Some Aspects of the Symbolic Manipulation of Computer Descriptions

Traditionally computer descriptive languages have been designed primarily for human communication andor simulation. Due to this narrow range of applications the existing languages have taken on a strong degree of similarity. In this paper the authors present some applications in the realm of automatic design of both hardware and software where a computer description language could serve as the information exchange media between the user and the design automation system. The paper discusses an environment for research on the applications of computer descriptive languages, emphasizing the multiplicity of users and tasks that may coexist at any point in time. Some properties needed in a computer descriptive language are presented. A structured programming approach to hardware design is presented by example.