Compiler backends should be automatically generated from hardware design language (HDL) models of the hardware they target. Generating compiler components directly from HDL can provide stronger correctness guarantees, ease development effort, and encourage hardware exploration. Past work has already championed this idea; here we argue that advances in program synthesis make the approach more feasible. We present a concrete example by demonstrating how FPGA technology mappers can be automatically generated from SystemVerilog models of an FPGA's primitives using program synthesis.
Compiler backends should be automatically generated from hardware design language (HDL) models of the hardware they target. Generating compiler components directly from HDL can provide stronger correctness guarantees, ease development effort, and encourage hardware exploration. Past work has already championed this idea; here we argue that advances in program synthesis make the approach more feasible. We present a concrete example by demonstrating how FPGA technology mappers can be automatically generated from SystemVerilog models of an FPGA's primitives using program synthesis.
Telegram and Signal Havens for Right-Wing Extremists
Since the violent storming of Capitol Hill and subsequent ban of former U.S. President Donald Trump from Facebook and Twitter, the removal of Parler from Amazon’s servers, and the de-platforming of incendiary right-wing content, messaging services Telegram and Signal have seen a deluge of new users. In January alone, Telegram reported 90 million new accounts. Its founder, Pavel Durov, described this as “the largest digital migration in human history.” Signal reportedly doubled its user base to 40 million people and became the most downloaded app in 70 countries. The two services rely on encryption to protect the privacy of user communication, which has made them popular with protesters seeking to conceal their identities against repressive governments in places like Belarus, Hong Kong, and Iran. But the same encryption technology has also made them a favored communication tool for criminals and terrorist groups, including al Qaeda and the Islamic State.
The S&P 500 slumped 1.8% on Monday and Tuesday, thanks to China Evergrande, the Chinese property company that looks like it is ready to default on its more-than $300 billion in debt. Cries of the next Lehman Brothers—or maybe the next Silverado?—echoed through the canyons of Wall Street as investors prepared for the worst.
