Motorola Corporation

International Business Machines Corporation

Russell A Reininger

William B Ledbetter, Jr

Soummya Mallick

Robin W Edenfield

Robert T Golla

Lee Evan Eisen

Marvin A Denman

Bryan P Black

Albert J Loper, Jr

Ralph C McGarity

Van B Shahan

James Allan Kahle

Larry Bryce Phillips

Craig C Hunter

Eric E Quintana

Jeff Slaton

A scan based test methodology generates conventional functional clocks (CLK1 and CLK2) and test clocks (CLKA and CLKB) from a single input clock (GCLK). The methodology allows an integrated circuit (10) designed according to it to be tested at the part's operating frequency. Also, the test methodology is compatible with known test methodologies such as level sensitive scan design ('LSSD'). The pre-existing body of test programs and equipment can be used with a circuit incorporating the invention. The single clock requirement also simplifies design.

Clock scan design from sizzle global clock and method therefor

A system and method for reducing the cycle time necessary to execute semantic routines in a processor that emulates guest instructions. Each of the semantic routines includes a block of host instructions for performing the function of the corresponding guest instruction, and the last instruction in each of the semantic routines is a branch instruction. The method and system first determines the block length of each of the semantic routines. When a first guest instruction is encountered, the block of instructions in a first semantic routine corresponding to a guest instruction is executed. The block length of first semantic routine is then used to determine when to fetch a second semantic routine without fetching and decoding the branch instruction in the first semantic routine, thereby increasing emulation performance.

Method and system for minimizing the number of cycles required to

A method and system are disclosed for processing instructions within a data processing system including a processor having a plurality of execution units. According to the method of the present invention, a number of instructions stored within a memory within the data processing system are retrieved from memory. A selected instruction among the number of instructions is decoded to determine if the selected instruction would be noneffective if executed by the processor. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, noneffective instructions include instructions with invalid opcodes and instructions that would not change the value of any data register within the processor. In response to determining that the selected instruction would be noneffective if executed by the processor, the selected instruction is recoded into a specified instruction format prior to dispatching the selected instruction to one of the number of execution units. Detecting noneffective instructions prior to dispatch reduces the decode logic required within the dispatcher and enhances processor performance.

Method and system for recording noneffective instructions within a data

Method and system for recoding noneffective instructions within a data

A data processor (10) has a translation lookaside buffer, a 'TLB,' (56) for translating internal effective addresses into external real addresses. A user programmable bit in a special purpose register (68) controls which TLB entry in a group of entries will be replaced after an unsuccessful translation. Normally, the data processor uses a hardware controlled algorithm to select an entry for replacement. However, the user can overwrite the value in the special purpose register to force a certain replacement scheme. The user can thereby protect certain important translation mappings or deterministically test the TLB after manufacture.

Address translation lookaside buffer replacement apparatus and method

A sequential prefetch method is provided for a pipelined data processor having a sequential instruction prefetch unit (IPU). An instruction queue in the IPU is coupled to a pipelined instruction unit and an instruction cache of the data processor. A prefetch controller in the IPU keeps the instruction stream prefetched so that the instruction queue may load any combination of one, two, or three word instructions into the pipelined instruction unit every clock cycle. The pipelined instruction unit receives instruction words from the instruction queue, and decodes the instruction for execution operations, and for the instruction length/pipeline movement. A queue filling method is provided for maintaining the requisite number of instruction words in the instruction queue to avoid pipeline stalls. The queue filling method is based upon the movement of the instruction pipeline attributable to the usage by an instruction sequencer of the instruction words received from the instruction queue.

Method for refilling instruction queue by reading predetermined number

A block MOVE instruction allows a programmer to issue an instruction to a loosely coupled system bus controller, thereby facilitating the execution of a memory to memory move of multiple data entries, utilizing a burst mode transfer onto the system bus for both reads and writes. The instruction allows the programmer to fully utilize the maximum bus bandwidth of the system bus for memory to memory transfers of data (e.g. DMA, block moves, memory page initialization) and transfers of instructions/data to detached coprocessors.

Data processing system utilizes block move instruction for burst

A data cache capable of operation in a write-back (copyback) mode. The data cache design provides a mechanism for making the data cache coherent with memory, without writing the entire cache entry to memory, thereby reducing bus utilization. Each data cache entry is comprised of three items: data, a tag address, and a mixed size status field. The mixed size status fields provide one bit to indicate the validity of the data cache entry and multiple bits to indicate if the entry contains data that has not been written to memory (dirtiness). Multiple dirty bits provide a data cache controller with sufficient information to minimize the number of memory accesses used to unload a dirty entry. The data cache controller uses the multiple dirty bits to determine the quantity and type of accesses required to write the dirty data to memory. The portions of the entry being replaced that are clean (unmodified) are not written to memory.

System for transferring selected data words between main memory and

A bus snoop control method for maintaining coherency between a write-back cache and main memory during memory accesses by an alternate bus master. The method and apparatus incorporates an option to source `dirty` or altered data from the write-back cache to the alternate bus master during a memory read operation, and simultaneously invalidate `dirty` or altered data from the write-back cache. The method minimizes the number of cache accesses required to maintain coherency between the cache and main memory during page-out/page-in sequences initiated by the alternate bus master, thereby improving system performance.

Method for data bus snooping in a data processing system by selective

A data processor having a serialization attribute on a page basis is provided. A set of page descriptors and transparent translation registers encode the serialization attribute as a cache mode. The data processor is a pipelined machine, having at least two function units, which operate independently of each other. The function units issues requests, for access to information stored in an external memory, to an access controller. The access controller serves as an arbitration mechanism, and grants the requests of the function units in accordance with the issuance order of the requests by the function units. When the memory access is marked serialized in the page descriptor, an access controller postpones the serialized access, until the completion of all pending memory accesses in the instruction sequence. All pending requests are then completed in a predetermined order, independent of the issuance order of the requests made by the function units, and all appropriate exception processing is completed. The postponed serialized access is then completed.

Growing community of inventors

Austin, TX, United States of America

Russell A Reininger