- Patent Title: Parallel processing circuitry for encoded fields of related threads
-
Application No.: US15402820Application Date: 2017-01-10
-
Publication No.: US10089077B1Publication Date: 2018-10-02
- Inventor: Liang-Kai Wang , Terence M. Potter , Brian K. Reynolds , Justin Friesenhahn
- Applicant: Apple Inc.
- Applicant Address: US CA Cupertino
- Assignee: Apple Inc.
- Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
- Current Assignee Address: US CA Cupertino
- Agency: Meyertons, Hood, Kivlin, Kowert & Goetzel, P.C.
- Main IPC: G06F7/50
- IPC: G06F7/50 ; G06F7/505

Abstract:
Techniques are disclosed relating to performing arithmetic operations to generate values for different related threads. In some embodiments, the threads are graphics threads and the values are operand locations. In some embodiments, an apparatus performs an arithmetic operation using first circuitry, on type value inputs for different threads that are encoded to represent values to be operated on by the first circuitry. In some embodiments, second arithmetic circuitry is configured to perform an arithmetic operation on an output of the first circuitry and an input (e.g., address information such as a base and an offset) that is common to the different threads and has a greater number of bits than the output of the first circuitry. In various embodiments, disclosed techniques may allow decoding of encoded values for different threads (which may reduce memory requirements relative to non-encoded values) with a shorter critical path and lower power consumption, e.g., relative to sequential decoding.
Information query