Branch recovery with compiler-assisted multiple instruction retry

Abstract

A compiler-assisted approach to implementing multiple instruction retry has recently been developed by C.-C. J Li et al. (1991). They extend compiler-assisted multiple instruction retry to include a broad class of code execution failures. Five benchmarks were used to measure the performance penalty of hazard resolution. Results indicate that the enhanced pure software approach can produce performance penalties consistent with existing hardware techniques. A combined compiler/hardware resolution strategy is also described and was evaluated. Experimental results indicate a lower performance penalty than with either a totally hardware or totally software approach.