Software-based speculative pre-computation and multithreading

US6928645B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• Intel Corporation · US

Inventors

• Hong Wang · Santa Clara, US
• Jamison D. Collins · San Jose, US
• John Shen · Tainan, TW
• Bryan Black · Austin, US
• Perry Wang · San Jose, US
• Edward T. Grochowski · San Jose, US
• Ralph M. King · Sunnyvale, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Mar 30, 2001
• Grant date: Aug 9, 2005
• Expiry date: Jun 11, 2023

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G06F9/3842
• WIPO field: Computer technology
• WIPO sector: Electrical engineering

Abstract

Speculative pre-computation and multithreading (SP), allows a processor to use spare hardware contexts to spawn speculative threads to very effectively pre-fetch data well in advance of the main thread. The burden of spawning threads may fall on the main thread via basic triggers. The speculative threads may also spawn other speculative threads via chaining triggers.