Method and apparatus for performing reads of related data from a set-associative cache memory

A computer-implement method of accessing a set-associative cache memory including first and second ways, wherein each of the first and second ways has first and second entries and wherein the respective first entries together comprise a first set and the respective second entries together comprise a second set, the method comprising the steps of:

• identifying first and second information units as being related by a probability of being successively read from the cache memory;
• storing the first information unit in the first entry of the first way, and the second information unit in the first entry of the second way, so that the first and second information units are stored in the first set;
• indexing both the first entries in each of the first and second ways with a pointer;
• and
• simultaneously outputting the first and second information units from the first entries of the first and second ways to output selection circuitry.

A computer-implement method of allocating information units to, and retrieving information units from, a set-associative memory cache including X ways, wherein each of the X ways has Y entries and wherein corresponding entries in each of the X ways comprise a set, the method comprising the steps of:

• identifying M information units, to be stored in the set-associative cache memory, as being related by a probability of being successively read from the cache memory;
• storing each of the M information units in a Nth entry in a respective way, so that the M information units are stored in a common set;
• indexing the Nth entries of each of the X ways with a pointer;
• and
• concurrently outputting the M information units from the Nth entries of the X ways.

A set-associative cache memory arrangement comprising:

• a set-associative cache memory having first and second ways, wherein each of the first and second ways has first and second entries and wherein the respective first entries together comprise a first set and the respective second entries together comprise a second set;
• allocation circuitry configured to identifying first and second data units, to be stored in the set-associative cache memory, as being related by a probability of being successively read from the cache memory, and to allocate the first data unit to the first entry of the first way, and the second data unit to the first entry of the second way, so that the first and second data units are stored in the first set;
• and
• retrieval circuitry configured to index the first entries in each of the first and second ways with a pointer, and simultaneously to retrieve the first and second data units from the first entries of the first and second ways.