Programming tools for reconfigurable computer systems based on VIRTEX-7 FPGAs with using soft-architectures

The paper covers the existing design tools of digital devices in FPGAs, programming languages of reconfigurable computer systems and ability of their use for programming of multichip reconfigurable computer systems. Besides it deals with the high-level programming language COLAMO and the multichip solution development suite for reconfigurable computer systems that are developed in SRI MCS SFU. A particular attention is paid to a new programming approach, which consists in development and use of adjustable special-purpose soft-architectures which help to reduce the number of translations of FPGA bitstream files during debugging of parallel programs on reconfigurable computer systems. Owing to special-purpose soft-architectures it is possible to change communication links between devices and create required computing structures for user applications only by means of program adjustment and without reloading FPGA bitstream files of the computational field. It considerably reduces the debugging time of parallel applications.