U.S. patent application number 15/848353 was filed with the patent office on 2019-01-17 for efficient pointer load and format.
The applicant listed for this patent is International Business Machines Corporation. Invention is credited to Eyal Naor, Martin Recktenwald, Aaron Tsai, Christian Zoellin.
Application Number | 20190018683 15/848353 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 64739686 |
Filed Date | 2019-01-17 |
![](/patent/app/20190018683/US20190018683A1-20190117-D00000.png)
![](/patent/app/20190018683/US20190018683A1-20190117-D00001.png)
![](/patent/app/20190018683/US20190018683A1-20190117-D00002.png)
![](/patent/app/20190018683/US20190018683A1-20190117-D00003.png)
![](/patent/app/20190018683/US20190018683A1-20190117-D00004.png)
United States Patent
Application |
20190018683 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Naor; Eyal ; et al. |
January 17, 2019 |
EFFICIENT POINTER LOAD AND FORMAT
Abstract
Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to processing a
microprocessor instruction by receiving a microprocessor
instruction for processing by a microprocessor, and processing the
microprocessor instruction in a multi-cycle operation by acquiring
a unit of data having a plurality of ordered bits, where the
acquiring is performed by the microprocessor during a first clock
cycle, and shifting the unit of data by a number of bits, where the
shifting is performed by the microprocessor during a second clock
cycle subsequent to the first clock cycle.
Inventors: |
Naor; Eyal; (Tel-Aviv,
IL) ; Recktenwald; Martin; (Schoenaich, DE) ;
Zoellin; Christian; (Weinstadt, DE) ; Tsai;
Aaron; (Poughkeepsie, NY) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
International Business Machines Corporation |
Armonk |
NY |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
64739686 |
Appl. No.: |
15/848353 |
Filed: |
December 20, 2017 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
15647649 |
Jul 12, 2017 |
|
|
|
15848353 |
|
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F 9/226 20130101;
G06F 9/30032 20130101; G06F 9/35 20130101; G06F 9/30025 20130101;
G06F 9/30181 20130101; G06F 9/30043 20130101 |
International
Class: |
G06F 9/30 20060101
G06F009/30; G06F 9/22 20060101 G06F009/22 |
Claims
1. A method comprising: receiving a microprocessor instruction for
processing by a microprocessor; maintaining, by the microprocessor,
the microprocessor instruction as a single instruction in an
instruction queue until the microprocessor instruction is removed
from the instruction queue for processing by the microprocessor;
processing the microprocessor instruction in a multi-cycle
operation, wherein processing the microprocessor instruction
comprises: retrieving, by a load-store unit of the microprocessor
and from cache memory of the microprocessor, a unit of data having
a plurality of ordered bits during a first clock cycle; zeroing,
after the retrieving and during the first clock cycle, any of the
bits that are not required for use with a predefined addressing
mode; shifting, by the load store unit, the unit of data by a
number of bits during a second clock cycle immediately following
the first clock cycle; placing, after the shifting and during the
second clock cycle, the unit of data into a register of the
microprocessor; and providing, after the shifting and during the
second clock cycle, the unit of data to comparison logic of the
microprocessor, wherein the microprocessor instruction is
maintained as a single instruction in a completion table during the
processing of the microprocessor instruction.
Description
BACKGROUND
[0001] The present disclosure relates generally to the field of
processors, and more particularly to microprocessor architecture
design.
[0002] Some microprocessor architectures support individual
instructions that require loading a pointer from memory and
manipulating the loaded data. One such example involves a condensed
pointer in which a known boundary is considered, and therefore the
pointer is kept in memory without its least significant zeros.
After loading the pointer, it is left-shifted to restore the actual
address. Thus, where a 32-bit pointer is used in a 64-bit
processor, 64 bits are loaded from cache memory, whereupon the most
significant 32 bits are zeroed to produce a 32-bit pointer.
