Patent ID: 6260121
Filing Date: 2001-07-10
Classification: G06F

Abstract:
A method for accessing a computer memory, the computer memory being made up of a plurality of hardware memory modules, the method comprising:receiving a current address, the current address specifying a location in the computer memory, wherein the current address specifies the location of either an instruction reference or a data reference;determining from the current address which hardware memory module the address corresponds to within the computer memory;if the current address falls within a previously accessed hardware memory module, receiving physical characteristics of the previously accessed hardware memory module, the physical characteristics having been previously determined during a prior decoding of a previous address within the previously accessed hardware memory module;wherein the physical characteristics include a size of the current memory module;using the physical characteristics, including the size of the current memory module, to generate control signals for the computer memory;wherein the control signals include a chip select signal for enabling at least one memory chip, and row and column strobes to select a location within a memory chip; andsending the control signals to the computer memory in order to perform a memory access to the current address.