Intel Corporation

Sergey A Rozhkov

Boris A Babayan

Jayesh Iyer

Dmitry M Maslennikov

Alexander Y Ostanevich

Sergey P Scherbinin

Andrey Chudnovets

Alexander V Ermolovich

Denis G Motin

Edward Thomas Grochowski

Victor W Lee

An apparatus and method are described for executing instructions using a predicate register. For example, one embodiment of a processor comprises: a register set including a predicate register to store a set of predicate condition bits, the predicate condition bits specifying whether results of a particular predicated instruction sequence are to be retained or discarded; and predicate execution logic to execute a first predicate instruction to indicate a start of a new predicated instruction sequence by copying a condition value from a processor control register in the register set to the predicate register. In a further embodiment, the predicate condition bits in the predicate register are to be shifted in response to the first predicate instruction to free space within the predicate register for the new condition value associated with the new predicated instruction sequence.

Instructions for manipulating a multi-bit predicate register for predicating instruction sequences

Embodiments described herein generally relate to the field of multi-strand out-of-order loop processing, and, more specifically, to apparatus and methods to support counted loop exits in a multi-strand loop processor. In one embodiment, a processor includes a loop accelerator comprising a strand documentation buffer and a plurality of strand execution circuits; and a binary translator to receive a plurality of loop instructions, divide the plurality of loop instructions into a plurality of strands, and store a strand documentation for each of the plurality of strands into the strand documentation buffer, each strand documentation indicating at least a number of iterations; wherein the binary translator further causes the loop accelerator to execute the plurality of strands asynchronously and in parallel using the plurality of strand execution circuits, wherein each of the strand execution circuits repeats the strand for the number of iterations indicated in the strand documentation associated with the strand.

Apparatus and methods to support counted loop exits in a multi-strand loop processor

An apparatus includes a register file and a binary translator to create a plurality of strands and a plurality of iteration windows, where each iteration window of the plurality of iteration windows is allocated a set of continuous registers of the register file. The apparatus further includes a buffer to store strand documentation for a strand from the plurality of strands, where the strand documentation for the strand is to include an indication of a current register base for the strand. The apparatus further includes an execution circuit to execute an instruction to update the current register base for the strand in the strand documentation for the strand based on a fixed step value and an iteration window size.

Method and apparatus to create register windows for parallel iterations to achieve high performance in HW-SW codesigned loop accelerator

An apparatus includes a binary translator to hoist a load instruction in a branch of a conditional statement above the conditional statement and insert a speculation control of load (SCL) instruction in a complementary branch of the conditional statement, where the SCL instruction provides an indication of a real program order (RPO) of the load instruction before the load instruction was hoisted. The apparatus further includes an execution circuit to execute the load instruction to perform a load and cause an entry for the load instruction to be inserted in an ordering buffer, and where the execution circuit is to execute the SCL instruction to locate the entry for the load instruction in the ordering buffer using the RPO of the load instruction provided by the SCL instruction and discard the entry for the load instruction from the ordering buffer.

Method to do control speculation on loads in a high performance strand-based loop accelerator

An apparatus includes a first circuit to determine a real program order (RPO) of an eldest undispatched instruction from among a plurality of strands, a second circuit to determine an RPO limit based on a delta value and the RPO of the eldest undispatched instruction, an ordering buffer to store entries for instructions that are waiting to be retired, and a third circuit to execute an orderable instruction from a strand from the plurality of strands to cause an entry for the orderable instruction to be inserted into the ordering buffer in response to a determination that an RPO of the orderable instruction is less than or equal to the RPO limit.

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San Jose, CA, United States of America

Sergey A Rozhkov