Reconfigurable architecture is a computer architecture combining some of the flexibility of software with the high performance of hardware. It has configurable fabric that performs a specific data-dominated task, such as image processing or pattern matching, quickly as a dedicated piece of hardware. Once the task has been executed, the hardware can be adjusted to do some other task. This allows the reconfigurable architecture to provide the flexibility of software with the speed of hardware.

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... s chapter discusses two major streams of reconfigurable architecture: Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) and Coarse Grained Reconfigurable Architecture (CGRA). It gives a brief explanation of the merits and usage of reconfigurable architecture and explains basic FPGA and CGRA architectures. It also explains techniques for mapping applications onto FPGAs and CGRAs. Acronyms ALAP As Late As Possible ALM Adaptive Logic Module ALU Arithmetic-Logic Unit ASAP As Soon as Possible ASIC