Pre-computation slice merging for prefetching in a computer processor

A computer program product for implementing pre-computation slice (p-slice) merging for prefetching in a computer processor, the computer program product comprising:

• a computer readable non-transitory medium having program instructions embodied therewith, the program instructions readable by a processing circuit to cause the processing circuit to perform a method comprising:
• determining a plurality of p-slices corresponding to a delinquent instruction;
• selecting a first p-slice and a second p-slice of the plurality of p-slices;
• traversing the first p-slice and the second p-slice to determine that divergent instructions exist between the first p-slice and the second p-slice;
• based on determining that divergent instructions exist between the first p-slice and the second p-slice, determining whether the first p-slice and the second p-slice converge after the divergent instructions;
• and
• based on determining that the first p-slice and the second p-slice converge after the divergent instructions, merging the first p-slice and the second p-slice into a single merged p-slice.

A computer system for pre-computation slice (p-slice) merging for prefetching in a computer processor, the system comprising:

• a memory;
• and
• the computer processor communicatively coupled to said memory, the computer system configured to perform a method comprising:
• determining a plurality of p-slices corresponding to a delinquent instruction;
• selecting a first p-slice and a second p-slice of the plurality of p-slices;
• traversing the first p-slice and the second p-slice to determine that divergent instructions exist between the first p-slice and the second p-slice;
• based on determining that divergent instructions exist between the first p-slice and the second p-slice, determining whether the first p-slice and the second p-slice converge after the divergent instructions;
• and
• based on determining that the first p-slice and the second p-slice converge after the divergent instructions, merging the first p-slice and the second p-slice into a single merged p-slice.