool. I took some tips off my friends from the Bluekipper forum and boarded the bus.

 

Anyway after my morning ablutions which did not include water touching too much of my body, I stated on the Quest to find the Promised Land, Well not before I lost a pound to get a Map Vending machine to give me a souvenir and pathfinder. In hindsight that was a good thing else this pilgrimage would not have been as complete as it is now. There were not much people on the road but I found a person who seemed a bit drunk, I asked him about Goodison Park. No Response. I asked him about the Toffees. No response. I asked “Everton?” He vaguely pointed his finger in a particular direction. With no other option, I put on my shoulder-bag and started walking.

 

Here I was, out in the cold, in a strange city in a strange land, without proper protection against the weather trying to reach a place, whose location I had no clue about. But there was a strange feeling inside me that was giving me a bit of hope and I started to move in the direction again. I soon reached a police station. I remember trying to memorize the name of the police station in case I got lost I think its St something. But as I started walking further, my first signs came. I saw a map sign with Everton written on it. I think it was referring to some other location, but it meant at least I was in the right direction and from a hope point of view it meant a lot at that time.So I continued walking. I walked for about 1 hour and finally found a person who gave me clear instructions.I followed them and reached Country Road(?).

 

St Mary’s being the only stadium I had seen before I have to be honest in saying that I was a disappointed that the stadium that I could call my own was crowded on all sides by houses. I guess that’s all the issue with redevelopment? I am not one to comment on that. But I would not mind a Shiny new stadium….as long as the History is not ripped apart from it.

 

I was lost in front of the statue of Dixie and standing there, I felt a 100 years of history ooze thru my body. It’s a feeling which I can only feel not write down (a reoccurring theme that day). The Mega-store had not opened and I was pretty much without any place to rest. So I went inside the Stanley Park Lake and killed some time enjoying the views of the Club and the lake.

 

Anyway, at the advice of one of the friendly attendants I stood near the place of entry of the players and was able to shake hands/ get autographs for a lot of players. The only players I did not get of were of Anichibe, who seemed to be busy with the phone and of James Vaughan who just ran in. One regret I have is of not being able to take a photo of me with one of the players, since I was alone and with a huge bag :P. and by the way AJ’s car is KOOOL

 

I struggled a lot in the loo with frozen fingers and the zip :). But some how it happened and I reached there before the match started. I had my first ever match day (I have the song on my mobile) Z-CARS and it made sense why the people on the BlueKipper forum (and most Evertonians are so passionate about it) I soon picked up on

 

It’s a grand old team to play for,
It’s a grand old team to support,
And if yer know your history,
It’s enough to make your heart go wooooooow

 

We don’t care what the red shite say,
what the fuck do we care?
Cos we only know that there’s gonna be a show,
And the Everton boys will be there…

 

Taking about the match, I was too drunk with the sense of the occasion, to notice much regarding the match. But some things that were not missed were :-

• AJ and Vaughen form a BUSY partnership. I mean I don’t think the arsenal defence got a moments rest. I hope they gell even better this season
• Vaughen’s pretty good in the AIR…something I didn’t know till then
• Howard seemed like a pillar
• Fernandes OOOOzzezz classs!

Ironically even though I remember everything else I remember very less about the things that happened in the actual match. Partly due to fact that I was still pinching myself to see it I am awake and part due to what a certain person did in the 91st Minute.

 

Up until then the words that were going thru my mind were of what my RS mate told me. “You will take all this trouble and reach there and your team will get battered by Arsenal and you will come off worse”. Even though I would have had no regrets about coming even if we lost, I badly wanted at least a draw……….

 

But when “it” happened in the 91st minute!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. The Atmosphere was tremendous. A goal like that against Arsenal at the 91st minute, The voices of nearly 40,000 fanatic fans willed with ecstasy singing for their one and only team! I could never have even dreamed of it. I shouted till I lost my voice. It was like god had chosen the theater and the actors to a script I myself would have loved to write.

 

If I was in a trance till them, then I reached a much higher state by that. After the match I just sat there savoring the moment. Everton may not have won any trophies since I have started supporting them (my heart tells me that will change pretty soon) , but even a CL (ok lets not go there but still ;)) could not have given me the joy that I got at my first (and possibly only match for a long while) match. It was particularly cold that day and there was hail/snow towards the end which I was seeing for the first time in my life (so many first that day). (Myself coming from the tropical place of Kerala/Bangalore). My ideas to enter a pub and try to meet up with some blues were seriously affected since I had to catch local bus reach the bus station soon.

 

Yes I had to spend more that my one month’s salary for the trip and Yes I spent around 4 hours in the snow (having never seen snow before) at a London Bus Stand waiting for Southampton bus, but for all the numbness I was feeling outside…a much warmer glow that gleams even today, one that will be there till my last breath, had been lighted and was keeping me warm

 

There are moments that you choose things by that gut feeling. And there are moments that you feel that the gut feeling was right. This day will forever me a day-long latter “moment” for me.

 

Everton Forever.

If you go to any public forums on the net like Orkut communities, Yahoo answers etc one of the common debates that you find is the atheist vs theist. Here is something that I found common in a lot of those discussions… (This is actually taken from one such debate in yahoo answers)

When the atheist says, "I am an atheist," the unspoken corollary is, ‘If you’re NOT also an atheist, then you are deluded, gullible, or a liar."

When the theist says, "I believe in (whatever)," it logically follows that, "I’m morally superior to you if you DON’T also believe; and you DESERVE to be infinitely punished for daring to disagree with me."

I am not going to oversimplify and generalize this comment to everyone in the above-said categories, one reason being that I am inthe latter but do not confrom to the statement, but I have seen a lot of them have this kind of arrogance attached to their statement

My question to them is that, what’s wrong with believing in what you believe and let others believe in what they believe? Whatever is said in the different religion, ultimately the common theme in most of them, as I understand, is that god is a source of strength for everyone, a marker of sorts to the "current" defined standards of morality and ultimately a source of meaning in life for those who search it. And most of the atheist’s, I know are "strong" people and also have a strong sense of morality within the society. Even if anyone deviates from this path there is still the law of our society which defines a minimum set of standards.

If people are able to find meaning in their life in what ever way they do….why is it necessary to fight with each other? Can’t we accept that there can be "multiple" right paths and if that’s too hard to digest cant the people just let the other people be, as long as the laws of the society are undisturbed?

And for people questioning the "origin" of these laws, Aren’t we at a good equilibrium to have laws that are flexible to most religions that exist today? I know its an uneasy equilibrium but not one that cannot be refined right?