Abstract:
Disclosed embodiments include a data processing apparatus having a processing core, a memory, and a streaming engine. The streaming engine is configured to receive a plurality of data elements stored in the memory and to provide the plurality of data elements as a data stream to the processing core, and includes an address generator to generate addresses corresponding to locations in the memory, a buffer to store the data elements received from the locations in the memory corresponding to the generated addresses, and an output to supply the data elements received from the memory to the processing core as the data stream.
Abstract:
A Very Long Instruction Word (VLIW) digital signal processor particularly adapted for single instruction multiple data (SIMD) operation on various operand widths and data sizes. A vector compare instruction compares first and second operands and stores compare bits. A companion vector conditional instruction performs conditional operations based upon the state of a corresponding predicate data register bit. A predicate unit performs data processing operations on data in at least one predicate data register including unary operations and binary operations. The predicate unit may also transfer data between a general data register file and the predicate data register file.
Abstract:
The vector data path is divided into smaller vector lanes. A register such as a memory mapped control register stores a vector lane number (VLX) indicating the number of vector lanes to be powered. A decoder converts this VLX into a vector lane control word, each bit controlling the ON of OFF state of the corresponding vector lane. This number of contiguous least significant vector lanes are powered. In the preferred embodiment the stored data VLX indicates that 2VLX contiguous least significant vector lanes are to be powered. Thus the number of vector lanes powered is limited to an integral power of 2. This manner of coding produces a very compact controlling bit field while obtaining substantially all the power saving advantage of individually controlling the power of all vector lanes.
Abstract:
A method of loading and duplicating scalar data from a source into a destination register. The data may be duplicated in byte, half word, word or double word parts, according to a duplication pattern.
Abstract:
One embodiment of this invention provides two conditional execution auxiliary instructions directed to disparate subsets of the plural functional units. Depending on the conditional execution desired, only one of the two conditional execution auxiliary instructions may be required for a particular execute packet. Another embodiment of this invention employs only one of two possible register files for the condition registers. In a VLIW processor it may be advantageous to split the functional units into separate sets with corresponding register files. This limits the number of functional units that may simultaneously access the register files. In the preferred embodiment of this invention the functional units are divided into a scalar set which access scalar registers and a vector set which access vector registers. The data registers storing the conditions for both scalar and vector instructions are in the scalar data register file.
Abstract:
A technique for method for executing instructions in a processor includes receiving a first instruction, receiving a second instruction, identifying a functional unit specified by an opcode contained in an opcode field of the first instruction, selecting a field of the second instruction that contains predicate information based on the identified functional unit, and executing the first instruction in a conditional manner using the identified functional unit and the predicate information contained in the selected field of the second instruction.
Abstract:
A method is shown that is operable to transform and align a plurality of fields from an input to an output data stream using a multilayer butterfly or inverse butterfly network. Many transformations are possible with such a network which may include separate control of each multiplexer. This invention supports a limited set of multiplexer control signals, which enables a similarly limited set of data transformations. This limited capability is offset by the reduced complexity of the multiplexor control circuits.
Abstract:
The number of registers required is reduced by overlapping scalar and vector registers. This also allows increased compiler flexibility when mixing scalar and vector instructions. Local register read ports are minimized by restricting read access. Dedicated predicate registers reduces requirements for general registers, and allows reduction of critical timing paths by allowing the predicate registers to be placed next to the predicate unit.
Abstract:
This invention addresses implements a range of interesting technologies into a single block. Each DSP CPU has a streaming engine. The streaming engines include: a SE to L2 interface that can request 512 bits/cycle from L2; a loose binding between SE and L2 interface, to allow a single stream to peak at 1024 bits/cycle; one-way coherence where the SE sees all earlier writes cached in system, but not writes that occur after stream opens; full protection against single-bit data errors within its internal storage via single-bit parity with semi-automatic restart on parity error.
Abstract:
The number of registers required is reduced by overlapping scalar and vector registers. This also allows increased compiler flexibility when mixing scalar and vector instructions. Local register read ports are minimized by restricting read access. Dedicated predicate registers reduces requirements for general registers, and allows reduction of critical timing paths by allowing the predicate registers to be placed next to the predicate unit.