Context switching method and apparatus for use in a vector processing system
US5008812A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 18, 1988 |
| Grant date | Apr 16, 1991 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 18, 2008 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F9/462
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
The invention relates to a method and apparatus to minimize the time a data processing system spends on saving and restoring vector processor state data during a context switch. A context switch occurs when execution of an old process is suspended and execution of a current process is begun. The vector state data associated with the old process remains in the vector processor until the current process attempts to execute a vector instruction. When this occurs, the vector state data associated with the old process is saved and vector state data associated with the current process is restored, if the old process is not the same as the current process. If the old process is the same as the current process, there is no need to save and restore any vector state data.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.