Importance

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Abstract

An apparatus is provided for detecting instruction ordering dependencies. The apparatus includes a plurality of address comparators. Each comparator including a first input adapted to receive a first operand address from one of a plurality of instructions; a second input adapted to receive a second operand address from a second one of a plurality of instructions; and an output to transmit a logic signal responsive to a match between the first and second operand addresses. The address comparators receive the first operand address from a respective, different ones of the plurality of instructions; and a hardware structure to receive the match indications from the address comparators and to indicate a dependency responsive to the match indications from a first one and a second one of the address comparators. A method is provided for detecting instruction dependencies. The method includes receiving first and second pluralities of operand addresses that correspond to first and second pluralities of operands of instructions, and selecting ones of the first and second pluralities of operands. The ones of the first and second pluralities of operands have associated respective first and second register addresses. The one of the first plurality of operands is a destination operand of a first instruction. The method also includes generating a logic signal for a dependency in response to the first and second register addresses matching and the ones of the first and second pluralities of operands being operands from different instructions.

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First Claim