Mechanism for performing data references to storage in parallel with instruction execution on a reduced instruction-set processor
US4734852A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Aug 30, 1985 |
| Grant date | Mar 29, 1988 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Aug 30, 2005 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F9/3834
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A simple architecture to implement a mechanism for performing data references to storage in parallel with instruction execution. The architecture is particularly suited to reduced instruction-set computers (RISCs) and employs a channel address register to store the main memory load or store address, a channel data register which temporarily stores the data from a store operation and, a channel control register which contains control information including the number of the register loaded within the file, in the case of a load operation. This number is used to detect instruction dependency of the data to be loaded. Logic circuitry suspends further instruction processing if the data required from a load is not yet available. A data-in register is used to store load data until an instruction execution cycle is available for writing it back to the register file. Logic circuitry detects storage of data prior to its writing back, so as to effectively replace the register file location. During page faults, the contents of the channel address, channel data, and channel control registers are saved to permit page fault recovery.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.