The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Oct. 20, 2009
Filed:
Sep. 27, 2006
Leonard Eric Shar, Menlo Park, CA (US);
Kevin Paul Lawton, Santa Clara, CA (US);
Leonard Eric Shar, Menlo Park, CA (US);
Kevin Paul Lawton, Santa Clara, CA (US);
Sun Microsystems, Inc., Santa Clara, CA (US);
Abstract
A trace cache for efficient self-modifying code processing enables selective invalidation of entries of the trace cache, advantageously retaining some of the entries in the trace cache even during self-modifying code events. Instructions underlying trace cache entries are monitored for modification in groups, enabling advantageously reduced hardware. Associated with trace cache entries are one or more translation ages, determined when the entry is built by sampling current ages of memory blocks underlying the entry. When the entry is accessed and micro-operations therein are processed, each of the translation ages of the accessed entry are compared with the current ages of the memory blocks underlying the accessed entry. If any of the age comparisons fail, then the micro-operations are aborted and the entry is invalidated. When any portion of a memory block is modified, the current age of the modified memory block is incremented.