Copyright © 1986 Published by Elsevier Science Inc.
Patchwork: A fast interpreter for a restricted dataflow language
Available online 26 June 2003.
References and further reading may be available for this article. To view references and further reading you must purchase this article.
Abstract
We have built a system, Patchwork, that allows programs to be organized according to a dataflow model. In our implementation, application programs use Patchwork to assemble complex microcode programs for a graphics processor from a library of microcode modules. We describe a simple and efficient implementation, in which the only overhead incurred is a single extra level of indirection when invoking a module or when a module accesses inputs, outputs, or local storage. The implementation depends on being able to describe a distinct execution tree for the network, which obviates the need both for run-time monitoring of the execution and for movement of data. Thus, neither dataflow hardware nor a dataflow language is needed for the implementation. Patchwork supports flow-of-control constructs such as looping and branching, the assembly of complex modules from simpler ones, modules written in a variety of languages for a variety of different devices, the interleaved execution of several programs on a single processor, and the execution of a single program on a set of processors in parallel. An analysis showed that Patchwork contributed between 2 and 5% to the total running time of sample microcode programs.







E-mail Article
Add to my Quick Links

Cited By in Scopus (0)





