Register renaming in a superscalar microprocessor utilizing local and global renamer devices

摘要

Architectural registers for block instructions are renamed by assigning physical register locations to the architectural registers. The physical register locations are consistent with sources and destinations that are produced within a given block. The architectural registers that are renamed are then written to a current machine state. Unknown source operands of the block are renamed with physical register locations consistent with a machine state prior to the current machine state. Local renamer devices rename destination and local sources for blocks of instructions such that the destination and local sources are consistent within each block. One or more global renamers update a current machine state with the renamed block of instructions provided by the local renamers and make unknown sources in the blocks consistent with corresponding destinations from the renamed block of instructions that produced those destinations.