Intel® High Level Synthesis Compiler Pro Edition: Reference Manual

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Date 12/13/2021
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Document Table of Contents
Document Table of Contents x
1. Intel® HLS Compiler Pro Edition Reference Manual 2. Compiler 3. C Language and Library Support 4. Component Interfaces 5. Component Memories (Memory Attributes) 6. Loops in Components 7. Component Concurrency 8. Arbitrary Precision Math Support 9. Component Target Frequency 10. Systems of Tasks 11. Libraries 12. Advanced Hardware Synthesis Controls 13. Intel® High Level Synthesis Compiler Pro Edition Reference Summary A. Advanced Math Source Code Libraries B. Supported Math Functions C. Cyclone® V Restrictions D. Intel® HLS Compiler Pro Edition Reference Manual Archives E. Document Revision History of the Intel® HLS Compiler Pro Edition Reference Manual
2. Compiler x
2.1. Intel® HLS Compiler Pro Edition Command Options 2.2. Using Libraries in Your Component 2.3. Compiler Interoperability 2.4. Intel® HLS Compiler Hardware Model
2.3. Compiler Interoperability x
2.3.1. Compiling Your Testbench and Component Separately
3. C Language and Library Support x
3.1. Supported C and C++ Subset for Component Synthesis 3.2. C and C++ Libraries 3.3. Templated and Overloaded Functions 3.4. Intel® HLS Compiler Pro Edition Compiler-Defined Preprocessor Macros
3.3. Templated and Overloaded Functions x
3.3.1. Templated Functions 3.3.2. Overloaded Functions 3.3.3. Function Name Mapping
4. Component Interfaces x
4.1. Component Invocation Interface 4.2. Avalon® Streaming Interfaces 4.3. Pipes 4.4. Avalon® Memory-Mapped Host Interfaces 4.5. Agent Interfaces 4.6. Stable Component Parameters 4.7. Global Variables 4.8. Structs in Component Interfaces 4.9. Reset Behavior
4.1. Component Invocation Interface x
4.1.1. Scalar Parameters 4.1.2. Pointer and Reference Parameters 4.1.3. Interface Definition Example: Component Invocation Interface Control Attributes 4.1.4. Interface Definition Example: Component with Both Scalar and Pointer Arguments
4.3. Pipes x
4.3.1. The pipe Class and Its Use
4.4. Avalon® Memory-Mapped Host Interfaces x
4.4.1. Memory-Mapped Host Testbench Constructor 4.4.2. Implicit and Explicit Examples of Describing a Memory Interface 4.4.3. Avalon® Memory-Mapped Host Interfaces and Load-Store Units
4.4.3. Avalon® Memory-Mapped Host Interfaces and Load-Store Units x
4.4.3.1. Load-Store Unit Types 4.4.3.2. Memory-Access Coalescing and Load-Store Units
4.5. Agent Interfaces x
4.5.1. Control and Status Register (CSR) Agent 4.5.2. Agent Memories
5. Component Memories (Memory Attributes) x
5.1. Static Variables
6. Loops in Components x
Loop Pipelining Compiler Pragmas Controlling Loop Pipelining 6.1. Loop Initiation Interval (ii Pragma) 6.2. Loop-Carried Dependencies (ivdep Pragma) 6.3. Loop Coalescing (loop_coalesce Pragma) 6.4. Loop Unrolling (unroll Pragma) 6.5. Loop Concurrency (max_concurrency Pragma) 6.6. Loop Iteration Speculation (speculated_iterations Pragma) 6.7. Loop Pipelining Control (disable_loop_pipelining Pragma) 6.8. Loop Interleaving Control (max_interleaving Pragma) 6.9. Loop Fusion
6.9. Loop Fusion x
6.9.1. Loop Fusion Control (loop_fuse Pragma) 6.9.2. Loop Fusion Exemption (nofusion pragma)
7. Component Concurrency x
7.1. Serial Equivalence within a Memory Space or I/O 7.2. Concurrency Control (hls_max_concurrency Attribute) 7.3. Component Pipelining Control (hls_disable_component_pipelining Attribute)
8. Arbitrary Precision Math Support x
8.1. Declaring ac_int Data Types 8.2. Declaring ac_fixed Data Types 8.3. Declaring ac_complex Data Types 8.4. AC Data Types and Native Compilers 8.5. Declaring hls_float Data Types
8.1. Declaring ac_int Data Types x
8.1.1. Important Usage Information on the ac_int Data Type 8.1.2. Integer Promotion and ac_int Data Types 8.1.3. Debugging Your Use of the ac_int Data Type
8.2. Declaring ac_fixed Data Types x
8.2.1. Arbitrary Precision Fixed-Point Literals in Operations
8.5. Declaring hls_float Data Types x
8.5.1. Operators and Return Types Supported by the hls_float Data Type 8.5.2. Additional Data Types Provided By hls_float.h
9. Component Target Frequency x
9.1. Effects of Specifying Target II and Target fMAX
10. Systems of Tasks x
10.1. Task Functions 10.2. Internal Streams 10.3. System of Tasks Simulation
