Hardware abstraction layer (HAL) configuration for software defined radio (SDR) platforms

A method of producing a modem for a given Software Communications Architecture (SCA) compliant radio having a field programmable gate array (FPGA) and an associated first processor, the method conforming to the modem hardware abstraction layer (MHAL) standard, comprising:

• providing a MHAL software device within a second processor associated with the modem, and configuring the second processor to process data and exchange messages among a waveform software application and the radio;
• providing a core module in the MHAL software device, and configuring the core module to contain a set of software that is common to and compatible with a number of different SCA compliant radios including the given radio, for enabling the radios to use standard MHAL interfaces and services required by the radios;
• providing a custom module in the MHAL software device;
• configuring the custom module to contain only such software that is specific to the FPGA and the first processor associated with the given radio, and, with the common software contained in the core module, to enable the given radio to use the MHAL interfaces and services required by the radio;
• and
• configuring the core module for priority thread banding of messages according to a MHAL logical destination of a given message, by assigning a pool of threads to a specific priority band so that incoming messages to be routed are serviced immediately via a list of available threads.