Computer memory attributes

摘要

A memory block in a computer has attributes associated with it. The attributes may correspond to a single software thread. The memory may be associated with a cache line 105 in a cache 100 and the attributes may be stored as flags 115 in the cache. The attributes may indicate the thread to which the cache line corresponds. The processor may be able to check or set the attributes when loading the line from the cache. The processor may generate a light weight yield event or invoke a handler in response to the values of the attributes. The processor may have several cores and the cache may be in the processor. The attributes may indicate that the cache line has been marked for analysis by a tool such as a performance monitoring tool or a debugging tool. The attributes may be set by an instrumentation tool.