Transactional memory system supporting unbroken suspended execution

US9626187B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• International Business Machines Corporation · US

Inventors

• Harold W. Cain, III · Yorktown Heights, US
• Bradly G. Frey · Austin, US
• Benjamin Herrenschmidt · Forrest, AU
• Hung Q. Le · Austin, US
• Cathy May · Ossining, US
• Maged M. Michael · Yorktown Heights, US
• Jose E. Moreira · Dobbs Ferry, US
• Priya Ashok Nagpurkar · Ossining, US
• Naresh Nayar · Rochester, US
• Randal C. Swanberg · Round Rock, US

Key dates

• Filing date: May 27, 2010
• Grant date: Apr 18, 2017
• Expiry date: Nov 25, 2035

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G06F9/467
• WIPO field: Computer technology
• WIPO sector: Electrical engineering

Abstract

Mechanisms are provided, in a data processing system having a processor and a transactional memory, for executing a transaction in the data processing system. These mechanisms execute a transaction comprising one or more instructions that modify at least a portion of the transactional memory. The transaction is suspended in response to a transaction suspend instruction being executed by the processor. A suspended block of code is executed in a non-transactional manner while the transaction is suspended. A determination is made as to whether an interrupt occurs while the transaction is suspended. In response to an interrupt occurring while the transaction is suspended, a transaction abort operation is delayed until after the transaction suspension is discontinued.