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US 9,430,381 B2Granted
Processing order with integer inputs and floating point inputs
AssigneeArm Limited
InventorsAndreas Due Engh-Halstvedt, Jorn Nystad
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A graphics processing unit 2 includes a texture pipeline 6 which performs filter operations upon texture values. If the texture values are integer texture values, then they may be processed by the texture pipeline in a variable order corresponding to the order in which they are retrieved from a memory 4. If the texture values are floating point texture values, then they are processed in a fixed order in order to ensure result invariants as the filter operation is non-associative for floating point values. The filter operation is not commenced until all of the floating point texture values have been retrieved from the memory 4 and other available for processing.
Claims17
Apparatus for processing data comprising:
- processing circuitry configured to compute one or more result values as a function of a plurality of input values;
- a memory configured to store said plurality of input values;
- load circuitry configured to issue one or more memory access requests to said memory to
- retrieve said plurality of input values from said memory and to supply said plurality of input values to said processing circuitry;
- wherein
- said plurality of input values are retrieved in a variable order from said memory;
- and
- said processing circuitry is configured to determine a format type for said plurality of input values for which said function is associative or non-associative, and wherein:
- (i) when said plurality of input values have a format type for which said function is associative, said processing circuitry performs processing upon said plurality of input values to compute said one or more result values in a variable order that is dependent upon said variable order in which said plurality of input values are retrieved from said memory;
- and
- (ii) when said plurality of input values have a format type for which said function is non-associative, said processing circuitry performs processing upon said plurality of input values to compute said one or more result values in a fixed order that is independent of said variable order in which said plurality of input values are retrieved from said memory.
8 more elements
Apparatus for processing data comprising:
- processing means for computing one or more result values as a function of a plurality of input values;
- memory means for storing said plurality of input values;
- load means for issuing one or more memory access requests to said memory means to retrieve said plurality of input values from said memory means and to supply said plurality of input values to said processing means;
- wherein
- said plurality of input values are retrieved in a variable order from said memory means;
- said processing means is configured to determine a format type for said plurality of input values for which said function is associative or non-associative, and wherein:
- (i) when said plurality of input values have a format type for which said function is associative, said processing means performs processing upon said plurality of input values to compute said one or more result values in a variable order that is dependent upon said variable order in which said plurality of input values are retrieved from said memory means;
- and
- (ii) when said plurality of input values have a format type for which said function is non-associative, said processing means performs processing upon said plurality of input values to compute said one or more result values in a fixed order that is independent of said variable order in which said plurality of input values are retrieved from said memory means.
6 more elements
A method of processing data comprising the steps of:
- storing a plurality of input values within a memory;
- issuing one or more memory access requests to said memory to retrieve said plurality of input values from said memory;
- and
- computing one or more result values as a function of a plurality of input values;
- wherein said plurality of input values are retrieved in a variable order from said memory;
- and
- determining a format type for said plurality of input values for which said function is associative or non-associative, and wherein:
- (i) when said plurality of input values have a format type for which said function is associative, performing processing upon said plurality of input values to compute said one or more result values in a variable order that is dependent upon said variable order in which said plurality of input values are retrieved from said memory;
- and
- (ii) when said plurality of input values have a format type for which said function is non-associative, performing processing upon said plurality of input values to compute said one or more result values in a fixed order that is independent of said variable order in which said plurality of input values are retrieved from said memory, the above steps are implemented on a data processing apparatus.
7 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.