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A concurrent microprogramming facility

Published:01 December 1983Publication History
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Abstract

Control-unit microcode is characterized by the control of multiple asynchronous devices. This paper describes the Concurrent Microprogramming Facility (CMF), a general-purpose microcode operating system that applies recent advances in programming technology to define a uniform method of expressing this inherent asynchrony. This method is shown to be the basis for the partition of the microcode function and to provide a framework for communication between programmers as well as programs. CMF provides an environment where microcode is viewed as disjoint asynchronous processes that communicate with each other and hardware adapters using a small set of primitives based on the concept of message passing. A uniform process interface both streamlines documentation and accommodates multiprocessor designs. A macro-based system definition facility drives the system and allows the structure of a large microprogram to be specified on a single page.

References

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  1. A concurrent microprogramming facility

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    • Published in

      cover image ACM SIGMICRO Newsletter
      ACM SIGMICRO Newsletter  Volume 14, Issue 4
      December 1983
      205 pages
      ISSN:1050-916X
      DOI:10.1145/1096419
      Issue’s Table of Contents

      Copyright © 1983 Author

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      Association for Computing Machinery

      New York, NY, United States

      Publication History

      • Published: 1 December 1983

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