LOADRS instruction and asynchronous context switch

• US 6,115,777 A
• Filed: 04/21/1998
• Issued: 09/05/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 04/21/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Idea Corporation
• Original Assignee: Idea Corporation
• Inventors: Zahir, Achmed Rumi, Ross, Jonathan K.
• Primary Examiner(s): An, Meng-Ai T.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Monestime, Mackly
• Application Number:
  US09/063,739
• Time in Patent Office: 868 Days
• Field of Search: 712/228, 712/23, 712/236, 712/218, 710/264, 710/260, 710/262, 710/263
• US Class Current: 710/260
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/24 using interrupt G06F13/32 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/3009 Thread control instructions
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/30134 Register stacks; shift registers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/3861 Recovery, e.g. branch miss-prediction, exception handling error detection or correction G06F11/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/461 Saving or restoring of program or task context
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4812 by interrupt, e.g. masked

Abstract

A method for returning from an interrupting context to an interrupted context in a processor is disclosed. The processor executes a programmed flow of instructions. The processor includes a register stack (RS) and a register stack engine (RSE) to exchange information between the RS and the storage area. The method includes the following steps: (a.) A first pointer (PTR) is generated. The pointer (PTR) points to a location in the storage area where dirty registers (previously unsaved) of an interrupted context are stored; (b.) It is determined whether a mathematical relation is valid between the first pointer and the second pointer (BSPLOAD) to a location in the storage area from where the RSE is configured to load dirty register values into the RS; (c) The second pointer is caused to point to a next location in the storage area if the relation is valid; and (d) A register of the RS is loaded with a content of the next location in the storage area until the mathematical relation becomes invalid.

Claims

1. In a processor to execute a programmed flow of instructions, said processor including a register stack (RS) and a register stack engine (RSE) to exchange information between said RS and a storage area, a method for returning from an interrupting context to an interrupted context, the method comprising:

generating a first pointer that points to a location in the storage area where dirty registers of an interrupted context are stored;

determining whether a mathematical relation is valid between said first pointer PTR and a second pointer pointing to a location in said storage area from where the RSE configured to load a programmable number of dirty register values into the RS;

if said mathematical relation is valid, causing said second pointer to point to a next location in said storage area; and

loading a register of said RS with a content of said next location in said storage area.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein generating and determining are repeated until said mathematical relation is not valid.

3. The method of claim 1 further including assigning to a third pointer, pointing to a location in said backing store where a next dirty register is to be written, said second pointer.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein said first pointer is equal to a difference between a fourth pointer, to a top of the storage area, and a number of dirty registers of said RS before said interrupted context interrupted by said interrupting context.

5. The method of claim 1 further including determining whether an external interrupt is pending and enabled and if so taking said external interrupt.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein said RSE configured to exchange information with said RS in one of an instruction execution dependent and independent modes.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein if said mathematical relationship is not valid, assigning to a third pointer, pointing to a location in said backing store where a next dirty register is to be written, said first pointer, and assigning to said second pointer said first pointer.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein said first pointer is equal to a difference between a fourth pointer, to a top of the storage area, and a number of dirty registers of said RS before said interrupted context interrupted by said interrupting context.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein if the number of dirty registers that is programmed is zero, then all registers in the RS are invalidated.

10. A processor to execute a programmed flow of instructions, said processor comprising:

a register stack (RS) having a portion to store dirty registers;

a register stack engine (RSE) to exchange information between a storage area and said RS in one of instruction execution dependent and independent modes; and

a load control circuit to generate a first pointer to a location in the storage area where dirty registers of an interrupted context are stored, to determine whether a mathematical relationship is valid between said first pointer and a second pointer to an address from where the RSE configured to load values to the RS and, while said mathematical relation is valid, to cause said first pointer to point to a next location in said storage area and to load a register of said RS with a content of the storage area to which said first pointer points until said mathematical relation is invalid.

11. The processor of claim 10 wherein if said mathematical relationship is not valid, said load control circuit assigns to a third pointer, pointing to a location in said backing store where a next dirty register is to be written, said first pointer, and assigns to said second pointer said first pointer.

12. In a processor to execute a programmed flow of instructions, said processor including a register stack (RS) to store therein information related to interrupting and interrupted contexts, and a register stack engine (RSE) to exchange said information, between said RS and a backing store (BS) of said interrupting context, a method for returning to said interrupting context comprising:

determining whether a specified number of registers of said interrupted context is stored in said RS;

if said specified number of registers is not stored in the RS, loading, from said BS a number of registers, of said specified number of registers, that are missing from said RS; and

invalidating registers of said RS that are stored beyond a predetermined address.