Program profiler circuit, processor, and program counting method

A processor comprising:

• an arithmetic processing device configured to execute a program;
• and
• a program profiler circuit configured to measure an execution time of a subroutine executed by the arithmetic processing device,
• wherein the program profiler circuit includes
• a stack processing unit having a first storage region and configured to stack, in the first storage region based on the fact that an instruction to call the subroutine is detected by the arithmetic processing device, a head address, output from the arithmetic processing device, of the subroutine and to unstack a lastly stacked head address from the first storage region based on the fact that a restoration instruction to return to a source from which the subroutine is called is detected by the arithmetic processing device;
• a matching determining unit that has a plurality of second storage regions in which head addresses of subroutines are registered and is configured to output region information indicating a second storage region having registered therein a head address that is any of the head addresses registered in the plurality of second storage regions and matches the head address lastly stacked by the stack processing unit;
• and
• an accumulator that has a plurality of accumulation regions corresponding to the plurality of second storage regions and is configured to repeat a process of adding a predetermined value to a value stored in an accumulation region corresponding to the region information during the output of the region information from the matching determining unit.

A program counting method comprising:

• causing a stack processing unit installed in a program profiler circuit to stack, in a first storage region based on the fact an instruction to call a subroutine is detected by an arithmetic processing device, a head address, output from the arithmetic processing device, of the subroutine;
• causing the stack processing unit to unstack a lastly stacked head address from the first storage region based on the fact that a restoration instruction to return to a source from which the subroutine is called is detected by the arithmetic processing device;
• causing a matching determining unit installed in the program profiler circuit to output region information indicating a second storage region having registered therein a head address that is any of head addresses registered in a plurality of second storage regions and matches the head address lastly stacked by the stack processing unit;
• and
• causing an accumulator installed in the program profiler circuit to repeat a process of adding a predetermined value to a value stored in an accumulation region corresponding to the region information during the output of the region information from the matching determining unit.