Morphware and Configware

Abstract

This chapter introduces morphware as the basis of a second machine paradigm, which mainly has been introduced by the discipline of embedded system design targeting the System on Chip (SoC). But more recently SoC design is adopting more and more computer science mentality and also needs the services of CS professionals. Computing Sciences are going to include the morphware paradigm in its intellectual infrastructure. The time has come to bridge the traditional hardware software chasm. A dichotomy of two machine paradigms is the road map to upgrade CS curricula by evolution, rather than by revolution. This chapter mainly introduces morphware platforms as well as their models and architectures, whereas chapter 5 of this book deals with their applications and algorithms in reconfigurable computing.