摘要:
An integrated circuit 2 is provided with a cache memory 6 and a cache controller 10 coupled to the cache memory 6 via a cache memory interface 8. The cache controller supports different cache memory sizes. The cache memory 6 includes masking logic 14 responsive to cache memory size signals to form masked address values for use in accessing the cache memory 6. The cache controller 10 can be part of a processor core 4 which may be hardened in its design and yet able to cope with variable cache memory sizes since the masking logic 14 is provided within the cache memory 6 outside of the hardened periphery of the processor core 4.
摘要:
An integrated circuit 2 is provided with a cache memory 6 and a cache controller 10 coupled to the cache memory 6 via a cache memory interface 8. The cache controller supports different cache memory sizes. The cache memory 6 includes masking logic 14 responsive to cache memory size signals to form masked address values for use in accessing the cache memory 6. The cache controller 10 can be part of a processor core 4 which may be hardened in its design and yet able to cope with variable cache memory sizes since the masking logic 14 is provided within the cache memory 6 outside of the hardened periphery of the processor core 4.
摘要:
A data processing apparatus and method are provided for converting data values from a first endian format to a second endian format. Swizzle circuitry is provided for receiving a block of data containing at least one data value, and for converting each data value from the first endian format to the second endian format. The swizzle circuitry comprises first swizzle circuitry for performing a re-ordering operation on the block of data assuming the at least one data value contained therein is of a first size, in order to produce re-ordered data. Second swizzle circuitry is provided which is responsive to an indication that the at least one data value is of a size different to the first size to perform an additional re-ordering operation on the re-ordered data having regard to the size of the at least one data value in order to convert each data value to the second endian format.
摘要:
A method and data processing apparatus comprise a cache having a plurality of data entries; an eviction buffer comprising an information portion and a data portion; and eviction logic to transfer information associated with a first of the plurality of data entries from the cache to the information portion and to determine, with reference to the information, whether the first of the plurality of data entries should be written to a memory by examining the information. If it is determined that the data entry should be written to the memory, the eviction logic (1) transfers the information from the eviction buffer to a bus coupled with the memory, (2)transfers data of the first of the plurality of data entries from the cache to a data portion of the eviction buffer, (3) transfers information associated with a second of the plurality of data entries from the cache to the associated portion of the eviction buffer such that the data stored by the data portion of the eviction buffer corresponds to the first of the plurality of data entries and the information stored by the data portion of the eviction buffer corresponds to the second of the plurality of data entries, and (4) transfers the data stored by the data portion of the eviction buffer to the bus. This approach provides a low-power, high performance technique for handling eviction requests.
摘要:
A data processing apparatus and method which handle data processing requests is disclosed. The data processing apparatus comprises: reception logic operable to receive, for subsequent issue, a request to perform a processing activity; response logic operable to receive an indication of whether the data processing apparatus is currently able, if the request was issued, perform the processing activity in response to that issued request; and optimisation logic operable, in the event that the response logic indicates that the data processing apparatus would be currently unable to perform the processing activities in response to the issued request, to alter pending requests received by the reception logic to improve the performance of the data processing apparatus. Accordingly, the time available whilst waiting for unit to become available can be utilised to analyse the pending requests and to optimize or alter these requests in some way in order to subsequently improve the performance of the data processing apparatus. Hence, once the component is then able to deal with the altered requests, the altered requests will then enable the data processing apparatus to operate more efficiently than had the original requests been used.
摘要:
A line fill method, line fill unit and data processing apparatus are disclosed. The line fill method, comprises the steps of: a) associating a line fill buffer with a unique identifier; b) initiating a line fill request to provide said line fill buffer with line fill data, said line fill request having said unique identifier associated therewith; and c) in the event that said line fill buffer is filled with said line fill data prior to said line fill data having been returned in response to said line fill request, associating said line fill buffer with a different unique identifier to enable a subsequent line fill request to be initiated. By enabling the line fill buffer to be associated with different unique identifiers, the line fill buffer can initiate a new request despite the previous request not having been completed without there being any concern that the returned data may be misallocated. This enables multiple line fill requests to be simultaneously pending and subsequent line fill requests to be initiated whilst previous line fill requests are outstanding. Accordingly, subsequent line fill requests may be initiated earlier than would have been possible had the line fill buffer had to wait for all of the line fill data associated with each line fill request to be returned.
