| United States Patent | 6,405,303 |
| Miller , et al. | June 11, 2002 |
Massively parallel decoding and
execution of variable-length instructions
Abstract
A microprocessor configured to decode a plurality of instruction bytes in parallel is disclosed. The microprocessor may comprise a plurality of single-byte decoder/execution units that are configured to receive instruction bytes and cross-talk to determine instruction boundaries and instruction field boundaries. Once and instruction has been identified, a determination is made as to whether or not the instruction is a simple instruction. Simple instructions are executed within the decoder/execution units, while complex instructions are forwarded to full-fledged functional units. A computer system and method for predecoding instructions are also disclosed.
| Inventors: | Miller; Paul K. (Dripping Springs, TX); Zuraski, Jr.; Gerald D. (Austin, TX) |
| Assignee: | Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (Sunnyvale, CA) |
| Appl. No.: | 388211 |
| Filed: | August 31, 1999 |
| Current U.S. Class: | 712/210; 712/204; 712/213 |
| Intern'l Class: | G06F 009/38 |
| Field of Search: | 712/210,204,213,23 |
References Cited [Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
| 5109495 | Apr., 1992 | Fite et al. | 712/207. |
| 5586277 | Dec., 1996 | Brown et al. | 712/210. |
| 5619666 | Apr., 1997 | Coon et al. | 712/208. |
| 5630083 | May., 1997 | Carbine et al. | 712/212. |
| 5809273 | Sep., 1998 | Favor et al. | 712/210. |
| 5819059 | Oct., 1998 | Tran | 712/213. |
| 5822558 | Oct., 1998 | Tran | 712/213. |
| 6049863 | Apr., 2000 | Tran et al. | 712/204. |
| 6175909 | Jan., 2001 | McBride | 712/204. |
| 6263423 | Jul., 2001 | Coon et al. | 712/204. |
| 6308257 | Oct., 2001 | Theogarajan et al. | 711/209. |
| 6311261 | Oct., 2001 | Chamdani et al. | 712/23. |
| Foreign Patent Documents | |||
| 0 417 013 | Mar., 1991 | EP. | |
Other References |
Gwennap, "Intel, HP Make EPIC Disclosure," Microprocessor Report, vol. 11, No. 14, Oct. 1997, 2 pages. Gwennap, "First Merced Patent Surfaces," Microprocessor Report, Mar. 1997, 3 pages. Christy, "IA-64 and Merced--What and Why," Cahners Electronics Group, 1997, 5 pages. |
Primary Examiner: Coleman; Eric
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Conley, Rose & Tayon, PC,
Kivlin; B Noel
Last Updated : Sun Mar 9 23:11:03 EST 2008
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