Patent ID: 8166246

Claim:
A computer implemented method in a data processing system for processing information in a store cache of a data processing system, the method comprising: receiving a first store operation from a processor at a store queue, the first store operation comprising a first address indicating a first segment of a cache line; responsive to receiving the first store operation, comparing the first address to a second address of a second entry within the store queue, wherein the second address indicates a second segment of the cache line; responsive to the first segment address not being equal to the second segment address, chaining by a store queue controller, the first store operation as a first entry to the second entry, wherein the first entry comprises a first pointer, wherein the step of chaining the first entry to the second entry comprises: setting, by the store queue controller, the first pointer to identify the second entry; responsive to the first address being equal to the second address, determining whether a gather counter for the second entry has elapsed; and responsive to determining that the gather counter for the second entry has not elapsed, gathering the first store operation into the second entry; and responsive to determining that the gather counter for the second entry has elapsed, entering the first store operation as a new entry in the store cache without chaining the new entry to the second entry.