Method for mapping instructions using a set of valid and invalid logical to physical register assignments indicated by bits of a valid vector together with a logical register list
US6405304B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Aug 24, 1998 |
| Grant date | Jun 11, 2002 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Aug 24, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F9/3858
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A technique for managing register assignments. The technique involves maintaining, in a register list memory circuit having entries that respectively correspond to physical registers, a list of register assignments that assign logical registers to the physical registers. The technique further involves maintaining, in a vector memory circuit having bits that respectively correspond to the physical registers, a valid vector that forms, in combination with the list of register assignments, a list of valid register assignments. Furthermore, the technique involves storing, for an instruction that is mapped by the data processor, a copy of the valid vector from the vector memory circuit to a silo memory circuit. Preferably, the processor using the technique has the ability to execute branches of instructions speculatively, and to recover if it is determined that the processor executed down an incorrect instruction branch.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.