11. Libraries x
11.1. Static-Object Libraries 11.2. Creating a Static-Object Library 11.3. Creating Objects From HLS Code 11.4. Creating Objects From RTL Code 11.5. Packaging Object Files Into a Library
11.3. Creating Objects From HLS Code x
11.3.1. Creating an Object File From HLS Code 11.3.2. Supported OpenCL* Language Constructs
11.4. Creating Objects From RTL Code x
11.4.1. RTL Modules and the HLS Pipeline 11.4.2. Creating a Static-Object File from an RTL Module
11.4.1. RTL Modules and the HLS Pipeline x
11.4.1.1. Integration of an RTL Module into the HLS Pipeline 11.4.1.2. RTL Module Interfaces 11.4.1.3. RTL Reset and Clock Signals 11.4.1.4. Object Manifest File Syntax 11.4.1.5. Mapping HLS Data Types to RTL Signals 11.4.1.6. HLS Emulation Models for RTL-Based Functions 11.4.1.7. Potential Incompatibility between RTL Modules and Partial Reconfiguration 11.4.1.8. Stall-Free RTL 11.4.1.9. RTL Module Restrictions and Limitations for HLS Libraries
11.4.1.2. RTL Module Interfaces x
11.4.1.2.1. RTL Module Interface Signals
11.4.1.3. RTL Reset and Clock Signals x
11.4.1.3.1. Intel® Agilex™ and Intel® Stratix® 10 Design-Specific Reset Requirements for Stall-Free and Stallable RTL Modules
11.4.1.4. Object Manifest File Syntax x
11.4.1.4.1. XML Elements for ATTRIBUTES 11.4.1.4.2. XML Elements for INTERFACE 11.4.1.4.3. XML Elements for RESOURCES
11.4.1.4.1. XML Elements for ATTRIBUTES x
11.4.1.4.1.1. Interaction Between ALLOW_MERGINGand HAS_SIDE_EFFECTS Elements
12. Advanced Hardware Synthesis Controls x
12.1. Hardware Implementation Control for Math Functions 12.2. The hls_fpga_reg() Function
12.1. Hardware Implementation Control for Math Functions x
12.1.1. Math Function Hardware Implementation Summary 12.1.2. The --dsp-mode Command Option 12.1.3. The ihc::math_dsp_control Function
13. Intel® High Level Synthesis Compiler Pro Edition Reference Summary x
13.1. Intel® HLS Compiler Pro Edition i++ Command-Line Arguments 13.2. Intel® HLS Compiler Pro Edition Header Files 13.3. Intel® HLS Compiler Pro Edition Compiler-Defined Preprocessor Macros 13.4. Intel® HLS Compiler Pro Edition Keywords 13.5. Intel® HLS Compiler Pro Edition Simulation API (Testbench Only) 13.6. Intel® HLS Compiler Pro Edition Component Memory Attributes 13.7. Intel® HLS Compiler Pro Edition Loop Pragmas 13.8. Intel® HLS Compiler Pro Edition Scope Pragmas 13.9. Intel® HLS Compiler Pro Edition Component Attributes 13.10. Intel® HLS Compiler Pro Edition Component Default Interfaces 13.11. Intel® HLS Compiler Pro Edition Component Invocation Interface Control Attributes 13.12. Intel® HLS Compiler Pro Edition Component Macros 13.13. Intel® HLS Compiler Pro Edition Systems of Tasks API 13.14. Intel® HLS Compiler Pro Edition Pipes API 13.15. Intel® HLS Compiler Pro Edition Streaming Input Interfaces 13.16. Intel® HLS Compiler Pro Edition Streaming Output Interfaces 13.17. Intel® HLS Compiler Pro Edition Memory-Mapped Interfaces 13.18. Intel® HLS Compiler Pro Edition Load-Store Unit Control 13.19. Intel® HLS Compiler Pro Edition Arbitrary Precision Data Types
13.13. Intel® HLS Compiler Pro Edition Systems of Tasks API x
13.13.1. ihc::stream Class
A. Advanced Math Source Code Libraries x
A.1. Random Number Generator Library A.2. Matrix Multiplication Library A.3. Cholesky Decomposition Library
B. Supported Math Functions x
B.1. Math Functions Provided by the math.h Header File B.2. Math Functions Provided by the extendedmath.h Header File B.3. Math Functions Provided by the ac_fixed_math.h Header File B.4. Math Functions Provided by the hls_float.h Header File B.5. Math Functions Provided by the hls_float_math.h Header File B.6. Default Rounding Schemes and Subnormal Number Support
1. Intel® HLS Compiler Pro Edition Reference Manual
2. Compiler
3. C Language and Library Support
4. Component Interfaces
5. Component Memories (Memory Attributes)
6. Loops in Components
7. Component Concurrency
8. Arbitrary Precision Math Support
9. Component Target Frequency
10. Systems of Tasks
11. Libraries
12. Advanced Hardware Synthesis Controls
13. Intel® High Level Synthesis Compiler Pro Edition Reference Summary
A. Advanced Math Source Code Libraries
B. Supported Math Functions
C. Cyclone® V Restrictions
D. Intel® HLS Compiler Pro Edition Reference Manual Archives
E. Document Revision History of the Intel® HLS Compiler Pro Edition Reference Manual

