Automated processor generation system and method for designing a configurable processor

US8161432B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• TENSILICA, INC. · US

Inventors

• Albert Ren-Rui Wang · Fremont, US
• Richard Ruddell · Los Gatos, US
• David William Goodwin · Sunnyvale, US
• Earl A. Killian · Los Altos Hills, US
• Nupur Bhattacharyya · Mountain View, US
• Marines Puig Medina · San Jose, US
• Walter D. Lichtenstein · Belmont, US
• Pavlos Konas · Mountain View, US
• Rangarajan Srinivasan · Los Gatos, US
• Christopher Mark Songer · San Jose, US
• Akilesh Parameswar · San Jose, US
• Dror Maydan · Palo Alto, US
• Ricardo E. Gonzalez · Menlo Park, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Oct 9, 2008
• Grant date: Apr 17, 2012
• Expiry date: Aug 16, 2030

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G06F30/30
• WIPO field: Computer technology
• WIPO sector: Electrical engineering

Abstract

A system for generating processor hardware supports a language for significant extensions to the processor instruction set, where the designer specifies only the semantics of the new instructions and the system generates other logic. The extension language provides for the addition of processor state, including register files, and instructions that operate on that state. The language also provides for new data types to be added to the compiler to represent the state added. It allows separate specification of reference semantics and instruction implementation, and uses this to automate design verification. In addition, the system generates formatted instruction set documentation from the language specification.