Method and apparatus for memory prefetch operation of volatile non-coherent data
US6128703A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 5, 1997 |
| Grant date | Oct 3, 2000 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Sep 5, 2017 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F2212/6028
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
An apparatus and method for prefetching data into a cache memory system is provided. A prefetch instruction includes a hint type that allows a programmer to designate whether, during a data retrieval operation, a hit in the cache is to be ignored or accepted. If accepted, the prefetch operation completes. If ignored, the prefetch operation retrieves data from the main memory, even though the cache believes it contains valid data at the requested memory location. Use of this invention in a multiple bus master processing environment provides the advantages of using a cache memory, i.e., burst reads and a relatively large storage space as compared to a register file, without incurring disadvantages associated with maintaining data coherency between the cache and main memory systems.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.