MICRO 20Pub Date : 1987-12-01DOI: 10.1145/255305.255310
W. Chen, G. N. Reddy
{"title":"A computer aided design automation system for developing microprogrammed processors: a design approach through HDLs","authors":"W. Chen, G. N. Reddy","doi":"10.1145/255305.255310","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1145/255305.255310","url":null,"abstract":"This paper presents an approach that provides a total computer aided design environment for developing microprogrammed processors using hardware description languages. This includes the behavioral description, micro-coding, and testing of the integrated microprogrammed processors. To illustrate the design procedure a functionally equivalent micro-coded version of the Motorola's MC6809 processor was modeled, and tested. The results indicate that it is a valid design approach. The micro control unit described through the hardware description language AHPL not only replaces the required microprogram simulator but also emulates its exact hardware. Here the micro control unit and the microcode are emulated and tested as a unit; in much the same way a real processor's micro control unit functions with its stored microcode. The emulated micro-simulator here is used for verifying the MC6809 microcode. It can, however, be used as a general purpose testbed for testing any microcode. The design procedure presented here is for the MC6809 microprogrammed processor, however, the procedure can be used to design any processor with user defined instruction set.","PeriodicalId":194206,"journal":{"name":"MICRO 20","volume":"29 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1987-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"116804432","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
MICRO 20Pub Date : 1987-12-01DOI: 10.1145/255305.255313
J. Bhasker
{"title":"An algorithm for microcode compaction of VHDL behavioral descriptions","authors":"J. Bhasker","doi":"10.1145/255305.255313","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1145/255305.255313","url":null,"abstract":"We present an algorithm to transform a sequential (vertical microcode) VHDL (VHSIC Hardware Description Language) behavioral description of a digital system design into a parallel (horizontal microcode) VHDL description. Data dependency analysis is performed on the sequential code to identify the parallelism within the code. This parallel VHDL code is targeted for synthesis by the MIMOLA synthesis system.","PeriodicalId":194206,"journal":{"name":"MICRO 20","volume":"31 3 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1987-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"116812491","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
MICRO 20Pub Date : 1987-12-01DOI: 10.1145/255305.255312
Mark J. Harris
{"title":"Extending microcode compaction for real architectures","authors":"Mark J. Harris","doi":"10.1145/255305.255312","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1145/255305.255312","url":null,"abstract":"Microcode compaction is an essential component of any high-level language compiler that generates microcode for a horizontal architecture machine. Recent research into both local and global compaction has assumed the use of a simple abstract machine. Although this assumption simplifies the effort considerably, it neglects addressing and timing problems brought on by the uncommon operation of some machines.\u0000This paper discusses both local and global compaction in terms of the Burroughs D-machine. The D-machine has peculiar timing and an uncommon jump instruction that do not readily fit into proposed compaction algorithms. Methods for handling these problems are presented. In addition, two popular algorithms for performing compaction, list scheduling and trace scheduling, are explained entirely in terms of the D-machine. This should aid the reader in understanding the problem and evaluating any alternatives.","PeriodicalId":194206,"journal":{"name":"MICRO 20","volume":"77 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1987-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"133439161","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
MICRO 20Pub Date : 1987-12-01DOI: 10.1145/255305.255319
Jack S. Walicki, J. Laughlin
{"title":"Operation scheduling in reconfigurable, multifunction pipelines","authors":"Jack S. Walicki, J. Laughlin","doi":"10.1145/255305.255319","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1145/255305.255319","url":null,"abstract":"One of the key issues in the efficient use of pipelines is the problem of pipeline scheduling. An overview of the research in pipeline scheduling is presented. The scheduling problem for multifunction, dynamically reconfigurable pipelines is studied from the point of view of retargetable microcode compilation. A modified greedy strategy using the criterion of the earliest completion time tc is presented with an example.","PeriodicalId":194206,"journal":{"name":"MICRO 20","volume":"10 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1987-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"133483890","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
MICRO 20Pub Date : 1987-12-01DOI: 10.1145/255305.255309
T. Baba, H. Minakawa, K. Okuda
{"title":"A visual microprogramming system","authors":"T. Baba, H. Minakawa, K. Okuda","doi":"10.1145/255305.255309","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1145/255305.255309","url":null,"abstract":"A visual microprogramming system has been developed to support all aspects of the microprogramming process for a microprogrammed computer. The user can specify microoperations on a displayed hardware configuration. A graphical microprogram list has also been designed to display several microinstructions on the screen. Optimization may also be done on the screen. A visual simulator graphically illustrates the execution of microoperations on the screen, while allowing the user to control the simulator by using several commands. Preliminary evaluation results are also presented.","PeriodicalId":194206,"journal":{"name":"MICRO 20","volume":"125 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1987-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"115467796","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
