Sean McCloud, a director at Mentor Graphics, reports that by the end of 2009 the number of companies using C++ synthesis for production will exceed 33%. In 2008, that figure was about 14%. The statistics were collected through an anonymous survey of 800 engineers. The survey was sponsored by Mentor Graphics.
The three reasons engineers choose C++ synthesis are: a) it’s easier to verify (68% of respondents); b) RTL is produced faster (64%); c) fewer people are needed, which is very relevant in a crisis.
And here’s some interesting statistics on the market size for high-level synthesis products and related services. These figures were collected by analyst Gary Smith and published in the July issue of “IEEE Design and Test of Computers.”
The chart is very interesting. Smith reports that in the ’90s users developed an interest in high-level synthesis, but the tools were far from being suitable for production. Because of that, trust in them was lost. In recent years, though, there has been a renewed flourishing of new-generation high-level synthesis programs. I know that many people are skeptical of C++ and SystemC as system description languages. We’ll see in a few years how it really turns out.
And acquaintances also tell me that all these numbers are marketing bullshit meant to lure in users, like, “look, half the market has already bought C++ synthesis, so come on, you buy it too”!