6. Loops in Components

The Intel® HLS Compiler Pro Edition attempts to pipeline loops to maximize throughput of the various components that you define.

Loop Pipelining

Pipelining loops enables the Intel® HLS Compiler Pro Edition to execute subsequent iterations of a loop in a pipeline-parallel fashion. Pipeline-parallel execution means that multiple iterations of the loop, at different points in their executions, are executing at the same time. Because all stages of the loop are always active, pipelining loops helps maximize usage of the generated hardware. This loop pipelining is similar to the hardware pipelining described in Intel HLS Compiler Hardware Model.
Figure 11. Pipelined loop with three stages and four iterationsIn this figure, one stage is the logic that runs during one clock cycle.


There are some cases where pipelining is not possible at all. In other cases, a new iteration of the loop cannot start until N cycles after the previous iteration.

The number of cycles for which a loop iteration must wait before it can start is called the initiation interval (II) of the loop. This loop pipelining status is captured in the high level design report (report.html). In general, an II of 1 is desirable.

A common case where II > 1 is when a part of the loop depends in some way on the results of the previous iteration of the same loop. The circuit must wait for these loop-carried dependencies to be resolved before starting a new iteration of the loop. These loop-carried dependencies are indicated in the optimization report.

In the case of nested loops, II > 1 for an outer loop is not considered a significant performance limiter if a critical inner loop carries out the majority of the work. One common performance limiter is if the HLS compiler cannot statically compute the trip count of an inner loop (for example, a variable inner loop trip count). Without a known trip count, the compiler cannot pipeline the outer loop.

For more information about loop pipelining, see Pipeline Loops in Intel® High Level Synthesis Compiler Best Practices Guide.

Compiler Pragmas Controlling Loop Pipelining

The Intel® HLS Compiler has several pragmas that you can specify in your code to control how the compiler pipelines your loops.

Most loop pragmas must immediately precede the loop that the pragma applies to. You cannot have a loop pragma before elements such as labels on loops. The following table shows examples of how to apply loop pragmas correctly.
Incorrect (produces a compile-time error) Correct 
#pragma ivdep
TEST_LOOP: for(int idx = 0; idx < counter; idx++) {...}
 
TEST_LOOP:
#pragma ivdep
for(int idx = 0; idx < counter; idx++) {...}
Table 17.   Intel® HLS Compiler Pro Edition Loop Pragmas Summary
Pragma Description
disable_loop_pipelining Prevents compiler from pipelining a loop,
ii Forces a loop to have a loop initiation interval (II) of a specified value.
ivdep Ignores memory dependencies between iterations of this loop.
loop_coalesce Tries to fuse all loops nested within this loop into a single loop.
loop_fuse Directs the compiler to try and fuse pairs of adjacent loops.
max_concurrency Limits the number of iterations of a loop that can simultaneously execute at any time.
max_interleaving Controls whether iterations of a pipelined inner loop in a loop nest from one invocation of the inner loop can be interleaved in the component data pipeline with iterations from other invocations of the inner loop.
nofusion Prevents the annotated loop from being fused with adjacent loops.
speculated_iterations Specifies the number of clock cycles that a loop exit condition can take to compute.
unroll Unrolls the loop completely or by a number of times.

For a list of tutorials that demonstrate best practices to follow when implementing loops and using the loop pragmas in your component, see Loop Best Practices in Intel® High Level Synthesis Compiler Best Practices Guide.

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