SUMMARY
[0003] In one aspect of the present disclosure, a method is
provided for processing a microprocessor instruction, the method
including receiving a microprocessor instruction for processing by
a microprocessor, and processing the microprocessor instruction in
a multi-cycle operation by acquiring a unit of data having a
plurality of ordered bits, where the acquiring is performed by the
microprocessor during a first clock cycle, and shifting the unit of
data by a number of bits, where the shifting is performed by the
microprocessor during a second clock cycle subsequent to the first
clock cycle.
[0004] In other aspects of the present disclosure, systems and
computer program products for processing a microprocessor
instruction are provided. The above summary is not intended to
describe each illustrated embodiment or every implementation of the
present disclosure.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0005] The drawings included in the present disclosure are
incorporated into, and form part of, the specification. They
illustrate embodiments of the present disclosure and, along with
the description, serve to explain the principles of the disclosure.
The drawings are only illustrative of typical embodiments and do
not limit the disclosure.
[0006] FIG. 1A is a simplified conceptual illustration of a system
for processing a microprocessor instruction, in accordance with
embodiments of the present disclosure.
[0007] FIG. 1B is a simplified conceptual illustration of a
load-store unit, in accordance with embodiments of the present
disclosure.
[0008] FIG. 2 is a simplified flowchart illustration of an
exemplary method of processing a microprocessor instruction, in
accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.
[0009] FIG. 3 is a simplified block diagram illustration of an
exemplary hardware implementation of a computing system, in
accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.
[0010] While the embodiments described herein are amenable to
various modifications and alternative forms, specifics thereof have
been shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described
in detail. It should be understood, however, that the particular
embodiments described are not to be taken in a limiting sense. On
the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications,
equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope
of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0011] Some microprocessor architectures support individual
instructions that require loading a pointer from memory and
manipulating the loaded data. One such example involves a condensed
pointer in which a known boundary is considered, and therefore the
pointer is kept in memory without its least significant zeros.
After loading the pointer, it is left-shifted to restore the actual
address. In another example, part of an address is set to zero to
accommodate a particular addressing mode. Thus, where a 32-bit
pointer is used in a 64-bit processor, 64 bits are loaded from
cache memory, whereupon the most significant 32 bits are zeroed to
produce a 32-bit pointer. Such integer manipulations are usually
performed by the microprocessor's Integer Execution Unit after
receiving the raw data from a separate Load/Store Unit. However,
this is inefficient, as it requires sending the data from the
Load/Store Unit to the Integer Execution Unit and then back to the
Load/Store Unit to actually use the pointer.
[0012] Embodiments of the present disclosure include a method of
processing data in a two-cycle (e.g., or multi-cycle) operation.
Some load instructions are issued with an extra cycle to load
double the amount of data or cache-line crossing data. Contrary to
these two-cycle operations, embodiments of the present disclosure
may not load extra data on the second cycle, and instead, may
utilize the second cycle to shift the data.
[0013] Reference is now made to FIG. 1A, which is a simplified
conceptual illustration of a system for processing a microprocessor
instruction, in accordance with embodiments of the present
disclosure. In the system of FIG. 1A, a microprocessor 100 is
shown, where microprocessor 100 is configured in accordance with
any microprocessor architecture to process microprocessor
instructions, including known types of single microprocessor
instructions that are processed in multiple cycles, such as
two-cycle operations. In accordance with embodiments of the present
disclosure, microprocessor 100 is also configured, such as is shown
and described herein, to process, in multiple cycles,
microprocessor instructions that require data to be acquired and
then bit-shifted.
[0014] In the system of FIG. 1A, a controller 102 is configured to
receive a microprocessor instruction for processing by
microprocessor 100, where the microprocessor instruction is a
single instruction that is to be processed in multiple cycles, and
where the microprocessor instruction requires data to be acquired
and then bit-shifted. Controller 102 may be configured to maintain
the microprocessor instruction as a single instruction in an
instruction queue 104 until the microprocessor instruction is
removed by controller 102 from instruction queue 104 for processing
by microprocessor 100. Controller 102 may also be configured to
maintain the microprocessor instruction as a single instruction in
a completion table 106 during processing of the microprocessor
instruction by microprocessor 100, where controller 102 removes the
microprocessor instruction from completion table 106 after the
processing of the microprocessor instruction by microprocessor 100
has been completed. In some embodiments, if the microprocessor
instruction is corrupted or cleared during processing, the
controller 102 may be configured to retrieve the microprocessor
instruction from the completion table 106.
