A An n O Ob bj je ec ct t O Or ri ie en nt te ed d P Pr ro og gr ra am mm mi in ng g A Ap pp pr ro oa ac ch h f fo or r H Ha ar rd dw wa ar re e D De es si ig gn n

An object oriented programming approach for the design of complex systems in hardware is presented. The paper describes how the usage of object oriented techniques resolves some major obstacles for system- on-chip design. The design of a 10 Mbit/s upstream cable modem is used as a driving example.