| Patent application number | Description | Published |
| 20080307201 | Method and Apparatus for Cooperative Software Multitasking In A Processor System with a Partitioned Register File - A processor system executes multiple applet programs within a software application program in an information handling system. The information handling system includes operating system software that manages processor system hardware and software in a multi-tasking environment. In particular, the operating system software manages partitioning of a register file in the processor system to achieve a cooperative relationship among multiple applet programs within respective partitions of the register file. In one embodiment, the operating system software manages unique applet ID's to modify register file partition sizes and locations during applet program instruction text execution. In one embodiment, applet ID masking hardware provides sharing of register file space among multiple copies of applet program code. | 12-11-2008 |
| 20090070654 | Design Structure For A Processor System With Background Error Handling Feature - A design structure for a processor system may be embodied in a machine readable medium for designing, manufacturing or testing a processor integrated circuit. The design structure may embody a processor system that integrates error correcting code (ECC) detection and correction hardware within an memory management circuit. The design structure may specify ECC hardware circuitry that provides detection, correction and generation of ECC data bits in conjunction with memory data read and writes. The design structure for the processor system may permit the detection and correction of soft single bit errors read from local memory in-line while using read modify write DMA circuit logic to correct local memory data. The design structure may provide for local memory data error detection and correction in a background memory scrub process without the need for additional in-line data logic. | 03-12-2009 |
| 20090204781 | System for Limiting the Size of a Local Storage of a Processor - A system for limiting the size of a local storage of a processor is provided. A facility is provided in association with a processor for setting a local storage size limit. This facility is a privileged facility and can only be accessed by the operating system running on a control processor in the multiprocessor system or the associated processor itself. The operating system sets the value stored in the local storage limit register when the operating system initializes a context switch in the processor. When the processor accesses the local storage using a request address, the local storage address corresponding to the request address is compared against the local storage limit size value in order to determine if the local storage address, or a modulo of the local storage address, is used to access the local storage. | 08-13-2009 |
| 20110145503 | ON-LINE OPTIMIZATION OF SOFTWARE INSTRUCTION CACHE - A method for computing includes executing a program, including multiple cacheable lines of executable code, on a processor having a software-managed cache. A run-time cache management routine running on the processor is used to assemble a profile of inter-line jumps occurring in the software-managed cache while executing the program. Based on the profile, an optimized layout of the lines in the code is computed, and the lines of the program are re-ordered in accordance with the optimized layout while continuing to execute the program. | 06-16-2011 |
| 20110320785 | Binary Rewriting in Software Instruction Cache - Mechanisms are provided for dynamically rewriting branch instructions in a portion of code. The mechanisms execute a branch instruction in the portion of code. The mechanisms determine if a target instruction of the branch instruction, to which the branch instruction branches, is present in an instruction cache associated with the processor. Moreover, the mechanisms directly branch execution of the portion of code to the target instruction in the instruction cache, without intervention from an instruction cache runtime system, in response to a determination that the target instruction is present in the instruction cache. In addition, the mechanisms redirect execution of the portion of code to the instruction cache runtime system in response to a determination that the target instruction cannot be determined to be present in the instruction cache. | 12-29-2011 |
| 20110320786 | Dynamically Rewriting Branch Instructions in Response to Cache Line Eviction - Mechanisms are provided for evicting cache lines from an instruction cache of the data processing system. The mechanisms store, for a portion of code in a current cache line, a linked list of call sites that directly or indirectly target the portion of code in the current cache line. A determination is made as to whether the current cache line is to be evicted from the instruction cache. The linked list of call sites is processed to identify one or more rewritten branch instructions having associated branch stubs, that either directly or indirectly target the portion of code in the current cache line. In addition, the one or more rewritten branch instructions are rewritten to restore the one or more rewritten branch instructions to an original state based on information in the associated branch stubs. | 12-29-2011 |
| 20110321002 | Rewriting Branch Instructions Using Branch Stubs - Mechanisms are provided for rewriting branch instructions in a portion of code. The mechanisms receive a portion of source code having an original branch instruction. The mechanisms generate a branch stub for the original branch instruction. The branch stub stores information about the original branch instruction including an original target address of the original branch instruction. Moreover, the mechanisms rewrite the original branch instruction so that a target of the rewritten branch instruction references the branch stub. In addition, the mechanisms output compiled code including the rewritten branch instruction and the branch stub for execution by a computing device. The branch stub is utilized by the computing device at runtime to determine if execution of the rewritten branch instruction can be redirected directly to a target instruction corresponding to the original target address in an instruction cache of the computing device without intervention by an instruction cache runtime system. | 12-29-2011 |
| 20110321021 | Arranging Binary Code Based on Call Graph Partitioning - Mechanisms are provided for arranging binary code to reduce instruction cache conflict misses. These mechanisms generate a call graph of a portion of code. Nodes and edges in the call graph are weighted to generate a weighted call graph. The weighted call graph is then partitioned according to the weights, affinities between nodes of the call graph, and the size of cache lines in an instruction cache of the data processing system, so that binary code associated with one or more subsets of nodes in the call graph are combined into individual cache lines based on the partitioning. The binary code corresponding to the partitioned call graph is then output for execution in a computing device. | 12-29-2011 |