Programmable priority and selective blocking in a compute system

摘要

In a computer system in which conflicting requests for resources are prioritized, a programmable priority determination method and system. Relative priority between competing sources or requests is represented by a control word (priority code). The control word includes bits identifying the highest priority source, and rotation and skip bits determining the order or priority among the other sources. The control word is used to pre-set a priority circuit which then selects from among competing resource requests based on the priority represented by the control word. Relative priority between the sources can be changed during operation of the computer system by creating a new control word and applying it to the priority circuit.