A metaheuristic based on the tabu search for hardware-software partitioning

Several metaheuristics have become increasingly interesting in solving combinatorial problems. In this paper, we present an algorithm involving a metaheuristic based on tabu search and binary search trees to address the problem of hardware-software partitioning. Metaheuristics do not guarantee an optimum solution, but they can produce acceptable solutions in a reasonable time. Our proposed algorithm seeks to find the efficient hardware-software partitioning that minimizes the logic area of a system on a programmable chip under the condition of time constraints. Our goal is to have a better trade-off between the logic area of the application and its execution time. Finally, we compare our algorithm to some metaheuristic-based algorithms.