[0015] A data acquisition unit 108 is configured to process the
microprocessor instruction by acquiring, during a first clock cycle
of microprocessor 100, a unit of data having a predefined number of
ordered bits, such as 64 bits. In some embodiments, data
acquisition unit 108 is configured to acquire the unit of data from
memory 110, such as cache memory of microprocessor 100. In some
embodiments, data acquisition unit 108 is configured to acquire the
unit of data by receiving the unit of data from logic circuitry 112
of microprocessor 100.
[0016] In some embodiments, the system of FIG. 1A includes a
formatter 114 configured to zero any of the bits of the unit of
data as may be required for processing the microprocessor
instruction, after the unit of data is acquired by data acquisition
unit 108 and during the same clock cycle in which the unit of data
is acquired by data acquisition unit 108 or during a later clock
cycle.
[0017] A flip-flop 116 is configured to receive the unit of data as
acquired by data acquisition unit 108, or as processed by formatter
114, such as at the end of the first clock cycle or thereafter.
[0018] A shifter 118 is configured to shift the unit of data by a
number of bits as may be required for processing the microprocessor
instruction, such as where the number of bits are indicated in a
register 120 that is accessible to shifter 118. Shifter 118 is
configured to perform the shift of the unit of data during a second
clock cycle of microprocessor 100, where the second clock cycle
immediately follows the aforementioned first clock cycle or where
the second clock cycle is a later clock cycle that is otherwise
subsequent to the aforementioned first clock cycle.
[0019] Formatter 114 is configured to zero any of the bits of the
unit of data as may be required for processing the microprocessor
instruction, which may be done during the second clock cycle after
the unit of data is shifted by shifter 118. Such zeroing of bits
may, for example, be performed by formatter 114 to zero any bits
that are not required for use with a predefined addressing mode,
such as where a unit of data of 64 bits is acquired by data
acquisition unit 108 for use with a 24-bit addressing mode, in
which case 40 of the 64 bits are zeroed by formatter 114.
[0020] After the unit of data are acquired and formatted during the
first clock cycle, and subsequently shifted and formatted during
the second clock cycle, flip-flop 116 places the unit of data into
a register of microprocessor 100 and/or provides the unit of data
to comparison logic of microprocessor 100, such as at the end of
the second clock cycle or thereafter.
[0021] In some embodiments, data acquisition unit 108, formatter
114, flip-flop 116, and shifter 118 are embodied in a load-store
unit 122 of microprocessor 100.
[0022] Any of the elements shown in FIG. 1A may be implemented in
computer hardware and/or in computer software embodied in a
non-transitory, computer-readable medium. For example, the elements
shown in FIG. 1A may be implemented in the computer system depicted
in FIG. 3. Further, one or more of the elements of FIG. 1A may be
optional. For example, formatter 114 may be optionally included in
some embodiments, as zeroing bits of the unit of data may not be
required. Additionally, each of the elements of FIG. 1A may be
configured to perform all, some, or none of the operations
described herein with respect to the particular element, and one or
more of the elements may be configured to perform the operations of
one or more other elements. For example, data acquisition unit 108
may be configured to perform the functions of formatter 114.
[0023] Referring now to FIG. 1B, shown is an example load-store
unit 150 architecture for processing an input signal in a
multi-cycle operation, in accordance with embodiments of the
present disclosure. The components described in FIG. 1B may be
substantially similar to, or alternatively, different than,
components described in FIG. 1A. For example, in some embodiments,
formatter 114 of FIG. 1A may be substantially similar to formatter
154 of FIG. 1B. However, in some embodiments, formatter 114 of FIG.
1A may be substantially different than (e.g., may include different
circuitry or logic) than formatter 154 of FIG. 1B.
