Abstract: A computer processor that uses an AAHT to provide a guess at the real (absolute) address bits used to access the cache and directories that is more accurate in a high-frequency design which prevents any sort of full or large partial adds of ranges of base, index, or displacement has two index values generated and two AAHT arrays, one each for instruction and operand logical requests. It handles cases in which the data is not directly from the GPR array. For designs that aim at improving performance data for some operations that update GPR's may be used for address generation prior to the execution and write to the GPR array, these include data bypass for Load Address (LA) and Load (L). The system handles instruction fetches, relative branches, other special instruction address instruction fetch requests, and those started as a result of a branch history table (BHT) predicted instruction fetch.

Abstract: A millimode capable computer system provides control to millicode to allow the BHT operations to continue except when the these special situations occur that require control of instruction fetch operations must be provided and the BHT can be turned off for some sections of code execution, but not disabled for all. A single free running BHT functions for both a normal mode and a millimode for the central processor which can execute in millimode with a branch history table directing instruction fetch for which both a global BHT disable and millicode disables exist. Hit detection logic receives input from the global BHT disable, as well as from an initialized control register bit and a processor control register bit to select the correct set target information and generate a "branch history table hit detected" control signal.

Abstract: A millimode capable computer system provides control to millicode to allow the BHT operations to continue except when the these special situations occur that require control of instruction fetch operations must be provided and the BHT can be turned off for some sections of code execution, but not disabled for all. A single free running BHT functions for both a normal mode and a millimode for the central processor which can execute in millimode with a branch history table directing instruction fetch for which both a global BHT disable and millicode disables exist. Hit detection logic receives input from the global BHT disable, as well as from an initialized control register bit and a processor control register bit to select the correct set target information and generate a "branch history table hit detected" control signal.

Abstract: A computer processor floating point processor six cycle pipeline system where instruction text is fetched prior to the first cycle and decoded during the first cycle for the fetched particular instruction and the base (B) and index (X) register values are read for use in address generation. RXE Instructions are of the RX-type but extended by placing the extension of the operation code beyond the first four bytes of the instruction format and to assign the operation codes in such a way that the machine may determine the exact format from the first 8 bits of the operation code alone.

Abstract: A computer processor system having a floating point processor for instructions which are processed in a six cycle pipeline, in which prior to the first cycle of the pipeline an instruction text is fetched, and during the first cycle for the fetched particular instruction it is decoded and the base (B) and index (X) register values are read for use in address generation. Instructions of the RX-type are extended by placing the extension of the operation code beyond the first four bytes of the instruction format and to assign the operation codes in such a way that the machine may determine from the first 8 bits of the operation code alone, the exact format of the instruction. Instructions formats include the ESA/390 instructions SS, RR; RX; S; RRE; RI: and the new RXE instructions. where instructions of the RXE format have their R.sub.1, X.sub.2, B.sub.2, and D.sub.

Abstract: A computer for executing programs and having a structure for fetching instructions and/or operands along a path which may not be taken by a process being executed by a computer processor having a hierarchical memory structure with data being loaded into cache lines of a cache in the structure, and having block line fetch signal selection logic and computational logic with hedge selection logic for generating line fetch block signals for control of hedging by fetching instructions and/or operands along a path which may not be taken by a process being executed and making selected hedge fetches sensitive to whether the data is in the cache so as to gain the best performance advantage with a selected hedge fetch signal which accompanies each fetch request to the cache to identify whether a line should be loaded if it misses the cache to indicate a selected hedge fetch when this signal is ON, and rejecting a fetch request in the event the selected hedge fetch signal is turned ON if the data is not in the cache, th

Abstract: A computer for executing programs and having a structure for fetching instructions and/or operands along a path which may not be taken by a process being executed by a computer processor having a hierarchical memory structure with data being loaded into cache lines of a cache in the structure, and having block line fetch signal selection logic and computational logic with hedge selection logic for generating line fetch block signals for control of hedging by fetching instructions and/or operands along a path which may not be taken by a process being executed and making selected hedge fetches sensitive to whether the data is in the cache so as to gain the best performance advantage with a selected hedge fetch signal which accompanies each fetch request to the cache to identify whether a line should be loaded if it misses the cache to indicate a selected hedge fetch when this signal is ON, and rejecting a fetch request in the event the selected hedge fetch signal is turned ON if the data is not in the cache, th

Abstract: A method and system for processing instructions in a floating point unit for executing denormalized numbers in floating point pipeline via serializing uses an instruction unit and having a control unit and a pipelined data flow unit, a shifter and a rounding unit. The floating point unit has an external feedback path for providing intermediate result data from said rounding unit to an input of the pipelined data flow unit to reuse the pipeline for denormalization by passing intermediate results in the pipeline which have a denormalized condition computed after the exponent calculation of the shifting circuit directly from the rounding unit to the top of the dataflow in the pipeline via an external feedback path. The pipelined has two paths which are selected based on the presence of other instructions in the pipeline. If no other instructions are in the pipeline a first path is taken which uses the external feedback path from the rounding unit back into the top of the dataflow.

Abstract: A special inillicode instruction "Load With Access Test" explicitly detects access exceptions for storage operands while retaining control in the current millicode routine to insure exceptions are handled correctly and with the right priority. The millicode Load With Access Test instruction operates similarly to the ESA/390 Load instruction except that access exception code is set, interrupts are blocked and the serialization is forced to purge the instruction pipeline and reset the pipeline control without redirection of the instruction stream.

Abstract: A special Program Status Word (PSW) millicode routine, tests the validity of the PSW with three simple millicode instructions. Testing for access exceptions is executed by a special millicode instruction "Load With Access Test", which explicitly detects access exceptions for storage operands while retaining control in the current millicode routine. A Translate and Test (TRT) routine uses a table of 256 bytes to translate a string of bytes. Each string is used as an index into the table, and the selected table byte is fetched. For Translate and Test, the selected bytes are tested, and the first non-zero table byte selected is returned to the program in a general register along with the address of the string byte which selected it; translate and test also sets the condition code, and does not update storage.

Abstract: In a milli-mode processor, bits (0-6) of an access list entry token (ALET) in the program access register must be zeros in order for access register translation to be successful. When the ALET is being copied from a program access register to a millicode access register, bits 0-3 of ALET, written into the millicode access register, are set to the access register number of the program access register from which the data is being read. This establishes the affinity between the program access register number and any logical fetches which might be attempted by millicode.

Abstract: A pipelined computer processor in a milli-mode architected state tests the validity of a program status word with a mask stored in a millicode general register. The mask indicates bits in the program status word which are to be zeros if the word is valid. A logical AND operation is performed between correspondingly positioned bits in the word and bits in the mask and in addition the status of at least one other bit in the word is checked, a bit other than a correspondingly positioned bit.

Abstract: In a cache memory system, continuation registers are provided to abbreviated address data identifying the line position in the cache memory from which data is fetched. When data is fetched from a line in said cache memory, the bin number and line position identification of the line in the cache memory are saved in a continuation register. Then, subsequently, when data is fetched from the same line, it is fetched by a continuation request wherein the data saved in the continuation register is used to access the cache memory. The continuation registers provide the abbreviated address data for comparison in both PSC (program store compare) and OSC (operand store compare).