Interface-based hierarchy for synchronous data-flow graphs

Dataflow has proven to be an attractive computation model for programming digital signal processing (DSP) applications. A restricted version of dataflow, termed synchronous dataflow (SDF), offers strong compile-time predictability properties, but has limited expressive power. In this paper we propose a new type of hierarchy in the SDF domain allowing more expressivity while maintaining its predictability. This new hierarchy semantic is based on interfaces that fix the number of tokens consumed/produced by a hierarchical vertex in a manner that is independent or separate from the specified internal dataflow structure of the encapsulated subsystem. This interface-based hierarchy gives the application designer more flexibility in iterative construction of hierarchical representations, and experimentation with different optimization choices at different levels of the design hierarchy.