Data processing apparatus and method for transmitting triggered instructions between processing elements

A data processing apparatus comprising a plurality of processing elements connected via a network on a single chip arranged to form a triggered spatial architecture, each processing element of the plurality of processing elements comprising:

• front end circuitry configured to process a plurality of instructions, and to generate triggered instructions, each triggered instruction generated in response to an execution state of the processing element meeting a trigger condition associated with one of the plurality of instructions;
• decode circuitry configured to, in response to receiving the triggered instructions, generate control signals;
• and
• execution circuitry configured to, in response to the control signals, perform processing operations and modify the execution state of the processing element,
• wherein:
• the decode circuitry is configured to, in response to a begin producing instruction, generate begin producing control signals to control the processing element to operate in a producing mode;
• and
• the processing element is configured to, when operating in the producing mode, transmit the triggered instructions as consumer instructions to a set of processing elements of the plurality of processing elements, the consumer instructions to be executed by each of the set of processing elements when operating in a consuming mode.

A data processing method for operating a data processing apparatus comprising a plurality of processing elements connected via a network on a single chip arranged to form a triggered spatial architecture, each processing element comprising front end circuitry, decode circuitry, and execution circuitry, the method comprising:

• processing, using the front end circuitry a plurality of instructions, and generating triggered instructions, each triggered instruction generated in response to an execution state of the processing element meeting a trigger condition associated with one of the plurality of instructions;
• generating control signals, using the decode circuitry, in response to receiving the triggered instructions;
• performing processing operations execution circuitry in response to the control signals and modifying the execution state of the processing element;
• generating, using the decode circuitry, begin consuming control signals to control the processing element to operate in a consuming mode in response to a begin consuming instruction;
• and
• retrieving, when operating in the consuming mode, consumer instructions transmitted from a corresponding processing element operating in a producing mode, and passing the consumer instructions to the decode circuitry as triggered instructions.

A data processing method for operating a data processing apparatus comprising a plurality of processing elements connected via a network on a single chip arranged to form a triggered spatial architecture, each processing element comprising front end circuitry, decode circuitry, and execution circuitry, the method comprising:

• processing, using the front end circuitry a plurality of instructions, and generating triggered instructions, each triggered instruction generated in response to an execution state of the processing element meeting a trigger condition associated with one of the plurality of instructions;
• generating control signals, using the decode circuitry, in response to receiving the triggered instructions;
• and
• performing processing operations, using the execution circuitry, in response to the control signals and modifying the execution state of the processing element;
• generating, using the decode circuitry, begin producing control signals to control the processing element to operate in a producing mode in response to a begin producing instruction;
• and
• transmitting, when operating in the producing mode, the triggered instructions as consumer instructions to a set of processing elements of the plurality of processing elements, the consumer instructions to be executed by each of the set of processing elements when operating in a consuming mode.