公开(公告)号：US11204774B1

公开(公告)日：2021-12-21

申请号：US17008518

申请日：2020-08-31

Applicant: Apple Inc.

Inventor： Benjiman L. Goodman ,  Anjana Rajendran ,  Jeffrey A. Lohman ,  Terence M. Potter

IPC: G06F9/38

Abstract: Techniques are disclosed relating to a thread-group-scoped gate instruction. In some embodiments, graphics processor circuitry is configured to execute, for multiple SIMD groups of a thread group, a graphics program that includes a gate instruction. During execution of the gate instruction for a first SIMD group, the processor accesses state information to determine that a threshold number of other SIMD groups in the thread group have not yet executed the gate instruction. Based on the determination, the processor executes a particular set of instructions of the graphics program for the first SIMD group (that is not executed by one or more other SIMD groups that reach the gate instruction after the first SIMD group). For example, the particular set of instructions may be a utility program that performs one or more operations for the entire thread group but is only executed by a subset of the SIMD groups.

公开(公告)号：US11360780B2

公开(公告)日：2022-06-14

申请号：US16749618

申请日：2020-01-22

Applicant: Apple Inc.

Inventor： Benjiman L. Goodman ,  Terence M. Potter ,  Anjana Rajendran ,  Jeffrey T. Brady ,  Brian K. Reynolds ,  Jeffrey A. Lohman

IPC: G06F9/38

Abstract: Techniques are disclosed relating to context switching in a SIMD processor. In some embodiments, an apparatus includes pipeline circuitry configured to execute graphics instructions included in threads of a group of single-instruction multiple-data (SIMD) threads in a thread group. In some embodiments, context switch circuitry is configured to atomically: save, for the SIMD group, a program counter and information that indicates whether threads in the SIMD group are active using one or more context switch registers, set all threads to an active state for the SIMD group, and branch to handler code for the SIMD group. In some embodiments, the pipeline circuitry is configured to execute the handler code to save context information for the SIMD group and subsequently execute threads of another thread group. Disclosed techniques may allow instruction-level context switching even when some SIMD threads are non-active.

公开(公告)号：US20210224072A1

公开(公告)日：2021-07-22

申请号：US16749618

申请日：2020-01-22

Applicant: Apple Inc.

Inventor： Benjiman L. Goodman ,  Terence M. Potter ,  Anjana Rajendran ,  Jeffrey T. Brady ,  Brian K. Reynolds ,  Jeffrey A. Lohman

IPC: G06F9/38

Abstract: Techniques are disclosed relating to context switching in a SIMD processor. In some embodiments, an apparatus includes pipeline circuitry configured to execute graphics instructions included in threads of a group of single-instruction multiple-data (SIMD) threads in a thread group. In some embodiments, context switch circuitry is configured to atomically: save, for the SIMD group, a program counter and information that indicates whether threads in the SIMD group are active using one or more context switch registers, set all threads to an active state for the SIMD group, and branch to handler code for the SIMD group. In some embodiments, the pipeline circuitry is configured to execute the handler code to save context information for the SIMD group and subsequently execute threads of another thread group. Disclosed techniques may allow instruction-level context switching even when some SIMD threads are non-active.