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4.2 Synchronous dataflow (SDF)

The SDF domain in Ptolemy is the oldest, most mature domain. Much of its basic capability was ported from Gabriel, the predecessor system [Bie90][Lee89], although it has been extended considerably. SDF is a special case of the dataflow model of computation developed by Dennis [Den75]. The specialization of the model of computation is to those dataflow graphs where the flow of control is completely predictable at compile time. It is a good match for synchronous signal processing systems, those with sample rates that are rational multiples of one another.

The SDF domain is suitable for fixed and adaptive digital filtering, in the time or frequency domains. It naturally supports multirate applications, and its rich star library includes polyphase real and complex FIR filters. Applications with examples in the demo library include speech coding, sample-rate conversion, analysis-synthesis filter banks, modems, phase-locked loops, channel simulation, linear prediction, chaos, filter design, Kalman filtering, phased array beamforming, spectral estimation, sound synthesis, image processing, and video coding. The SDF domain has been used for a number of years at Berkeley for instruction in signal processing, at both the graduate and undergraduate level. The exercises that are assigned to the students are included in the SDF chapter.



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