[0024] As depicted in FIG. 1B, one or more input signals (e.g.,
I.sub.1, I.sub.2, I.sub.3) may be received by a Multiplexer (MUX)
152 of the load-store unit 150. The one or more input signals may
be received from cache banks, processing units (e.g., arithmetic
logic units (ALUs)), registers, and/or controllers of a
microprocessor, depending on the architecture of the
microprocessor. For example, input signals I.sub.1 and I.sub.2 may
be received from cache banks of the microprocessor (e.g., memory
110 in FIG. 1A) and input signal I.sub.3 may be received as
forwarded by logical circuitry of the microprocessor (e.g., logic
circuitry 112 in FIG. 1A). In some embodiments, input signals from
cache banks may be accessed speculatively based on a subset of the
addresses for faster address generation. In these embodiments, if
the address speculation is wrong, the data may be output with a
reject signal to prevent the wrong data from being loaded into the
MUX 152. In some embodiments, the one or more signals may
correspond to pointers used to reference other data. A select
signal may be transmitted to the MUX 152 to select an input signal
for processing. The selected input signal may then be forwarded to
a formatter 154. The formatter 154 may perform various alignment
operations, including zeroing relevant bits of data according to an
addressing mode. In some embodiments, the formatter 154 may zero
bits of data of corresponding to a pointer. For example, if an
input signal is a 32-bit pointer which is intended for a 24-bit
addressing mode, the formatter 154 may zero 8 bits of data (e.g.,
the 8 most significant bits) of the selected pointer. This may
allow the pointer to be compatible with the specific addressing
mode. In some embodiments, the formatter 154 may format the
selected input signal on a first clock cycle.
[0025] After the input signal is processed (e.g., zeroed) by the
formatter 154, it may be forwarded to a flip-flop 156 of the
load-store unit 150. The input signal may then be transferred from
the flip-flop 156 to a shifter 160. The shifter 160 may bit shift
the input signal by any number of bits as indicated by a shadow
register 162. In some embodiments, the shifter 160 may receive the
input signal at the end of a first clock cycle, and shift the input
signal during a second clock cycle. Alternatively, in some
embodiments the shifter 160 may receive and shift the input signal
on the second clock cycle. Bit-shifting may include shifting bits
of the input signal left or right, and may depend on control fields
indicated in the shadow register 162. The shadow register 162 may
be a copy of main control registers of the microprocessor, and may
issue a shift amount in order to format the input signal to be
processed.
[0026] After the shifter 160 shifts bits of the input signal
according to the shift amount indicated by the shadow register 162,
the input signal may be transferred back to the MUX 152. In some
embodiments, after the shift is performed, some of the zeroed bits
may require re-zeroing. Accordingly, the shifted signal, I.sub.s,
may then be selected by the MUX 152 to be re-processed by the
formatter 154. The formatter 154 may then re-zero the shifted input
signal, and forward the shifted data onto the flip-flop 156 and
ultimately to registers 158 of the microprocessor. Re-zeroing the
input signal may, in some embodiments, reduce the required size of
the shifter 160. In some embodiments, the shifted signal, I.sub.s,
may be forwarded to the registers 158 during the second clock cycle
immediately subsequent to the first clock cycle.
[0027] Any of the elements shown in FIG. 1B may be implemented in
computer hardware and/or in computer software embodied in a
non-transitory, computer-readable medium. For example, the elements
shown in FIG. 1B may be implemented in the computer system depicted
in FIG. 3. Further, one or more of the elements of FIG. 1B may be
optional. For example, formatter 154 may be optionally included in
some embodiments, as zeroing bits of the unit of data may not be
required. Additionally, each of the elements of FIG. 1B may be
configured to perform all, some, or none of the operations
described herein with respect to the particular element, and one or
more of the elements may be configured to perform the operations of
one or more other elements.