MICRO 20Pub Date : 1987-12-01DOI: 10.1145/255305.255343
S. Melvin, Y. Patt
{"title":"SPAM: a microcode based tool for tracing operating system events","authors":"S. Melvin, Y. Patt","doi":"10.1145/255305.255343","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1145/255305.255343","url":null,"abstract":"We have developed a tool called SPAM (for System Performance Analysis using Microcode), based on microcode modifications to a VAX 8600, that traces operating system events as a side-effect to normal execution. This trace of interrupts, exceptions, system calls and context switches can then be processed to analyze operating system behavior for the purpose of debugging, tuning or development. SPAM allows measurements to be made on a fully operating UNIX system with little perturbation (typically less than 10%) and without the need for modifying the kernel.","PeriodicalId":194206,"journal":{"name":"MICRO 20","volume":"2 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1987-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"128629499","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
MICRO 20Pub Date : 1987-12-01DOI: 10.1145/255305.255311
T. Pittman, L. Bartel
{"title":"Computer architecture simulation using a register transfer language","authors":"T. Pittman, L. Bartel","doi":"10.1145/255305.255311","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1145/255305.255311","url":null,"abstract":"ASIM (Architecture Simulator) is a hardware description language for describing the hardware of a digital electronic system. The components of an electronic system are described by three primitives: ALU, Selector, and Memory, which are sufficient to describe any piece of digital electronic equipment. ASIM is different from other hardware description languages in that it uses only these three high-level primitives and is not based upon an underlying programming language. To ease the translation of the specification to hardware, ASIM description primitives closely resemble their hardware counterparts, which leads to more compact descriptions than other languages. ASIM is implemented both in an interpreter and a compiler.","PeriodicalId":194206,"journal":{"name":"MICRO 20","volume":"18 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1987-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"126075940","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
MICRO 20Pub Date : 1987-12-01DOI: 10.1145/255305.255307
P. Lenders
{"title":"Distributed microprogramming","authors":"P. Lenders","doi":"10.1145/255305.255307","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1145/255305.255307","url":null,"abstract":"This paper proposes the use of the microprogramming technique for synchronizing multiprocessors. The language used is an extension of CSP including the bi-io and the probe statements. We present a self-stabilizing algorithm for the generation of a two-phase clock; this algorithm is a generalization of the Dining Philosophers Problem, where n philosophers access m resources.","PeriodicalId":194206,"journal":{"name":"MICRO 20","volume":"11 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1987-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"127069567","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
MICRO 20Pub Date : 1987-12-01DOI: 10.1145/255305.255331
A. Uht, C. Polychronopoulos, J. Kolen
{"title":"On the combination of hardware and software concurrency extraction methods","authors":"A. Uht, C. Polychronopoulos, J. Kolen","doi":"10.1145/255305.255331","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1145/255305.255331","url":null,"abstract":"It has been shown that parallelism is a very promising alternative for enhancing computer performance. Parallelism, however, introduces much complexity to the programming effort. This has lead to the development of automatic concurrency extraction techniques. Prior work has demonstrated that static program restructuring via compiler based techniques provides a large degree of parallelism to the target machine. Purely hardware based extraction techniques (without software preprocessing) have also demonstrated significant (but lesser) degrees of parallelism. This paper considers the performance effects of the combination of both hardware and software techniques. The concurrency extracted from a given set of benchmarks by each technique separately, and together, is determined via simulations and/or analysis. The “common parallelism” extracted by the two methods is thus also considered, using new metrics. The analytic techniques for predicting the performance of specific programs are also described.","PeriodicalId":194206,"journal":{"name":"MICRO 20","volume":"39 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1987-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"130589493","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
MICRO 20Pub Date : 1987-12-01DOI: 10.1145/255305.255335
D. Archer
{"title":"The instruction parsing microarchitecture of the CVAX microprocessor","authors":"D. Archer","doi":"10.1145/255305.255335","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1145/255305.255335","url":null,"abstract":"CVAX is a single chip, CMOS VLSI VAX microprocessor. Several microarchitectural innovations helped achieve the desired performance goal of this machine. In particular, the instruction parsing and prefetching mechanism is different from other VAX implementations. This new instruction parsing microarchitecture is discussed in this paper.","PeriodicalId":194206,"journal":{"name":"MICRO 20","volume":"82 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1987-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"130404565","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}