Language and Compiler Design for Streaming Applications

High-performance streaming applications are a new and distinct domain of programs that is increasingly important. The StreamIt language provides novel high-level representations to improve programmer productivity and program robustness within the streaming domain. At the same time, the StreamIt compiler aims to improve the performance of streaming applications via stream-specific analysis and optimizations. In this paper, we motivate, describes and justify the StreamIt language which include a structured model of streams, a messaging system for control, and a natural textual syntax.