Patent ID: 6289435
Filing Date: 2001-09-11
Classification: G06F

Abstract:
A method for reusing special purpose registers as general purpose registers, with the registers included on a processor having a fixed number of general purpose registers (GPRs) and a plurality of special purpose registers, with available special purpose registers not in current use being in an off state, and with the general purpose registers having greater storage capacity than the special purpose registers, and where the method is performed by a loader routine executed by a computer, said method comprising the steps of:maintaining a resource manager table maintaining availability status of general and special purpose registers;determining whether a variable to be loaded to the processor has been declared as a special GPR type variable indicating that the variable is of a size that may be stored in a special purpose register;if it has not, loading said variable to an general purpose register on said processor indicated as available by the resource manager table;if it has, loading said variable to a general purpose register if a general purpose register is indicated as available by the resource manager table or loading said variable to a special purpose register indicated as available if no general purpose register is indicated as available by the resource manager table.