Abstract: A processor is provided and includes a core that is configured to perform a decode operation on a multi-instruction packet comprising multiple instructions. The decode operation includes receiving the multi-instruction packet that includes first and second instructions. The first instruction includes a primary portion at a fixed first location and a secondary portion. The second instruction includes a primary portion at a fixed second location between the primary portion of the first instruction and the secondary portion of the first instruction. An operational code portion of the primary portion of each of the first and second instructions is accessed and decoded. An instruction packet including the primary and secondary portions of the first instruction is created, and a second instruction packet including the primary portion of the second instruction is created. The first and second instructions packets are dispatched to respective first and second functional units.

Abstract: Systems, apparatuses, and methods for implementing flexible dictionary sharing techniques for caches are disclosed. A set-associative cache includes a dictionary for each data array set. When a cache line is to be allocated in the cache, a cache controller determines to which set a base index of the cache line address maps. Then, a selector unit determines which dictionary of a group of dictionaries stored by those sets neighboring this set would achieve the most compression for the cache line. This dictionary is then selected to compress the cache line. An offset is added to the base index of the cache line to generate a full index in order to map the cache line to the set corresponding to this chosen dictionary. The compressed cache line is stored in this set with the chosen dictionary, and the offset is stored in the corresponding tag array entry.

Abstract: A microprocessor system comprises a vector computational unit and a control unit. The vector computational unit includes a plurality of processing elements. The control unit is configured to provide at least a single processor instruction to the vector computational unit. The single processor instruction specifies a plurality of component instructions to be executed by the vector computational unit in response to the single processor instruction and each of the plurality of processing elements of the vector computational unit is configured to process different data elements in parallel with other processing elements in response to the single processor instruction.

Abstract: Methods of encoding and decoding are described which use a variable number of instruction words to encode instructions from an instruction set, such that different instructions within the instruction set may be encoded using different numbers of instruction words. To encode an instruction, the bits within the instruction are reordered and formed into instruction words based upon their variance as determined using empirical or simulation data. The bits in the instruction words are compared to corresponding predicted values and some or all of the instruction words that match the predicted values are omitted from the encoded instruction.

Abstract: A streaming engine employed in a digital data processor specifies a fixed read only data stream. Once fetched data elements in the data stream are disposed in lanes in a stream head register in the fixed order. Some lanes may be invalid, for example when the number of remaining data elements are less than the number of lanes in the stream head register. The streaming engine automatically produces a valid data word stored in a stream valid register indicating lanes holding valid data. The data in the stream valid register may be automatically stored in a predicate register or otherwise made available. This data can be used to control vector SIMD operations or may be combined with other predicate register data.

Abstract: Embodiments detailed herein relate to matrix operations. In particular, embodiment of broadcasting elements are described. For example, some embodiments describe broadcasting a scalar to all configured data element positons of a destination matrix (tile). For example, some embodiments describe broadcasting a row to all configured data element positons of a destination matrix (tile). For example, some embodiments describe broadcasting a column to all configured data element positons of a destination matrix (tile).

Abstract: A streaming engine employed in a digital signal processor specifies a fixed read only data stream. Once fetched the data stream is stored in two head registers for presentation to functional units in the fixed order. Data use by the functional unit is preferably controlled using the input operand fields of the corresponding instruction. A first read only operand coding supplies data from the first head register. A first read/advance operand coding supplies data from the first head register and also advances the stream to the next sequential data elements. Corresponding second read only operand coding and second read/advance operand coding operate similarly with the second head register. A third read only operand coding supplies double width data from both head registers.

Abstract: The amount of data that is written to disk is minimized when an overlay optimizer is used in conjunction with a write filter to prevent the overlay from becoming full. An overlay optimizer minifilter can be used to intercept writes that were initiated by the overlay optimizer's request to commit files cached in the write filter's overlay to thereby extract only the modified portions of the files that are actually stored in the overlay. The overlay optimizer minifilter can then write these modified portions of the files, as opposed to the entire files, in the overlay cache. Directory change notifications are also enabled when a write filter is employed as well as in other multi-volume filter environments.

