This thesis is an attempt to create a HyperCard-based learning environment to teach DIADES and other related material. It is a departure from the classical Computer Aided Instruction methods towards a more flexible and user-controlled design. The goal was to set the foundation of a new CAI design which would closely resemble a Hyper- Text system. These systems are characterized as having interconnections between related concepts in the CAI environment.

This thesis is one of the first to introduce a systematic and general Source Language Analysis System (called SLA) for a high -level synthesis system.

This thesis presents the work done on a design automation system in which high-level synthesis is integrated with logic synthesis. DIADESfa design automation system developed at PSU, starts the synthesis process from a language called ADL. The major part of this thesis deals with transforming the ADL -based DIADES system into a VHDL -based DIADES system. In this thesis I have upgraded and modified the existing DIADES system so that it becomes a preprocessor to a comprehensive VHDL -based design system from Mentor Graphics. The high-level synthesis in the DIADES system includes two stages: data path synthesis and control unit synthesis. The conversion of data path synthesis is done in this thesis. In the DIADES system a digital system is described on the behavioral level in terms of variables and operations using the language ADL. The digital system described in ADL is compiled to a format called GRAPH language. In the GRAPH language the behavior of a digital system is represented by a specific sequence of program statements. The descriptions in the GRAPH language is compiled to a format called STRU CT language. The system is described in the STRU CT language in terms of lists of nodes and arrows. The main task of this thesis is to convert the descriptions in the GRAPH language and the descriptions in the STRUCT language to the VHDL format. All the generated VHDL Code will be Mentor Graphics VHDL format compatible, and all the VHDL code can be compiled, simulated and synthesised by the Mentor Graphics tools.