Object-oriented processor and method for caching intermediate data in an

Abstract

An object-oriented processor and method of operating such a processor are disclosed. According to the method, in response to receiving a first instruction that references a first object having both data and at least a first method associated therewith, an address of the first method is calculated. In addition, at least one pointer is cached that indicates (possibly together with other pointers) the address of the first method. In response to receipt of a subsequent second instruction that references a second object having both data and one or more methods associated therewith, where the one or more methods include the first method, the address of a second method associated with the second object is determined by reference to the cached pointer. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the first and second methods comprise the same method, and the cached pointer indicates the entry point of that single method.