Task execution determinism improvement for an event-driven processor
Embodiments of a method for operating an event-driven processor and an event-driven processor are described. In one embodiment, a method for operating an event-driven processor involves configuring a heartbeat timer of the event-driven processor and handling an event using the event-driven processor based on the heartbeat timer. Using a heartbeat timer built into the event-driven processor, the task execution determinism of the event-driven processor is improved and the power consumption of the event-driven processor is reduced. Other embodiments are also described.
1. A method for operating an event-driven processor, the method comprising:
configuring a heartbeat timer of the event-driven processor, wherein configuring the heartbeat timer of the event-driven processor comprises specifying a first heartbeat period for the event-driven processor;
handling an event using the event-driven processor based on the heartbeat timer; and
specifying a second heartbeat period for the event-driven processor after the first heartbeat period expires, wherein the second heartbeat period is longer than the first heartbeat period, and wherein the second heartbeat period is twice the first heartbeat period.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the heartbeat timer is integrated into an instruction set of the event-driven processor.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein handling the event using the event-driven processor comprises executing a software routine using the event-driven processor in response to the event after the first heartbeat period expires.
4. The method of claim 3 , wherein handling the event using the event-driven processor comprises fetching the software routine into the event-driven processor before the first heartbeat period expires.
5. The method of claim 3 , wherein the software routine comprises a machine language instruction that specifies an operation to be performed by the event-driven processor.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein configuring the heartbeat timer of the event-driven processor further comprises counting down the heartbeat timer to a predefined value until the first heartbeat period expires.
7. The method of claim 6 , wherein handling the event using the event-driven processor comprises executing a software routine in response to the event when the heartbeat timer is counted down to the predefined value.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein configuring the heartbeat timer of the event-driven processor comprises specifying a heartbeat interval for the event-driven processor.
9. The method of claim 8 , wherein handling the event using the event-driven processor comprises repetitively executing software routines using the event-driven processor in response to the event at the heartbeat interval.
10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first heartbeat period is half a bit-time (T/2), and wherein the second heartbeat period is a complete bit-time (T).
11. An event-driven processor comprising:
an instruction store configured to store an instruction set, wherein the instruction set comprises computer executable instructions to implement a heartbeat timer within the event-driven processor; and
an operation code interpreter to configure the heartbeat timer and to handle an event based on the heartbeat timer, wherein the operation code interpreter is configured to specify a first heartbeat period for the event-driven processor and to specify a second heartbeat period for the event-driven processor after the first heartbeat period expires, wherein the second heartbeat period is longer than the first heartbeat period, and wherein the second heartbeat period is twice the first heartbeat period.
12. The event-driven processor of claim 11 , wherein the operation code interpreter is configured to:
fetch a software routine before the first heartbeat period expires; and
execute the software routine in response to the event after the first heartbeat period expires.
13. The event-driven processor of claim 12 , wherein the software routine comprises a machine language instruction that specifies an operation to be performed by the operation code interpreter.
14. The event-driven processor of claim 12 , wherein the operation code interpreter is configured to:
count down the heartbeat timer to a predefined value until the first heartbeat period expires; and
execute the software routine when the heartbeat timer reaches the predefined value.
15. The event-driven processor of claim 11 , wherein the operation code interpreter is configured to:
specify a heartbeat interval for the event-driven processor; and
repetitively execute software routines in response to the event at the heartbeat interval.
16. A method for operating an event-driven processor, the method comprising:
configuring a heartbeat timer that is integrated into an instruction set of the event-driven processor, wherein configuring the heartbeat timer comprises:
specifying a first heartbeat period for the event-driven processor; and
counting down the heartbeat timer to a predefined value at which point the first heartbeat period expires; and
executing a software routine using the event-driven processor in response to an event when the heartbeat timer reaches the predefined value, wherein the software routine comprises a machine language instruction that specifies an operation to be performed by the event-driven processor; and
specifying a second heartbeat period for the event-driven processor after the first heartbeat period expires, wherein the second heartbeat period is longer than the first heartbeat period, and wherein the second heartbeat period is twice the first heartbeat period.
17. The method of claim 16 , further comprising fetching the software routine into the event-driven processor before the first heartbeat period expires.