Frequently Asked Questions about POLIS 1. Obtaining software and help 1.1. What is POLIS ? Read http://www-cad.eecs.berkeley.edu/~polis/ (or, if you have problems, send us e-mail at polis-questions@ic.eecs.berkeley.edu) 1.2. How do I obtain: - POLIS ? from http://www-cad.eecs.berkeley.edu/~polis/ - ESTEREL ? from http://www.inria.fr/meije/esterel/ - PTOLEMY ? from http://ptolemy.eecs.berkeley.edu/ (get the full distribution: ptrim is not enough) - VIS ? from http://www-cad.eecs.berkeley.edu/~vis/ 1.3. What to do if I have problems downloading or finding the software ? Send e-mail to polis-questions@ic.eecs.berkeley.edu 1.4. How much space do I need ? A full installation of POLIS requires 20-50 Mbytes for executables and libraries. Source code requires another 20 Mbytes. PTOLEMY requires approximately 350 Mbytes (but it can be trimmed down considerably). 1.5. Can I use POLIS for a "real", industrial example ? POLIS is experimental software. Although it has been tested on several industrial-size examples, it may not be suitable for your specific application domain. We encourage you to contact us in advance, at polis-questions@ic.eecs.berkeley.edu, for suggestions and general assistance. 1.6. How do I learn how to use POLIS ? First, read the User's Manual. If that is not enough: - In Europe, there are semi-regular classes, sponsored by the Europractice EU programme. Check http://cie.it.dtu.dk:8080/tbps/ under Design Methodology->System Design (or send us e-mail). - Elsewhere, nothing regular is scheduled yet (send us e-mail). 1.7. What are the ultimate sources of information about POLIS ? - The book: "Hardware-Software Co-Design of Embedded Systems, The POLIS approach", Kluwer Academic Publishers (http://www.wkap.nl/book.htm/0-7923-9936-6) - Several papers and the User's Manual, available from http://www-cad.eecs.berkeley.edu/~polis/ - We, at polis-questions@ic.eecs.berkeley.edu - The source code... 2. Common problems 2.1. I have found a bug. First, check the distribution site to verify if your version is up-to-date. If it is, send e-mail to polis-bugs@ic.eecs.berkeley.edu. Be sure to include: - the version of POLIS, operating system and C compiler you use - a detailed description of the problem (e.g. terminal session log) - a compressed tar file with sufficient part of your design directory (after "make clean") to reproduce the problem. We will reply as soon as possible, and try to fix the bug. 2.2. I am executing strl2shift, and program e2s or s2s or a2n core dumps. We are no longer supporting e2s. Now you MUST obtain the official ESTEREL compiler from CMA (see 1.1. above). 2.3. I am executing a PTOLEMY simulation, and nothing happens. One of several things may have happened: - You may have forgotten to set the "target" of a non-top-level galaxy (command T) to "" ("default-DE" must be used only for the top-level galaxy). Use the T command to change it. - You may be running too many tasks in software for the chosen processor power, and as a result the simulator is just logging missed deadlines. Set the implementation of most blocks to HW. 2.4. I am executing a PTOLEMY simulation and get the following error message: 1. "Unable to load ptk startup file: : can't read "env(PWD)": no such element in array" You should run polis_pigi instead of simple pigi 2. "Event from this porthole is in the past" One possible fix for this mysterious bug is to edit $POLIS/polis_lib/os/uC_types.h and replace typedef short int int16bit; with typedef int int16bit; which is incorrect (at least on most workstation OSs), but generally fixes the problem. 2.5. I am running make but get some "don't know how to make..." messages - Try gnu make or gmake. 2.6. I am running Linux or Solaris and the Ptolemy simulation does not work. - Get the README.LINUX or README.SOL2 file from the POLIS ftp directory and follow the instructions. 2.7. I am running SunOS and the Ptolemy simulation does not work. - Get the README.SUN4 file from the POLIS ftp directory and follow the instructions. 2.8 I ran into a problem when executing ptl2shift, I am prompted with: > Cannot expand '~myloginname' - You should change the directories stored in the oct database of your design. It is not difficult, but somewhat tedious; there is a program in the ptolemy distribution called masters, which lets you do exactly that. The command line is: % masters facetname where facetname is the name of any universe or galaxy in your design; when it asks for the pathname to replace, type ? to get a complete listing, and then figure out what to replace to make it work. Here's an example: I have a design which is called 'design1' with subgalaxies 'sub1' and 'sub2'. It is located in ~myloginname/polis_designs. To change the dir names in the facets I should do: % cd ~myloginname/polis_designs/design1/ptolemy % masters test_design1 Running masters on test_design1 Pathname to replace (? for a listing): ? Pathname currently found in the facet (minus connectors and delays): ~myloginname/polis_designs/design1/ptolemy/design1 Pathname to replace (? for help): ~myloginname/polis_designs/design1/ptolemy New pathname: . <--- this is the current directory! Replacing pathnames in test_designs: masters: 1 substitutions. % masters design1 Do the same as for test_design. There should be the two galaxies sub1 and sub2 % masters sub1 Do the same here. There should be the some of the stars of your design. % masters sub2 Again same here. - Now you're done. Since you have replaced the pathnames with . ptl2shift does not complain anymore. You have also the added advantage that since your facets do not refer to your username anymore, and the new pathname is not absolute, you can safely copy them in other places, move on other filesystems and so on. You may also want to update user.pal as well. 2.9 strl2shift complains with the following message: ... syntax error in ... at line ... tasks: 0 ^ The syntax of the OC intermediate file from the Esterel compiler changed recently. If you have a binary version, please, download oc2shift.gz and RELNOTES from the ftp site, and follow the indications in the latter. If you have a source version, please download oc2shift.tar.gz and follow RELNOTES as well.