Abstract: A streaming engine employed in a digital data processor specifies a fixed read only data stream defined by plural nested loops. An address generator produces address of data elements. A steam head register stores data elements next to be supplied to functional units for use as operands. An element duplication unit optionally duplicates data element an instruction specified number of times. A vector masking unit limits data elements received from the element duplication unit to least significant bits within an instruction specified vector length. If the vector length is less than a stream head register size, the vector masking unit stores all 0's in excess lanes of the stream head register (group duplication disabled) or stores duplicate copies of the least significant bits in excess lanes of the stream head register.

Abstract: A system is provided that includes an instruction buffer that stores bytes representative of one or more macroinstructions and instruction length decoder circuitry. The instruction length decoder circuitry includes a non-sequential first multiplexer circuitry having first input lines receiving a first input data representative of a speculative length of a first macroinstruction of the macroinstructions, and first selector that selects from the first input lines via a one-hot selector vector. The instruction length decoder circuitry also includes a first output line communicatively coupled to second selector, wherein the first output line causes the selector to select from a second input data representative of a first location of a first ending byte for the first macroinstruction with respect to a value x. The first multiplexer circuitry and the second selector may output start and end byte locations for the macroinstructions.

Abstract: A technique for decoding an instruction in a variable-length instruction set. In one embodiment, an instruction encoding is described, in which legacy, present, and future instruction set extensions are supported, and increased functionality is provided, without expanding the code size and, in some cases, reducing the code size.

Abstract: A processor element in a processor-based system is configured to fetch one or more instructions associated with a program binary, where the one or more instructions include an instruction having an immediate operand. The processor element is configured to determine if the immediate operand is a reference to a wide immediate operand. In response to determining that the immediate operand is a reference to a wide immediate operand, the processor element is configured to retrieve the wide immediate operand from a common intermediate lookup table (CILT) in the program binary, where the immediate operand indexes the wide immediate operand in the CILT. The processor element is then configured to process the instruction having the immediate operand such that the immediate operand is replaced with the wide immediate operand from the CILT.

Abstract: A system and a method to cascade execution of instructions in a load-store unit (LSU) of a central processing unit (CPU) to reduce latency associated with the instructions. First data stored in a cache is read by the LSU in response a first memory load instruction of two immediately consecutive memory load instructions. Alignment, sign extension and/or endian operations are performed on the first data read from the cache in response to the first memory load instruction, and, in parallel, a memory-load address-forwarded result is selected based on a corrected alignment of the first data read in response to the first memory load instruction to provide a next address for a second of the two immediately consecutive memory load instructions. Second data stored in the cache is read by the LSU in response to the second memory load instruction based on the selected memory-load address-forwarded result.

Abstract: In a method to execute instructions, at least one instruction executed in a predetermined cycle is acquired based on information included in each of a plurality of instructions, and a code included in the at least one instruction acquired. An instruction is allocated to at least one slot based on the analysis result, and a slot necessary to execute the instruction is selectively used. Accordingly, power consumption of a device using the method may be reduced.

Abstract: Provided is a data processing method including the operations of storing, in a register, a first immediate portion included in a first instruction, from among the first immediate portion and a second immediate portion that constitute an immediate value, which is an operand; determining the immediate value by catenating the second immediate portion included in a second instruction with the stored first immediate portion; and performing an operation by using a value indicated by the second instruction and the determined immediate value.

Abstract: Managing the capture of information. A plurality of instruction units of an instruction stream are received in parallel by a plurality of instruction decode units of a processor. One instruction decode unit of the plurality of instruction decode units receives a prefix instruction and another instruction decode unit of the plurality of instruction decode units receives a prefixed instruction. The prefixed instruction is an instruction to be modified by the prefix instruction. Information associated with processing of the plurality of instruction units is captured, and the capturing includes modifying the information to be captured to manage the prefix instruction and the prefixed instruction separately received by the instruction decode units as a single instruction.

Abstract: Aspects for vector comparison in neural network are described herein. The aspects may include a direct memory access unit configured to receive a first vector and a second vector from a storage device. The first vector may include one or more first elements and the second vector may include one or more second elements. The aspects may further include a computation module that includes one or more comparers respectively configured to generate a comparison result by comparing one of the one or more first elements to a corresponding one of the one or more second elements in accordance with an instruction.

