Method for analyzing the performance of a microprocessor
US5886899A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Jan 26, 1996 |
| Grant date | Mar 23, 1999 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 26, 2016 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F11/3457
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A method for analyzing the performance of a logic circuit driven by a clock signal, such as a microprocessor, identifies a number of operations of interest in a logic circuit and represents the presence of each of such operations by a different symbol. One or more of these symbols are output for perusal at the end of each clock period of operation. In one embodiment, this method is applied to a register transfer level (RTL) simulation of an execution unit of a microprocessor. In that embodiment, the execution sequence of multiple instructions executing simultaneously in the execution unit was analyzed. Because each output symbol represents a summary of a large number of activities that occur in a single clock period of operation or simulation of a complex logic circuit, these symbols can be tabulated in a format that allows a designer of the complex logic circuit to easily spot an unexpected pattern of operation, or an error condition.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.