Power index computing apparatus, method of computing power index, and computer product

A power index computing apparatus that computes a power index for a circuit having one or more modules, comprising:

• an obtaining unit that obtains estimated power consumption for a module in the circuit;
• a first computing unit that computes entropy based on a transition probability of an output signal of the module during a simulation period, the entropy being indicative of an expected value of a data volume output from the module, and the output signal being output to a destination that is external to the module;
• a second computing unit that computes a power index based on the estimated power consumption and the entropy, the power index concerning power consumption for output of the output signal with respect to the estimated power consumption;
• and
• an output unit that outputs a result of the second computing unit.

A power index computing method of computing a power index for a circuit having one or more modules, comprising:

• obtaining estimated power consumption for a module in the circuit;
• computing entropy based on a transition probability of an output signal of the module during a simulation period, the entropy being indicative of an expected value of a data volume output from the module, and the output signal being output to a destination that is external to the module;
• computing a power index based on the estimated power consumption and the entropy, the power index concerning power consumption for output of the output signal with respect to the estimated power consumption;
• and
• outputting a result of the computing of the power index.

A computer-readable recording medium storing therein a computer program that causes a computer to execute:

• obtaining estimated power consumption for a module in a circuit;
• computing a data volume of an effective data signal that is among the output signals transmitted from the module and is received by a recipient module;
• and
• computing, based on the estimated power consumption and the data volume, a power index concerning power consumption for transmission of the effective data signal with respect to the estimated power consumption;
• and
• outputting a result of the computing of the power index.