Abstract: An automated design system for VLIW processors explores a parameterized design space to assist in identifying candidate processor designs that satisfy desired design constraints, such as processor cost and performance. A VLIW synthesis process takes as input a specification of processor parameters and synthesizes a datapath specification, an instruction format design, and a control path specification. The synthesis process also extracts a machine description suitable to re-target a compiler. The re-targeted compiler generates operation issue statistics for an application program or set of programs. Using these statistics, a procedure for searching the design space can extract internal resources utilization information that is used to determine new candidate processors for evaluation.