Abstract: A single architected instruction is obtained to perform multiple functions. The instruction is executed, and the executing includes performing a first function of the multiple functions and a second function of the multiple functions. The first function includes moving a block of data from one location to another location, and the second function includes setting a storage key. The storage key is associated with the block of data at the other location and controls access to the block of data. The first function and the second function are performed as part of the single architected instruction.

Abstract: A method of implementing a processor architecture and corresponding system includes operands of a first size and a datapath of a second size. The second size is different from the first size. Given a first array of registers and a second array of registers, each register of the first and second arrays being of the second size, selecting a first register and corresponding second register from the first array and the second array, respectively, to perform operations of the first size. Advantageously, this allows a user, who is interfacing with the hardware processor through software, to provide data to the processor agnostic to the size of the registers and datapath bit-width of the processor.

Abstract: Implementations of the present specification provide a method for deploying a smart contract. According to the method in the implementations, in a phase of deploying a smart contract, a bytecode included in a contract module corresponding to the contract is obtained; and then the bytecode is parsed into executable instruction codes, and the executable instruction codes are stored in a cache memory. Further, a function index table is determined for import and export functions in the bytecode, where the function index table is used to indicate a memory address of an instruction code corresponding to each of the import and export functions; and the function index table is stored in the cache memory.

Abstract: An apparatus includes a scheduler circuit and a processing circuit. The scheduler circuit may be configured to (i) parse a directed acyclic graph into one or more operators and (ii) schedule the one or more operators in one or more data paths. The processing circuit generally comprises one or more hardware engines configured as the one or more data paths. The one or more hardware engines are generally configured to generate one or more output vectors in response to zero or more input vectors using the operators. At least one of the one or more hardware engines may support input vector dimensions ranging from zero to at least four dimensions. At least one of the one or more hardware engines is implemented solely in hardware.

Abstract: A control or test system for a field device includes: a communication unit for bidirectionally commmunicating with the field device via a fieldbus protocol; a command memory for receiving commands that are transmittable to the field device via the fieldbus protocol; and a masking memory, which masking memory receives the commands contained in the command memory that are not supported by the field device, and/or receives an error message returned by the field device in response to such command.

Abstract: A streaming engine employed in a digital signal processor specified a fixed data stream. Once started the data stream is read only and cannot be written. Once fetched the data stream is stored in a first-in-first-out buffer for presentation to functional units in the fixed order. Data use by the functional unit is controlled using the input operand fields of the corresponding instruction. A read only operand coding supplies the data an input of the functional unit. A read/advance operand coding supplies the data and also advances the stream to the next sequential data elements. The read only operand coding permits reuse of data without requiring a register of the register file for temporary storage.

Abstract: Methods of encoding and decoding are described which use a variable number of instruction words to encode instructions from an instruction set, such that different instructions within the instruction set may be encoded using different numbers of instruction words. To encode an instruction, the bits within the instruction are re-ordered and formed into instruction words based upon their variance as determined using empirical or simulation data. The bits in the instruction words are compared to corresponding predicted values and some or all of the instruction words that match the predicted values are omitted from the encoded instruction.

Abstract: Module-based systems and methods are described for controlled roll-out of module classes for configuring a process plant. In various aspects the module-based systems and methods generate a second version of a module class based on a modification to a first version of the module class, where the module class is associated with one or more module instances that are each associated with a process control element of the process plant. The module-based systems and methods execute a roll-out instruction to update an upgraded process control element, where the upgraded process control element is associated with a new module instance based on the second version of the module class. The roll-out instruction is also designed to ignore or skip a non-upgraded process control element, where the non-upgraded process control element remains associated with a previous module instance based on the first version of the module class.

Abstract: A processor includes: at least one operator; and at least one macro instruction processing unit configured to share the at least one operator, wherein the at least one macro instruction processing unit is configured to execute a macro instruction with respect to input data by using the at least one operator to output result data, and to control the at least one operator to perform an operation included in the macro instruction, and the at least one macro instruction processing unit comprises: a scheduler configured to manage schedules of the at least one operator and output input data and a control signal to the at least one operator; and a controller configured to control the scheduler to execute the macro instruction and to receive the result data from the scheduler.

