Device and method for performing high-speed low overhead context switch
US6553487B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jan 7, 2000 |
| Grant date | Apr 22, 2003 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 7, 2020 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F9/462
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A device and method for performing high speed low overhead context switch, and especially in processors that handle multilevel nested tasks. The device handles forward requests and backward requests. The device is coupled to a central processing unit and has plurality of register files and a direct memory access mechanism that allows a processor to respond to a forward request by starting to handle a higher priority task using a first register file while transferring the halted task context from the second register file to a context save area within a memory module. The processor responds to a backward request by using the context that is stored in a first register file, while transferring to the second register file a lower priority task context.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.