[0028] Reference is now made to FIG. 2, which is a simplified
flowchart illustration of an exemplary method of operation of the
systems of FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B, in accordance with embodiments of
the present disclosure. In the method of FIG. 2, a microprocessor
instruction is received for processing by a microprocessor, where
the microprocessor instruction is a single instruction that is to
be processed in multiple cycles, and where the microprocessor
instruction requires data to be acquired and then bit-shifted
(operation 200). The microprocessor instruction is maintained as a
single instruction in an instruction queue until the microprocessor
instruction is removed from the instruction queue for processing by
the microprocessor (operation 202), whereupon the microprocessor
instruction is maintained as a single instruction in a completion
table during processing of the microprocessor instruction by the
microprocessor (operation 204). The microprocessor instruction is
processed during a first clock cycle of the microprocessor by
acquiring a unit of data having a predefined number of ordered
bits, such as from cache memory or logic circuitry of the
microprocessor (operation 206). During the first clock cycle or a
later clock cycle, any of the bits of the unit of data are zeroed
if required for processing the microprocessor instruction
(operation 208). During a second clock cycle of the microprocessor,
immediately following or otherwise subsequent to the first clock
cycle, the unit of data is shifted by a number of bits as may be
required for processing the microprocessor instruction (operation
210). During the second clock cycle or a later clock cycle, any of
the bits of the unit of data are zeroed if required for processing
the microprocessor instruction (operation 212). The unit of data is
then placed into a register of the microprocessor and/or provided
to comparison logic of the microprocessor, and the microprocessor
instruction is removed from the completion table (operation
214).
[0029] It will be appreciated that microprocessor architectures
that support processing individual instructions in multiple clock
cycles, such as so-called "two-cycle operations" where data are
loaded during each of two cycles, may be adapted to carry out the
embodiments of the present disclosure as described herein to
support other types of multi-cycle operations. For example, a
single, two-cycle operation, may be supported where during a first
clock cycle the raw data of a pointer is loaded, and where during a
subsequent clock cycle the pointer is shifted and the most
significant bits of the pointer are zeroed to accommodate a
particular addressing mode, where the processing of both clock
cycles are performed by a load/store unit, allowing the pointer to
be provided sooner and more efficiently than with existing
microprocessor architectures.
[0030] The aforementioned operations may be completed in any order
and are not limited to those described. Additionally, some, all, or
none of the aforementioned operations may be completed, while still
remaining within the spirit and scope of the present invention. For
example, in some embodiments, operation 210 may not be completed,
as the unit of data may not require bit-shifting to be executed or
otherwise processed.
[0031] Referring now to FIG. 3, shown is a high-level block diagram
of an example computer system 301 that may be used in implementing
one or more of the methods, tools, and modules, and any related
functions, described herein (e.g., using one or more processor
circuits or computer processors of the computer), in accordance
with embodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments,
the major components of the computer system 301 may comprise one or
more CPUs 302, a memory subsystem 304, a terminal interface 312, a
storage interface 314, an I/O (Input/Output) device interface 316,
and a network interface 318, all of which may be communicatively
coupled, directly or indirectly, for inter-component communication
via a memory bus 303, an I/O bus 308, and an I/O bus interface unit
310.
[0032] The computer system 301 may contain one or more
general-purpose programmable central processing units (CPUs) 302A,
302B, 302C, and 302D, herein generically referred to as the CPU
302. In some embodiments, the computer system 301 may contain
multiple processors typical of a relatively large system; however,
in other embodiments the computer system 301 may alternatively be a
single CPU system. Each CPU 302 may execute instructions stored in
the memory subsystem 304 and may include one or more levels of
on-board cache.
[0033] System memory 304 may include computer system readable media
in the form of volatile memory, such as random access memory (RAM)
322 or cache memory 324. Computer system 301 may further include
other removable/non-removable, volatile/non-volatile computer
system storage media. By way of example only, storage system 326
can be provided for reading from and writing to a non-removable,
non-volatile magnetic media, such as a "hard-drive." Although not
shown, a magnetic disk drive for reading from and writing to a
removable, non-volatile magnetic disk (e.g., a "floppy disk"), or
an optical disk drive for reading from or writing to a removable,
non-volatile optical disc such as a CD-ROM, DVD-ROM or other
optical media can be provided. In addition, memory 304 can include
flash memory, e.g., a flash memory stick drive or a flash drive.
