Method for controlling a processor for power-saving in a computer for executing a program, compiler medium and processor system

Abstract

In a processor system including a plurality of hardware resources, a method for arranging a program to suppress the power consumption by the resources includes the steps of determining which ones of the hardware resources are to be operated and from which instruction cycle to which instruction cycle to execute each instruction of the program; and based on the determination, adding an instruction to lower frequencies of clock signals inputted to the hardware resources and an instruction to restore the frequency at positions adjacent to the beginning and the end of the period during which the hardware resources are not operated and compiling the program. The processor system decodes the compiled program and lowers the frequency of the clock signal inputted to the hardware resources in accordance with the frequency lowering instruction and the frequency restoring instruction detected in the decoding step. The clock signals sent to the hardware resources are stopped by the frequency lowering instruction to the resource of the hardware resources for which the clock frequency may be lowered to zero.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.