Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!rutgers!cbmvax!jesup
From: jesup@cbmvax.UUCP (Randell Jesup)
Newsgroups: comp.arch
Subject: Re: A dumb idea for making data caches more useful
Keywords: data cache, D cache
Message-ID: <6099@cbmvax.UUCP>
Date: 28 Feb 89 01:50:00 GMT
References: <2756@daisy.UUCP>
Reply-To: jesup@cbmvax.UUCP (Randell Jesup)
Organization: Commodore Technology, West Chester, PA
Lines: 17

In article <2756@daisy.UUCP> david@daisy.UUCP (David Schachter) writes:
>Um, how about constructing the D cache such that a program
>can give it a hint?  "Hey, D cache, I intend to access data
>starting from location x, w bytes at a time, stride factor
>y, for z times."
>
>The D cache could then intelligently look ahead.  How about
>it?

	Hit the nail #1 on the head.  Who's up for nail #2?
(actually, no need to tell it how many times you're going to look, 
just tell it starting here, offset so much, and maybe how many bytes accessed
at each spot - note that there are other optimizations that you can do IF the
processor lets you get at some useful bits of internal state).

-- 
Randell Jesup, Commodore Engineering {uunet|rutgers|allegra}!cbmvax!jesup