Event counter
US6542985B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 23, 1999 |
| Grant date | Apr 1, 2003 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Sep 23, 2019 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F11/3466
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A data processor is disclosed that executes a number of microcode instruction words. Each of the microcode instruction words has a bit field reserved to indicate which, if any, event counters are to be incremented. This enables the number of executions of a particular microcode instruction word to be counted. By simply changing the microcode bits in the bit fields of the microcode instruction words, the event counter can be programmed to count any number or pattern of microcode instruction word executions. In one embodiment, there is a one-to-one correspondence between each bit in the bit field and each event counter. In another system, the bits in the bit field are decoded to provide an address that selects selected event counters.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.