HardwareSoftware Interaction: Preliminary Observations

1
Hardware-Software InteractionPreliminary
Observations
Neil Steiner and Peter Athanas12th
Reconfigurable Architectures Workshop (RAW
2005)Denver, ColoradoApril 4, 2005
2
Animation
Conceptual Interpretation
http//www.ccm.ece.vt.edu/hsi/documents/hardware-s
oftware-interaction.mov
3
Foreword
Introduction Motivation

• Software viewed as a form of information
• Information viewed as non-physical
• Discussion not restricted to digital computing
• Not about co-design (fundamentals, not just
  complexity)

4
Background
Introduction Motivation

• Progression from computational aids to
  calculators, to programmable machines, to
  configurable machines
• Lines between hardware and software are getting
  blurred both perform functions are they
  interchangeable counterparts?
• Properties or behaviors at hardware-software
  interface could have profound effects
• No evidence of related work in literature
• No recognized experts or definitive references

5
Boundaries
Case Study

• 2-input look-up table

6
Boundaries
Case Study

• 2-input look-up table

7
Boundaries
Case Study

• 2-input look-up table

8
Boundaries
Case Study

• 2-input look-up table

9
Duality
Proposed Hypothesis

• Hardware
• Physical structure, fixed, tangible
• Storage
• Flip-flop, DRAM, capacitor, switch, electron spin
• Connection
• Wire, fiber, RF link, entangled photons
• Logic
• Digital gate, op amp, quantum molecular gate

Information Non-physical structure, flexible,
intangible Software Instructions or data
persistent information Signal Logical
connection Non-persistent information Operation
Process applied to information

10
Information
Observations and Properties

• A Mathematical Theory of Communication
• Claude Shannon, Communications
• Information is Physical
• Rolf Landauer, Thermodynamics
• Information is Protophysical
• Doug Matzke, Quantum Mechanics
• What is Information?
• Andrzej Chmielecki, Philosophy
• Uncertainty or Determinism?
• Physicists, Quantum Mechanics, Quantum Gravity

11
Structure
Observations and Properties
12
Structure
Observations and Properties

• Structure is an ordering of parts, i.e.
  relational information
• Takes building blocks and assembles or connects
  them into larger grouping
• Structure is compressible
• Structure is an information carrier
• Identical structures lead to isomorphisms
• Structure depends upon forces for cohesion
• Must be designed and built requires energy
• Has a measure of fragility or transience

13
Randomness
Contrasts with Structure
14
Randomness
Contrasts with Structure

• Randomness is the absence of structure
• Randomness is not compressible (structured
  arrangement follows rules and can be expressed in
  a more compact form)
• Randomness is robust perturbing it does not
  create structure
• True randomness is difficult to find or prove
  unpredictability isnt necessarily randomness
• Nature removes structure at no cost
• We remove structure at the cost of energy

15
Topology
Logical and Spatial Structure
16
Topology
Logical and Spatial Structure

• Topology as structure of the interface
  structure may be physical or non-physical
• Informational laws as topological constraints
• Software requires a substrate, but that substrate
  need not be hardware consider software
  emulation
• The substrate only has to provide the proper
  topology or structure
• Mismatches result in undesirable behavior
• Robust systems closely matched topologies

17
Boundaries
Interface Properties
18
Boundaries
Interface Properties

• Boundaries discontinuities interfaces
• Boundary conditions can be significant
• Electromagnetics boundaries provide constraints
• Differential equations boundaries specify
  problem
• What boundary properties or behaviors exist at
  hardware-software interface?
• Continuity properties?
• Surface-normal properties?
• Mismatch reflections?
• Work functions?

19
Summary
Comments and Questions
20
Summary
Comments and Questions

• No structure without forces no topology or
  interface or boundaries without structure
• Computation involves an interface between
  physical hardware and non-physical software
• What preserves the interface? Is there some
  force or energy? Something that we can put
  to use? Can we control or influence the
  interface?
• Starting from known edges in hopes of eventually
  reaching area of interest

21
Questions?
Further information available at
http//www.ccm.ece.vt.edu/hsi