Article View: comp.arch
Article #2279Re: Instruction (dis)continuation (
From: Richard O'Keefe
Date: Mon, 18 Sep 1989 12:43
Date: Mon, 18 Sep 1989 12:43
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1577 bytes
There is another problem with memory-mapped I/O instructions; I guess this
site must be losing some messages because I don't recall seeing it mentioned.
If I do
movb InputPort, r0
where InputPort is a memory-mapped device port, and then a few instructions
later to
movb InputPort, r0
again, I really don't want the second reference to look in the cache and
return whatever the first reference returned. Presumably the VAX handles
this by ensuring that addresses in the "device" range are never cached.
A simpler approach could be to have I/O instructions. Note that "memory
mapped I/O" has two faces:
-- device registers appear as memory locations TO THE CPU
-- device registers appear as memory locations TO THE BUS
It would be possible to have a machine with special
input DeviceAddress, Register
output DeviceAddress, Register
instructions which the CPU, cache, and so on "knew" about, but which
appeared ON THE BUS just like memory references that miss the cache.
Whether that would be a good thing is another question again.
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Path: arc1-ca.pugleaf.net!utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!wuarchive!gem.mps.ohio-state.edu!ginosko!aplcen!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!ames!uhccux!munnari.oz.au!cs.mu.oz.au!ok From: ok@cs.mu.oz.au (Richard O'Keefe) Newsgroups: comp.arch Subject: Re: Instruction (dis)continuation ( Summary: another problem Message-ID: <2128@munnari.oz.au> Date: 18 Sep 89 12:43:50 GMT References: <2353@oakhill.UUCP> <261500010@S34.Prime.COM> <34701@apple.Apple.COM> <31361@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU> Sender: news@cs.mu.oz.au Lines: 20