Abstract: A processor is configured to identify a branch instruction immediately followed by an architectural delay slot. A single bonded instruction comprising the branch instruction immediately followed by the architectural delay slot is created. The single bonded instruction is loaded into an instruction buffer.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for performing dual concurrent multiplications of packed data elements.

Abstract: An information processing device for reducing the number of times of interrupt notification for notifying completion of execution of input/output instruction and lightening a load of interrupt processing is described. The information processing device prescribes that a driver checks a completion state of a preceding input/output instruction after issuance of the input/output instruction. An issuing timing of the input/output instruction is considered to be a polling timing for checking the completion state of the preceding input/output instruction. Before the input/output device transmits interrupt notification to a CPU, the input/output device sets a timer to stand by for a prescribed time. A processing unit which resets the timer and extends the standby time by a prescribed time in a case where notification that a subsequent input/output instruction is issued arrives from a driver to the input/output device during the time is additionally provided to the input/output device.

Abstract: Managing exception handling. A plurality of instruction units of an instruction stream are selected to be decoded in parallel by a plurality of instruction decode units of a processor. The plurality of instruction units includes a prefix instruction and a prefixed instruction. The prefixed instruction is an instruction to be modified by the prefix instruction. An exception condition associated with the prefixed instruction is determined. Exception handling is performed for the prefixed instruction, in which the performing includes determining an address at which to restart execution of the instruction stream. The determining the address includes adjusting the address at which to restart execution based on the prefix instruction to be separately decoded by an instruction decode unit.

Abstract: Managing exception handling. A plurality of instruction units of an instruction stream are selected to be decoded in parallel by a plurality of instruction decode units of a processor. The plurality of instruction units includes a prefix instruction and a prefixed instruction. The prefixed instruction is an instruction to be modified by the prefix instruction. An exception condition associated with the prefixed instruction is determined. Exception handling is performed for the prefixed instruction, in which the performing includes determining an address at which to restart execution of the instruction stream. The determining the address includes adjusting the address at which to restart execution based on the prefix instruction to be separately decoded by an instruction decode unit.

Abstract: Provided is a signal processing circuit occupying a small circuit area. A common arithmetic operation element is shared between a plurality of arithmetic operation sequence control units. An arbitration circuit selects, when the plurality of arithmetic operation sequence control units simultaneously generate requests for arithmetic operations to use the common arithmetic operation element, the predetermined sequence control unit based on priority information about the plurality of arithmetic operation sequence control units, causes the common arithmetic operation element to execute the arithmetic operation requested from the selected arithmetic operation sequence control unit, and returns the result of the arithmetic operation to the selected arithmetic operation sequence control unit.

Abstract: A processor includes a back end to execute decoded instructions and a front end. The front end includes two decode clusters and circuitry to receive data elements representing undecoded instructions, in program order, and to direct subsets of the data elements to the decode clusters. An IP generator directs one subset of data elements to the first cluster, detects a condition indicating that a load balancing action should be taken, and directs a subset of data elements immediately following the first subset in program order to the first or second decode cluster dependent on the action taken. The action may include annotating a BTB entry, inserting a fake branch in the BTB, forcing a cluster switch, or suppressing a cluster switch. The detected condition may be a predicated taken branch or an annotation thereof, or a heuristic based on a queue state, a count of uops, or a latency value.

Abstract: Various encoding schemes are discussed for more efficiently encoding instructions which identify first and second architectural register numbers. In the first example, by constraining the first architectural register number to be greater than the second architectural register number, this frees up encodings for use in encoding other operations. In a second example, the first and second architectural register numbers may take any value but one of a first type of processing operation and a second type of processing operation is selected depending on a comparison of the first and second architectural register numbers.

Abstract: An apparatus includes a scheduler circuit and a plurality of hardware engines. The scheduler circuit may be configured to (i) store a directed acyclic graph, (ii) parse the directed acyclic graph into one or more operators and (iii) schedule the one or more operators in one or more data paths. The hardware engines may be (i) configured as a plurality of the data paths and (ii) configured to generate one or more output vectors by processing zero or more input vectors using the operators. One or more of the hardware engines supports a range of multiple dimensions of the input vectors from zero dimensions to at least four dimensions.

