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Reading and Writing Assignments, Discussion Topics
COS/ELE 375

for class on Wednesday Nov. 17, 2010

Please read Sections 4.8, 4.9, 4.13, 4.1.4, and, if you like, 4.15 (on the CD) of the Patterson & Hennessy text.

Please turn in a written response to this questions:

1. On this blank waterfall chart, convert the example of Figure 4.67 (an integer overflow exception) into waterfall format. You don't need to label the insides of the teensy datapaths. Just use Figure 4.59 as an example (but be aware that 4.59 illustrates a stall, and not a flush).

Then, be prepared to discuss the following in class:

2. Data hazards unresolved by forwarding cause stalls; control hazards, like conditional branches and many exceptions, cause flushes. Both represent added delay in the pipe. What's the difference? Do we need both methods?