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[libreriscv.git] / openpower / sv / overview.mdwn

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--- a/openpower/sv/overview.mdwn
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@@ -17,8 +17,12 @@ Links:
   feel free to add comments, questions.
 * [[SV|sv]]
 * [[sv/svp64]]
-* [x86 REP instruction](
-Contents:https://c9x.me/x86/html/file_module_x86_id_279.html)
+* [x86 REP instruction](https://c9x.me/x86/html/file_module_x86_id_279.html):
+  a useful way to quickly understand that the core of the SV concept
+  is not new.
+* [Article about register tagging](http://science.lpnu.ua/sites/default/files/journal-paper/2019/jul/17084/volum3number1text-9-16_1.pdf) showing
+  that tagging is not a new idea either. Register tags
+  are also used in the Mill Architecture.
 
 
 [[!toc]]
@@ -905,6 +909,42 @@ implementations may cause pipeline stalls.  This was one of the reasons
 why CR-based pred-result analysis was added, because that at least is
 entirely paralleliseable.
 
+# Vertical-First Mode
+
+This is a relatively new addition to SVP64 under development as of
+July 2021.  Where Horizontal-First is the standard Cray-style for-loop,
+Vertical-First typically executes just the **one** scalar element
+in each Vectorised operation. That element is selected by srcstep
+and dststep *neither of which are changed as a side-effect of execution*.
+Illustrating this in pseodocode, with a branch/loop.
+To create loops, a new instruction `svstep` must be called,
+explicitly, with Rc=1:
+
+```
+loop:
+  sv.addi r0.v, r8.v, 5 # GPR(0+dststep) = GPR(8+srcstep) + 5
+  sv.addi r0.v, r8, 5   # GPR(0+dststep) = GPR(8        ) + 5
+  sv.addi r0, r8.v, 5   # GPR(0        ) = GPR(8+srcstep) + 5
+  svstep.               # srcstep++, dststep++, CR0.eq = srcstep==VL
+  beq loop
+```
+
+Three examples are illustrated of different types of Scalar-Vector
+operations. Note that in its simplest form  **only one** element is
+executed per instruction **not** multiple elements per instruction.
+(The more advanced version of Vertical-First mode may execute multiple
+elements per instruction, however the number executed **must** remain
+a fixed quantity.)
+
+Now that such explicit loops can increment inexorably towards VL,
+of course we now need a way to test if srcstep or dststep have reached
+VL. This is achieved in one of two ways: [[sv/svstep]] has an Rc=1 mode
+where CR0 will be updated if VL is reached. A standard v3.0B Branch
+Conditional may rely on that.  Alternatively, the number of elements
+may be transferred into CTR, as is standard practice in Power ISA.
+Here, SVP64 [[sv/branches]] have a mode which allows CTR to be decremented
+by the number of vertical elements executed.
+
 # Instruction format
 
 Whilst this overview shows the internals, it does not go into detail