Digital System Design

Lecture 12

ASMD

 one important use of a state machine is to control register operations on a

datapath in a sequential machine that has been partitioned into a controller and
datapath

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Algorithmic State Machine and

Datapath (ASMD)
ASMD charts where developed to clarify the information

displayed by ASM charts and to provide an effective tool for

designing a control unit for a given datapath unit.

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Algorithmic State Machine and

Datapath (ASMD)
ASMD charts help clarify the design of the controller , while

maintaining a clear
relationship between the two
units(datapath and controller).
Register operations that occur concurrently with state
transitions are annotated on a path of the chart, rather than in
state boxes or in conditional boxes on the path, because these
registers are not part of the controller.
The outputs generated by the controller are the signals that
control the registers of the datapath and cause the register
operations annotated on the ASMD chart.
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ASMD

ASM Vs.ASMD
An ASMD chart does not list register operations within a

state box.
The edges of an ASMD chart are annotated with register
operations that are concurrent with the state transition
indicated by the edge.
An ASMD chart includes conditional boxes identifying the
signals which control the register operations that annotate
the edges of the chart.

ASMD

Three Step Process for Creating ASMD

1.
2.

3.

Form an ASM chart displaying only how the inputs to the

controller determine its state transition.
Convert the ASM chart to ASMD chart by annotating the edges
of the ASM chart to indicate the concurrent register operations
of the datapath unit.
Modify the ASMD chart to identify the control signals that are
generated by the controller that cause the indicated register
operations in the datapath unit.

The ASMD chart produced by this process clearly and completely

specifies the FSM of the controller and identifies the register
operations of the given datapath
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ASMD

Design Example
Design example 8.5 , Chapter 8 ,Design at the Register
Transfer Level (Moris Mano)
If a register operation is annotated on the edge leaving the state box(in an ASM

block) , the operation occurs unconditionally and will be controlled by Moore

type control signals.
If an operation is annotated on the edge leaving the decision box(in an ASM
block) ,the operation occurs conditionally with the same clock edge and will
be controlled by Mealy type control signals.

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S1

start
1

A=0
E=0
F=0

Clear_A_F_E

S2

A=A+1

Incr_A
E=0

Clear_E

A2
1
E=1

Set_E

ASMD

A3

S3
Set_F

F=1

Best way to learn DSD is to do it!

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