[libre-riscv-dev] store computation unit

Luke Kenneth Casson Leighton lkcl at lkcl.net
Thu Jun 20 16:56:30 BST 2019


On Thursday, June 20, 2019, Mitchalsup <mitchalsup at aol.com> wrote:

We have the equations::
>
>        Readable      = ANY( operand<0:31>                 &
> ~GlobalWritePending<0:31> )
>        Forwardable = ANY( FUwriteDependent<0:15> &   RequestRelease<0:15>
>     )
>        Executable   = Readable | Forwardable
>
> Where executable takes no more gates of delay that Readable or
> Forwardable; and adds only 3 real gates to the calculation of all 3
> equations.
>
> An Operand is executable if its operand can be found as a result in
> FUresult[i] or it if is current in RF[k].
> Where we know k from the instruction and we know i from the write
> dependencies at issue.
>
> If all operands are executable so is the instruction.
> If you pick an executable instruction you read out the registers to be
> read and you read out the FU who
> can write this register and you  use Readable and Forwardable to decide
> whether to get the operand from the result vector or from the register file.
>
> This enables one to begin executing an instruction from the timing of
> RequestRelease of instructions it is RAW dependent upon and not have to
> wait for GoWrite. If you happen to begin such an instruction, you have to
> go get its result from the result vector at the end of the calculation
> units.
>

This is the bit that my brain has been focussing on, independently (hence
why I was delighted to learn that you have been focussing on a different
area of the same space).


> Also note: an unconditional branch does not cast a shadow!
>

Good point.




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