Electrical computers and digital processing systems: processing – Dynamic instruction dependency checking – monitoring or... – Commitment control or register bypass
Patent
1996-09-12
1999-11-09
Ellis, Richard L.
Electrical computers and digital processing systems: processing
Dynamic instruction dependency checking, monitoring or...
Commitment control or register bypass
712228, G06F 938
Patent
active
059833424
ABSTRACT:
A superscalar microprocessor includes a reorder buffer configured into multiple lines of storage, wherein a line of storage includes sufficient storage for instruction results regarding a predefined maximum number of concurrently dispatchable instructions. A line of storage is allocated whenever one or more instructions are dispatched. A microprocessor employing the reorder buffer is also configured with fixed, symmetrical issue positions. The symmetrical nature of the issue positions may increase the average number of instructions to be concurrently dispatched and executed by the microprocessor. The average number of unused locations within the line decreases as the average number of concurrently dispatched instructions increases. One particular implementation of the reorder buffer includes a future file. The future file comprises a storage location corresponding to each register within the microprocessor. The reorder buffer tag (or instruction result, if the instruction has executed) of the last instruction in program order to update the register is stored in the future file. The reorder buffer provides the value (either reorder buffer tag or instruction result) stored in the storage location corresponding to a register when the register is used as a source operand for another instruction. Another advantage of the future file for microprocessors which allow access and update to portions of registers is that narrow-to-wide dependencies are resolved upon completion of the instruction which updates the narrower register.
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Advanced Micro Devices , Inc.
Ellis Richard L.
Kivlin B. Noel
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