Memory devices can be connected to memory bus 303 by one or more
data media interfaces. The memory 304 may include at least one
program product having a set (e.g., at least one) of program
modules that are configured to carry out the functions of various
embodiments.
[0034] One or more programs/utilities 328, each having at least one
set of program modules 330 may be stored in memory 304. The
programs/utilities 328 may include a hypervisor (also referred to
as a virtual machine monitor), one or more operating systems, one
or more application programs, other program modules, and program
data. Each of the operating systems, one or more application
programs, other program modules, and program data or some
combination thereof, may include an implementation of a networking
environment. Programs 328 and/or program modules 330 generally
perform the functions or methodologies of various embodiments.
[0035] Although the memory bus 303 is shown in FIG. 3 as a single
bus structure providing a direct communication path among the CPUs
302, the memory subsystem 304, and the I/O bus interface 310, the
memory bus 303 may, in some embodiments, include multiple different
buses or communication paths, which may be arranged in any of
various forms, such as point-to-point links in hierarchical, star
or web configurations, multiple hierarchical buses, parallel and
redundant paths, or any other appropriate type of configuration.
Furthermore, while the I/O bus interface 310 and the I/O bus 308
are shown as single respective units, the computer system 301 may,
in some embodiments, contain multiple I/O bus interface units 310,
multiple I/O buses 308, or both. Further, while multiple I/O
interface units are shown, which separate the I/O bus 308 from
various communications paths running to the various I/O devices, in
other embodiments some or all of the I/O devices may be connected
directly to one or more system I/O buses.
[0036] In some embodiments, the computer system 301 may be a
multi-user mainframe computer system, a single-user system, or a
server computer or similar device that has little or no direct user
interface, but receives requests from other computer systems
(clients). Further, in some embodiments, the computer system 301
may be implemented as a desktop computer, portable computer, laptop
or notebook computer, tablet computer, pocket computer, telephone,
smart phone, network switches or routers, or any other appropriate
type of electronic device.
[0037] It is noted that FIG. 3 is intended to depict the
representative major components of an exemplary computer system
301. In some embodiments, however, individual components may have
greater or lesser complexity than as represented in FIG. 3,
components other than or in addition to those shown in FIG. 3 may
be present, and the number, type, and configuration of such
components may vary.
[0038] As discussed in more detail herein, it is contemplated that
some or all of the operations of some of the embodiments of methods
described herein may be performed in alternative orders or may not
be performed at all; furthermore, multiple operations may occur at
the same time or as an internal part of a larger process.
[0039] The present invention may be a system, a method, and/or a
computer program product. The computer program product may include
a computer readable storage medium (or media) having computer
readable program instructions thereon for causing a processor to
carry out aspects of the present invention.
[0040] The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible
device that can retain and store instructions for use by an
instruction execution device. The computer readable storage medium
may be, for example, but is not limited to, an electronic storage
device, a magnetic storage device, an optical storage device, an
electromagnetic storage device, a semiconductor storage device, or
any suitable combination of the foregoing. A non-exhaustive list of
more specific examples of the computer readable storage medium
includes the following: a portable computer diskette, a hard disk,
a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable
programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), a static
random access memory (SRAM), a portable compact disc read-only
memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD), a memory stick, a
floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such as punch-cards or
raised structures in a groove having instructions recorded thereon,
and any suitable combination of the foregoing. A computer readable
storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construed as being
transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freely
propagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves
propagating through a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g.,
light pulses passing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical
signals transmitted through a wire.
[0041] Computer readable program instructions described herein can
be downloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a
computer readable storage medium or to an external computer or
external storage device via a network, for example, the Internet, a
local area network, a wide area network and/or a wireless network.
The network may comprise copper transmission cables, optical
transmission fibers, wireless transmission, routers, firewalls,
switches, gateway computers, and/or edge servers. A network adapter
card or network interface in each computing/processing device
receives computer readable program instructions from the network
and forwards the computer readable program instructions for storage
in a computer readable storage medium within the respective
computing/processing device.
