Apparatus and method for superforwarding load operands in a microprocessor
US6442677B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 10, 1999 |
| Grant date | Aug 27, 2002 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 10, 2019 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F9/3826
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
An apparatus and method for superforwarding load operands in a microprocessor are provided. An execution unit in a microprocessor is configured to receive a load instruction and a subsequent instruction. If the load instruction corresponds to a simple load instruction, a destination operand of the load instruction can be superforwarded to a subsequent instruction if the subsequent instruction specifies a source operand that depends on the destination operand of the load instruction. The subsequent instruction is not required to wait until a load instruction executes or completes and can be scheduled and/or executed prior to or at the same time as the load instruction. Consequently, latencies associated with operand dependencies may be reduced.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.