HDL strategic planning: Early in the design process, establishing speed (clock rate) and performance requirements is a key strategy that drives architecture, pipelining, and timing constraints. Evaluate this practice.

Introduction / Context:
Digital hardware performance depends on achievable clock frequency, latency, and throughput. Defining speed targets early influences microarchitecture decisions such as pipelining depth, resource sharing, and clock-domain planning.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Project must meet timing for a specified f_max.
• Devices have finite routing and logic delays.
• Tool constraints and floorplanning benefit from known targets.

Concept / Approach:
By setting speed requirements, designers select architectures that can meet the critical-path budget. This includes breaking long combinational paths with registers, choosing appropriate IP cores, and applying multi-cycle paths or clock enables where applicable. Timing constraints (SDC/SDC-like) should reflect these decisions from the outset.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Define target clock(s) and throughput/latency goals.Partition logic to control critical-path length.Apply timing constraints and synthesize early to verify feasibility.Iterate architecture or constraints until timing closes.

Verification / Alternative check:
Timing reports (setup/hold) after synthesis/place-route confirm whether the design meets f_max. Adjust pipeline stages or resource mapping if violations occur.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
It is necessary for FPGAs and ASICs alike. Waiting until after coding often forces expensive redesign. Performance planning impacts both simulation and synthesis because timing affects functionality under real clocks.

Common Pitfalls:
Underestimating routing delay; insufficient register stages; mismatched constraints leading to false pass/fail timing.

Final Answer:
Correct