Importance

Loading Importance Indicators...

Abstract

A broadcast pointer instruction has a first source operand (address pointer value) which is the starting address in a memory of message data to be broadcast to a number of processors through output ports. The broadcast pointer instruction has a first destination operand (first multibit mask), there being one bit position in the first mask for each one of the plurality of output ports. The address pointer value is loaded into each of the output ports whose numbers correspond to bit positions in the first mask that are set to be one, such that each output port that is designated in the first mask receives the starting address of the message data in the memory. A broadcast count instruction has a second source operand (a byte count value) equal to the number of bytes in the message data. The broadcast count instruction has a second destination operand (a second multibit mask), there being one bit position in the second mask for each one of the plurality of output ports. The byte count value is sent to each of the output ports whose numbers correspond to bit positions in the second mask register that are set to be one, such that each output port that is designated in the second mask receives the byte count value corresponding to the number of bytes in the message data that are to be transferred from the memory. Once the byte count is initialized, data are transferred from the starting address in memory over each output port designated in the masks, until the byte count is decremented to zero.

Loading the Abstract Image...

First Claim