摘要:
Cache circuitry, a data processing apparatus including such cache circuitry, and a method of handling write requests within cache circuitry, are provided. The cache circuitry has a plurality of slots, with each slot arranged to store attributes associated with a pending access request. A record of identifiers that are available to associate with pending access requests is maintained, and control circuitry is responsive to an access request issued by a device to accept that access request as a pending access request by allocating one of the slots to that access request, obtaining one of said identifiers from the record to associate with that access request, and causing the attributes associated with that access request to be stored in the allocated slot along with the obtained identifier. A check procedure is performed to determine, for each pending access request, whether that access request is allowed to proceed. For a speculative pending write access request that is determined to be allowed to proceed, the attributes associated with that access request and the identifier associated with that access request are transferred from the allocated slot to a write entry within a write access buffer, after which the allocated slot is freed for allocation to a subsequent access request. When a speculative confirmed signal is then received from the device specifying that identifier, the write access buffer outputs the attributes from the write entry to store circuitry used to complete the access request. This provides a very efficient mechanism for handling speculative write accesses within a cache.
摘要:
A line fill method, line fill unit and data processing apparatus are disclosed. The line fill method, comprises the steps of: a) associating a line fill buffer with a unique identifier; b) initiating a line fill request to provide said line fill buffer with line fill data, said line fill request having said unique identifier associated therewith; and c) in the event that said line fill buffer is filled with said line fill data prior to said line fill data having been returned in response to said line fill request, associating said line fill buffer with a different unique identifier to enable a subsequent line fill request to be initiated. By enabling the line fill buffer to be associated with different unique identifiers, the line fill buffer can initiate a new request despite the previous request not having been completed without there being any concern that the returned data may be misallocated. This enables multiple line fill requests to be simultaneously pending and subsequent line fill requests to be initiated whilst previous line fill requests are outstanding. Accordingly, subsequent line fill requests may be initiated earlier than would have been possible had the line fill buffer had to wait for all of the line fill data associated with each line fill request to be returned.
摘要:
A data processing apparatus and method are provided for converting data values from a first endian format to a second endian format. Swizzle circuitry is provided within the data processing apparatus for receiving a block of data containing at least one data value, and for converting each data value in the block from the first endian format to the second endian format. The swizzle circuitry comprises first swizzle circuitry for performing a re-ordering operation on the block of data assuming the at least one data value contained therein is of a first predetermined size, in order to produce re-ordered data. Further, second swizzle circuitry is provided which is responsive to an indication that the at least one data value is of a size different to the first predetermined size to perform an additional re-ordering operation on the re-ordered data having regard to the size of the at least one data value in order to convert each data value to the second endian format. The swizzle circuitry is responsive to an indication that the at least one data value is of the first predetermined size to output the re-ordered data produced by the first swizzle circuitry, whereas otherwise the swizzle circuitry outputs the data produced by the second swizzle circuitry. This can reduce the complexity of swizzle circuitry provided on a critical path, by optimising the swizzle circuitry to handle endian conversion for data values of the first predetermined size, at the expense of data values that are of other sizes requiring more time for the endian conversion operation to be completed.
摘要:
The present invention provides a method and data processing apparatus comprising: a cache having a plurality of data entries; an eviction buffer comprising an information portion and a data portion; and eviction logic operable to transfer information associated with a first of the plurality of data entries from the cache to the information portion and to determine, with reference to the information, whether the first of the plurality of data entries should be written to a memory by examining the information, the eviction logic being further operable, if it is determined that the data entry should be written to the memory, to transfer the information from the eviction buffer to a bus coupled with the memory and to transfer data of the first of the plurality of data entries from the cache to a data portion of the eviction buffer, to transfer information associated with a second of the plurality of data entries from the cache to the associated portion of the eviction buffer such that the data stored by the data portion of the eviction buffer corresponds to the first of the plurality of data entries and the information stored by the data portion of the eviction buffer corresponds to the second of the plurality of data entries, and to transfer the data stored by the data portion of the eviction buffer to the bus. This approach provides a low-power, high performance technique for handling eviction requests.