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Monitor entry and exit for a speculative thread during space and time dimensional execution

  • US 6,684,398 B2
  • Filed: 01/16/2001
  • Issued: 01/27/2004
  • Est. Priority Date: 05/31/2000
  • Status: Active Grant
First Claim
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1. A method for handling critical sections for a speculative thread, the method operating in a system that supports a head thread that executes program instructions and the speculative thread that speculatively executes program instructions in advance of the head thread, the method comprising:

  • during an entry into a critical section by the speculative thread, incrementing a variable containing a number of virtual locks held by the speculative thread;

    wherein a virtual lock held by the speculative thread is associated with the critical section and is used to keep track of the fact that the speculative thread entered the critical section;

    wherein the virtual lock does not prevent the speculative thread or other threads from entering the critical section;

    during an exit from the critical section by the speculative thread, decrementing the variable containing the number of virtual locks held by the speculative thread;

    receiving a request to perform a join operation with the head thread, the join operation merging state associated with the speculative thread into state associated with the head thread; and

    waiting to perform the join operation until the variable containing the number of virtual locks held by the speculative thread equals zero.

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