Understanding RISC-V architecture: A detailed guide to the open-source ISA revolution- P3

Continued from Understanding RISC-V architecture: A detailed guide to the open-source ISA revolution- P2

Design Decision Framework

Application Requirements Analysis

Map your application domain to RISC-V capabilities. For embedded real-time systems, prioritize low-latency interrupts, minimal instruction count, and compressed instructions. For AI/ML or DSP workloads, emphasize vector or bit-manipulation extensions and wide data paths. For general-purpose or Linux-capable cores, ensure support for virtual memory, atomic operations, and standard floating-point.

Extension Selection Process

Use the base + extension model to tailor the ISA:
 – Start with RV32I or RV64I as the frozen base.
 – Add M (multiply/divide) and A (atomics) for basic compute and multi-threading.
 – Include F (single-...