Levels of abstraction

1. Transistor:
Signal values and time are continous (analog).
Each transistor is modeled by a resistor-
capacitor network.
2. Switch:
Time is continuous, but voltage may be either
continuous or discrete. Linear equations are
used.
3. Gate:
Transistors are grouped together into gates.
Voltages are discrete values such as 0 and 1.
4. Register transfer level:
Hardware is modeled as assignments to
registers and combinational signals. Basic unit
of time is one clock cycle.

5. Transaction level:
A transaction is an operation such as
transferring data across a bus.
Building blocks are processors, controllers, etc.
implemented in VHDL, SystemC, or
SystemVerilog.
6. Electronic-system level:
Looks at an entire electronic system, with both
hardware and software.
Domains of abstraction
1. Structural domain:
A domain in which a component is described in
terms of an interconnection of more primitive
components.
2. Behavioral domain:
A domain in which a component is described by
defining its input/ output response.
3. Physical/Geometric Domain
It deals with how the system is laid out in the
physical space.
Abstraction hierarchy
Gajski and Kuhns Y Chart