Flexible register management for sequential programs

Most current architectures have registers organized in one of two ways: single register sets; or register stacks, implemented as either overlapping register windows or register-caches, Each has particular strengths and weaknesses. For example, a single register set excels over a stack if a program requires frequent access to globals. ~ However, a register stack performs better if deep^ recursive chains~exist. One drawback of all current systems is that the hardware limits the manner in which the software can use registers. In this paper, a register hardware organization called fhreoded windows or f-windows, which is being developed by the authors to enhance the performance of concurrent systems, is evaluated for sequential programs. The organization allows the registers to be dynamically restructured in any of the above forms, and any combination of the above forms. This permits the compiler, or the programmer, to capitalize upon each register organization’s strong points and avoid their disadvantages.