Modular Hardware Design with Timeline Types

Explore a groundbreaking approach to modular hardware design in this 20-minute video presentation from PLDI 2023. Delve into the concept of timeline types, a novel method for specifying and enforcing timing and structural constraints in statically scheduled pipelines. Learn how researchers from Cornell University developed Filament, a language that addresses key challenges in large-scale hardware module reuse. Discover how Filament enables safe composition of hardware modules, ensures correct pipelining, and efficiently translates designs into hardware. Gain insights into the importance of encoding timing and structural constraints in hardware interfaces, and understand how this approach can revolutionize modular hardware design. The presentation includes discussions on the limitations of existing hardware design languages and demonstrates how Filament overcomes these challenges to support more effective and reusable hardware development.