Instruction Merging Optimization for Processor Latency
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current processor systems face inefficiencies in executing streams of instructions due to the need to analyze and execute multiple instructions sequentially, which increases latency and resource consumption, especially when instructions depend on each other's outcomes.
Innovation Solution
A computer system and method that identifies eligible machine instructions and merges them into a single optimized internal instruction, reducing the number of instructions to be analyzed and executed, by determining if one instruction specifies a target register that is also a source register for the next sequential instruction, allowing these instructions to be combined and executed as a single operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If multiple sequential instructions are executed separately, then each instruction can be processed independently, but the total execution time and latency increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple sequential instructions that operate on the same register into a single combined instruction. The instruction optimization unit identifies when a first instruction writes to a target register and a second sequential instruction reads from that same register, then combines these instructions into one optimized instruction that performs both operations, eliminating the need to execute them separately and reducing latency.
2Reliability
If multiple instructions are analyzed and executed sequentially, then instruction dependencies are maintained, but the number of analysis and execution cycles increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple instructions into a single optimized instruction that preserves the original dependency relationships. The instruction optimization unit analyzes instruction pairs to identify cases where the first instruction's output is the second instruction's input, then merges them while maintaining the correct execution order and data flow, reducing the number of instructions the processor must analyze and execute.
3Productivity
If instructions are merged into a single optimized instruction, then the number of instructions to execute decreases, but the complexity of instruction optimization increases
Solution Approach 1:
The instruction optimization unit implements a systematic merging approach by identifying specific patterns: when a first instruction specifies a target register and a second sequential instruction specifies that same register as a source register, the unit merges these into a single optimized instruction. This pattern-based approach balances optimization effectiveness with implementation complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs instruction optimization in advance before the instructions reach the execution unit. The instruction optimization unit analyzes and merges eligible instructions during the fetch or decode stage, so that by the time instructions reach execution, the optimization work has already been completed, improving processing efficiency without adding complexity to the execution stage.
Data Source
AI summary
A computer system for optimizing instructions is configured to identify two or more machine instructions as being eligible for optimization, to merge the two or more machine instructions into a single optimized internal instruction that is configured to perform functions of the two or more machine instructions, and to execute the single optimized internal instruction to perform the functions of the two or more machine instructions. Being eligible includes determining that the two or more machine instructions include a first instruction specifying a first target register and a second instruction specifying the first target register as a source register and a target register. The second instruction is a next sequential instruction of the first instruction in program order, wherein the first instruction specifies a first function to be performed, and the second instruction specifies a second function to be performed.