Prefetch buffer which stores a pointer indicating an initial pre

Details Prefetch buffer which stores a pointer indicating an initial pre Prefetch buffer which stores a pointer indicating an initial pre

1997-09-15

2000-09-19

Eng, David Y.

Electrical computers and digital processing systems: processing

Processing control

Branching

G06F 942

Patent

active

061227293

ABSTRACT:
A prefetch/predecode unit includes one or more prefetch buffers which are configured to store prefetched sets of instruction bytes and corresponding predecode data. Additionally, each prefetch buffer is configured to store a predecode byte pointer. The predecode byte pointer indicates the byte within the corresponding prefetched set of instruction bytes at which predecoding is to be initiated. Predecoding may be resumed within a given prefetch buffer (at the byte indicated by the predecode byte pointer) if predecoding thereof is interrupted to predecode a different set of instruction bytes (e.g. a set of instruction bytes fetched from the instruction cache).

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