Patent · US Expired

Method and apparatus for separate mark and wait instructions for processors having multiple memory ports

US5381536A · kind A · utility

51Cited by
14References
8Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateMay 25, 1994
Grant dateJan 10, 1995
Priority date
Expiry dateMay 25, 2014

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG06F9/3834
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

The present invention provides a method and apparatus for handling memory hazards in processors having multiple memory ports wherein the operation of marking of the memory requests that may be related to a memory hazard is separated from the operation of waiting for the memory hazard to clear. The separation of the operation of marking of memory hazards from the operation of waiting for memory hazards to clear allows a compiler to schedule other instructions, as well as other memory operations not directed to the memory location involved in the memory hazard sequence, during the time between the operations of marking and waiting for the memory hazard to clear. The waiting period ends once it is clear that the marked memory requests will execute in the order in which they were issued.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.