System for frame-based protocol, graphical capture, synthesis, analysis, and simulation

A method for inputting a protocol specification, comprising the steps, performed by a data processing system of:

• displaying a frame editor window of a graphical user interface on a display screen;
• receiving an indication from a user that a new frame is to be specified;
• displaying an empty new frame on the display screen;
• allowing the user to enter frames within the new frame via the graphical user interface in a language with applicative semantics for specifying control flow and procedural semantics for specifying data flow;
• allowing the user to cut and paste existing frames via the graphical user interface;
• and
• storing the entered frames and the cut and pasted frames in a frame definition data base.

An apparatus for synthesizing an electrical circuit, comprising:

• a memory;
• a graphical user interface, receiving user input defining a protocol and displaying the user input as frames on a display screen and further storing the user input as a frame definition data base stored in the memory, wherein the user input is received in a language with applicative semantics for specifying control flow and procedural semantics for specifying data flow;
• a virtual circuit generator receiving the frame definition data base and generating a first virtual circuit representation stored in the memory;
• a state transition graph generator, receiving the first virtual circuit representation and generating a state transition graph stored in the memory;
• a state transition graph to virtual circuit converter, receiving the state transition graph and generating a second virtual circuit;
• and
• an HDL generator, for receiving a one of the first virtual circuit representation, second virtual circuit representation or state transition graph, and generating an HDL representation of the circuit to be synthesized.