METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PERFORMING AN OPERATION MULTIPLE TIMES IN RESPONSE TO A SINGLE INSTRUCTION

摘要

A method for operating a Reduced Instruction Set Computer, RISC, processor that executes normal RISC instruction and special RISC instructions. The method comprises the steps of controlling the RISC processor to perform a single operation (212), using a single functional unit of the RISC processor, in response to each normal RISC instruction. The method also comprises the step of controlling the RISC processor to perform multiple operations (212), using multiple functional units of the RISC processor in parallel, in response to each special RISC instruction. The method also comprises the step of controlling the RISC processor to repeatedly perform special operations wherein, after a first operation, each subsequent operation depends on a result of a previous operation.