Register file indexing methods and apparatus for providing indirect control of register addressing in a VLIW processor
US6446190B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 12, 1999 |
| Grant date | Sep 3, 2002 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 12, 2019 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F9/3853
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A double indirect method of accessing a block of data in a register file is used to allow efficient implementations without the use of specialized vector processing hardware. In addition, the automatic modification of the register addressing is not tied to a single vector instruction nor to repeat or loop instructions. Rather, the technique, termed register file indexing (RFI) allows full programmer flexibilty in control of the block data operational facility and provides the capability to mix non-RFI instructions with RFI instructions. The block-data operation facility is embedded in the iVLIW ManArray architecture allowing its generalized use across the instruction set architecture without specialized vector instructions or being limited in use only with repeat or loop instructions. The use of RFI in a processor containing multiple heterogeneous execution units which operate in parallel, such as VLIW or iVLIW processors, allows for efficient pipelining of algorithms across multiple execution units while minimizing the number of VLIW instructions required.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.