Abstract: An arithmetic processor of an embodiment comprises program counter, a program memory, registers, and a decoder. Also the arithmetic processor comprises an arithmetic unit that carries out an operation using the operand and operator acquired from the registers based on a decode result by the decoder, a data memory that stores constant data and an address in association with the data, and a load unit that comprises a load data address storing unit that stores a load data address indicating an address where the constant data is stored; and an increment unit that updates the load data address stored in the load data address storing unit. The load unit loads, from the data memory, constant data corresponding to an address specified by an operand of a load instruction from the decoder, and stores the constant data in a specific one of the registers.

Abstract: A processor includes a decode unit to decode an instruction. The instruction indicates a first 64-bit source operand having a first 64-bit value, indicates a second 64-bit source operand having a second 64-bit value, indicates a third 64-bit source operand having a third 64-bit value, and indicates a fourth 64-bit source operand having a fourth 64-bit value. An execution unit is coupled with the decode unit. The execution unit is operable, in response to the instruction, to store a result. The result includes the first 64-bit value multiplied by the second 64-bit value added to the third 64-bit value added to the fourth 64-bit value. The execution unit may store a 64-bit least significant half of the result in a first 64-bit destination operand indicated by the instruction, and store a 64-bit most significant half of the result in a second 64-bit destination operand indicated by the instruction.

Abstract: Apparatus and methods are disclosed for dynamic nullification of memory access instructions, such as memory store instructions. In some examples of the disclosed technology, an apparatus can include memory and one or more block-based processor cores. One of the cores can include an execution unit configured to execute memory access instructions comprising a plurality of memory load and/or memory store instructions contained in an instruction block. The core can also include a hardware structure storing data for at least one predicate instruction in the instruction block, the data identifying whether one or more of the memory store instructions will issue if a condition of the predicate instruction is satisfied. The core may further include a control unit configured to control issuing of the memory access instructions to the execution unit based at least in a part on the hardware structure data.

Abstract: Multi-byte compressed string representation embodiments define a String class control field identifying compression as enabled/disabled, and another control field, identifying a decompressed string created when compression enabled. Tests are noped based on null setting of the compression flag. When arguments to a String class constructor are not compressible, a decompressed String is created and stringCompressionFlag initialized. Endian-aware helper methods for reading/writing byte and character values are defined. Enhanced String class constructors, when characters are not compressible, create a decompressed String, and initialize stringCompressionFlag triggering class load assumptions, overwriting all nopable patch points. A String object sign bit is set to one for decompressed strings when compression enabled, and masking/testing this flag bit is noped. Alternative package protected string constructors and operations are provided.

Abstract: In an aspect, a pipelined execution resource can produce an intermediate result for use in an iterative approximation algorithm in an odd number of clock cycles. The pipelined execution resource executes SIMD requests by staggering commencement of execution of the requests from a SIMD instruction. When executing one or more operations for a SIMD iterative approximation algorithm, and an operation for another SIMD iterative approximation algorithm is ready to begin execution, control logic causes intermediate results completed by the pipelined execution resource to pass through a wait state, before being used in a subsequent computation. This wait state presents two open scheduling cycles in which both parts of the next SIMD instruction can begin execution. Although the wait state increases latency to complete an in-progress algorithm, a total throughput of execution on the pipeline increases.

Abstract: A computer processor including an instruction buffer configured to store at least one variable-length instruction having a bit bundle bounded by a head end and a tail end with a plurality of slots each defining a corresponding operation, wherein the plurality of slots and corresponding operations are logically partitioned into a plurality of distinct blocks with a first group of blocks extending from the head end of the bit bundle toward the tail end of the bit bundle and a second group of blocks extending from the tail end of the bit bundle toward the head end of the bit bundle, wherein the second group of blocks includes a tail end block disposed adjacent the tail end of the bit bundle. A decode stage is operably coupled to the instruction buffer and configured to process a given variable-length instruction stored by the instruction buffer by decoding at least one operation of a particular block belonging to the first group of blocks in parallel with decoding at least one operation of the tail end block.

Abstract: Processes from a set of processes are divided for use at a second triggering event and which are part of a single application programming interface (API). The set of processes including a subset of the set of processes including at least one process in the set and a remainder of the set of processes including at least one process in the set of processes and outside of the subset of the set of processes. A first triggering event is identified. The subset of the set of processes are performed using a processor and in response to the first triggering event to obtain a first result for use at the second triggering event. A state and the first result of the subset of the set of processes is saved. The remainder of the set of processes are performed using the processor in response to the second triggering event occurring after the first triggering event, and using the state and first result, to obtain a second result.

