Structure, Placement And Modelling
Read PDF →Segal, 1981
Category: VLSI CAD
Overall Rating
Score Breakdown
- Cross Disciplinary Applicability: 3/10
- Latent Novelty Potential: 2/10
- Obscurity Advantage: 1/5
- Technical Timeliness: 2/10
Synthesized Summary
While the concept of structured composition and simulation is relevant, SPAM's specific technical implementation (rigid abutment rules, primitive custom simulation engine, platform dependency) is outdated and lacks the flexibility and power of modern EDA tools.
Modern frameworks and methodologies already provide superior means for modular design, complex simulations, and verification, rendering SPAM's particular approach obsolete for practical application today.
Optimist's View
SPAM's specific approach to composition solely through abutment of strictly defined interfaces, the explicit separation of structural and physical layout from behavioral modeling ('separated hierarchy'), and the signal-driven 'NEXT' instruction for simulating sequential, microcode-like behavior offer overlooked potential.
Specifically, these principles could fuel modern, unconventional research in structured AI architecture design.
This could force a disciplined approach to modularity, facilitate formal verification of data/control flow, and potentially lead to more interpretable or hardware-mappable architectures...
Furthermore, the signal-driven 'NEXT' model could inspire novel ways to manage the sequential control flow or state transitions within complex AI systems...
Skeptic's View
The core tenet of SPAM rests heavily on the "butting blocks" and planar abutment paradigm prevalent in early structured VLSI design...
The strict reliance on abutment for defining significant portions of connectivity proved too rigid for the complexity and heterogeneity of modern chip designs.
SPAM likely faded into obscurity because, even in its time, it represented a somewhat limited and platform-dependent approach amidst rapidly evolving alternatives.
Every function SPAM performed is handled significantly better by modern, highly integrated electronic design automation (EDA) suites.
Final Takeaway / Relevance
Ignore