[0042] Computer readable program instructions for carrying out
operations of the present invention may be assembler instructions,
instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine
instructions, machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware
instructions, state-setting data, or either source code or object
code written in any combination of one or more programming
languages, including an object oriented programming language such
as Smalltalk, C++ or the like, and conventional procedural
programming languages, such as the "C" programming language or
similar programming languages. The computer readable program
instructions may execute entirely on the user's computer, partly on
the user's computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on
the user's computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on
the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario, the remote
computer may be connected to the user's computer through any type
of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area
network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external
computer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet
Service Provider). In some embodiments, electronic circuitry
including, for example, programmable logic circuitry,
field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), or programmable logic arrays
(PLA) may execute the computer readable program instructions by
utilizing state information of the computer readable program
instructions to personalize the electronic circuitry, in order to
perform aspects of the present invention.
[0043] Aspects of the present invention are described herein with
reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of
methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products
according to embodiments of the invention. It will be understood
that each block of the flowchart illustrations and/or block
diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations
and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer readable
program instructions.
[0044] These computer readable program instructions may be provided
to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose
computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to
produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via
the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing
apparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts
specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.
These computer readable program instructions may also be stored in
a computer readable storage medium that can direct a computer, a
programmable data processing apparatus, and/or other devices to
function in a particular manner, such that the computer readable
storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises an
article of manufacture including instructions which implement
aspects of the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block
diagram block or blocks.
[0045] The computer readable program instructions may also be
loaded onto a computer, other programmable data processing
apparatus, or other device to cause a series of operational steps
to be performed on the computer, other programmable apparatus or
other device to produce a computer implemented process, such that
the instructions which execute on the computer, other programmable
apparatus, or other device implement the functions/acts specified
in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.
[0046] The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate
the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible
implementations of systems, methods, and computer program products
according to various embodiments of the present invention. In this
regard, each block in the flowchart or block diagrams may represent
a module, segment, or portion of instructions, which comprises one
or more executable instructions for implementing the specified
logical function(s). In some alternative implementations, the
functions noted in the block may occur out of the order noted in
the figures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in
fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may
sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the
functionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of
the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations
of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can
be implemented by special purpose hardware-based systems that
perform the specified functions or acts or carry out combinations
of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.
[0047] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing
particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of
the various embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms "a,"
"an," and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well,
unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further
understood that the terms "includes" and/or "including," when used
in this specification, specify the presence of the stated features,
integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do
not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other
features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or
groups thereof. In the previous detailed description of example
embodiments of the various embodiments, reference was made to the
accompanying drawings (where like numbers represent like elements),
which form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of
illustration specific example embodiments in which the various
embodiments may be practiced. These embodiments were described in
sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice
the embodiments, but other embodiments may be used and logical,
mechanical, electrical, and other changes may be made without
departing from the scope of the various embodiments. In the
previous description, numerous specific details were set forth to
provide a thorough understanding the various embodiments. But, the
various embodiments may be practiced without these specific
details. In other instances, well-known circuits, structures, and
techniques have not been shown in detail in order not to obscure
embodiments.
[0048] Different instances of the word "embodiment" as used within
this specification do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment,
but they may. Any data and data structures illustrated or described
herein are examples only, and in other embodiments, different
amounts of data, types of data, fields, numbers and types of
fields, field names, numbers and types of rows, records, entries,
or organizations of data may be used. In addition, any data may be
combined with logic, so that a separate data structure may not be
necessary. The previous detailed description is, therefore, not to
be taken in a limiting sense.
[0049] The descriptions of the various embodiments of the present
disclosure have been presented for purposes of illustration, but
are not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the embodiments
disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to
those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope
and spirit of the described embodiments. The terminology used
herein was chosen to best explain the principles of the
embodiments, the practical application or technical improvement
over technologies found in the marketplace, or to enable others of
ordinary skill in the art to understand the embodiments disclosed
herein.
[0050] Although the present invention has been described in terms
of specific embodiments, it is anticipated that alterations and
modification thereof will become apparent to the skilled in the
art. Therefore, it is intended that the following claims be
interpreted as covering all such alterations and modifications as
fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.
* * * * *