Abstract: The present disclosure includes apparatuses and methods related to virtual address tables. An example method comprises generating an object file that comprises: an instruction comprising a number of arguments; and an address table comprising a number of indexed address elements. Each one of the number of indexed address elements can correspond to a virtual address of a respective one of the number of arguments, wherein the address table can serves as a target for the number of arguments. The method can include storing the object file in a memory.

Abstract: A processor includes a decode unit to decode a packed finite impulse response (FIR) filter instruction that indicates one or more source packed data operands, a plurality of FIR filter coefficients, and a destination storage location. The source operand(s) include a first number of data elements and a second number of additional data elements. The second number is one less than a number of FIR filter taps. An execution unit, in response to the packed FIR filter instruction being decoded, is to store a result packed data operand. The result packed data operand includes the first number of FIR filtered data elements that each is to be based on a combination of products of the plurality of FIR filter coefficients and a different corresponding set of data elements from the one or more source packed data operands, which is equal in number to the number of FIR filter taps.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus are provided for decoding instructions in a computer program wherein the instructions include one or more base instructions that are subject to modification by one or more other instructions. A decoder determines whether a first received instruction was arrived at by a non-incremental change to a program counter (i.e. a jump in the program). If the first instruction was arrived at by a non-incremental change to the program counter the decoder decodes the immediately preceding instruction to determine if the original instruction is a base instruction subject to modification by one or more other instructions. If the preceding instruction indicates that the original instruction is a base instruction an error has occurred and exception handling code is invoked.

Abstract: A debugging capability that enables the efficient debugging of code that has prefixes, referred to herein as prefixed code. To debug application code, in which the application code includes a prefixed instruction to be modified by a prefix, a trap is provided. The trap is configured to report a presence of the prefix, but to otherwise perform the trap functions absent the prefix; i.e., the prefix is otherwise ignored in the processing of the trap.

Abstract: A processor comprises a decoder for decoding an instruction based both on an explicit opcode identifier and on metadata encoded in the instruction. For example, a relative order of source register names may be used to decode the instruction. As an example, an instruction set may have a Branch Equal (BEQ) specifying two registers (r1 and r2) that store values that are compared for equality. An instruction set can provide a single opcode identifier for BEQ and a processor can determine whether to decode a particular instance of that opcode identifier as BEQ or another instruction, in dependence on an order of appearance of the source registers in that instance. For example, the BEQ opcode can be interpreted as a branch not equal, if a higher numbered register appears before a lower numbered register. Additional forms of metadata can include interpreting a constant included in an instruction, as well as determining equality of source registers, among other forms of metadata.

Abstract: A debugging capability that enables the efficient debugging of code that has prefixes, referred to herein as prefixed code. To debug application code, in which the application code includes a prefixed instruction to be modified by a prefix, a trap is provided. The trap is configured to report a presence of the prefix, but to otherwise perform the trap functions absent the prefix; i.e., the prefix is otherwise ignored in the processing of the trap.

Abstract: Provided are an instruction compression apparatus and method for a very long instruction word (VLIW) processor, and an instruction fetching apparatus and method. The instruction compression apparatus includes: an indicator generator configured to generate an indicator code that indicates an issue width of an instruction bundle to be executed in the VLIW processor, and a number of No-Operation (NOP) instruction bundles following the instruction bundle; an instruction compressor configured to compress the instruction bundle by removing at least one of NOP instructions from the instruction bundle and the NOP instruction bundles following the instruction bundle; and an instruction converter configured to include the generated indicator code in the compressed instruction bundle.

Abstract: A data processing apparatus, method and computer program are described that are capable of decoding instructions from different instruction sets. The method comprising: receiving an instruction; if an operation code of said instruction is an operation code of an instruction from a base set of instructions decoding said instruction according to decode rules for said base set of instructions; and if said operation code of said instruction is an operation code of an instruction from at least one further set of instructions decoding said instruction according to a set of decode rules determined by an indicator value indicating which of said at least one further set of instructions is currently to be decoded.