Method and apparatus for counting instruction execution and data accesses for specific types of instructions
AssigneeInternational Business Machines Corporation
InventorsJimmie Earl DeWitt, Jr., Frank Eliot Levine, Christopher Michael Richardson, Robert John Urquhart
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Abstract
A method, apparatus, and computer instructions for processing instructions. Responsive to receiving an instruction for execution in an instruction cache in a processor in the data processing system, a determination is made as to whether an indicator is associated with the instruction and whether the instruction is of a certain type within a range of instructions. An interrupt is generated if the indicator is associated with the instruction and the instruction is of the certain type within the range of instructions.
Claims19
A method in a data processing system for processing instructions, the method comprising:
- responsive to receiving an instruction for execution in an instruction cache in a processor, determining whether an indicator that identifies the instruction as an instruction that is to be monitored is associated with the instruction and whether the instruction is of a certain type within a range of instructions;
- and
- generating an interrupt if the indicator is associated with the instruction and the instruction is of the certain type within the range of instructions.
A data processing system for processing instructions, the data processing system comprising:
- a processor, the processor comprising:
- an instruction cache;
- an interrupt unit connected to the instruction cache;
- determining means, responsive to receiving an instruction for execution in the instruction cache, for determining whether an indicator that identifies the instruction as an instruction that is to be monitored is associated with the instruction and whether the instruction is of a certain type within a range of instructions;
- and
- generating means for generating an interrupt if the determining means determines that the indicator is associated with the instruction and the instruction is of the certain type within the range of instructions, the generating means comprising:
- sending means for sending a signal from the instruction cache to the interrupt unit;
- and
- processing means for processing the interrupt in the interrupt unit in response to receiving the signal at the interrupt unit.
A computer program product in a computer readable and recordable medium for processing instructions, the computer program product comprising:
- first instructions responsive to receiving an instruction for execution in an instruction cache in a processor, for determining whether an indicator that identifies the instruction as an instruction that is to be monitored is associated with the instruction and whether the instruction is of a certain type within a range of instructions;
- and
- second instructions for generating an interrupt if the indicator is associated with the instruction and the instruction is of the certain type within the range of instructions.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.