Study and Experimentation of Horizontal Microprocessor Machine Description Techniques

Abstract : This document reports on the research and investigation aspects of microarchitecture description methodologies. Its primary objectives are: (1) to identify the methodology that appears to have the most promise for use in an automatic microcode generation system; and (2) to define the means for developing the necessary tools and techniques needed for further evaluating this methodology. In automatically generating microcode from a high level source language, a significant issue is the description of the target microengine architecture. The techniques and methodologies used to accomplish this must address the practical issues of: (1) a detailed description of all microprogrammed controlled hardware elements of the microengine, the microinstruction, the rules for valid use of all microprogrammed features, and the behavior of microprogrammed operations; and (2) the use of this description to interpret and decode higher level source intermediate language to form microoperations and ultimately microinstructions. This work is a step in conceptually defining the techniques and methodologies for microarchitecture descriptions to accomplish the above. (Author)