Instruction generation based on selection or non-selection of a special command

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10229035-B2
Application number	US-201715807921-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 9, 2017
Priority date	Dec 14, 2011
Publication date	Mar 12, 2019
Grant date	Mar 12, 2019

Abstract

Generating instructions, in particular for mailbox verification in a simulation environment. A sequence of instructions is received, as well as selection data representative of a plurality of commands including a special command. Repeatedly selecting one of the plurality of commands and outputting an instruction based on the selected command. The outputting of an instruction includes outputting a next instruction in the sequence of instructions if the selected command is the special command, and outputting an instruction associated with the command if the selected command is not the special command.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of generating computer instructions, comprising:
receiving a sequence of instructions, the sequence having an order in which instructions of the sequence of instructions are to appear relative to each other;
receiving selection data representative of a plurality of commands including a special command; and
repeatedly selecting one of the plurality of commands, performing, for each iteration of the repeatedly selecting, a check whether the selected command of the plurality of commands is the special command, and outputting a computer instruction to a computer instruction queue based on the checking whether the selected command is the special command, wherein the outputting of the computer instruction comprises:
outputting to the computer instruction queue a next instruction of the sequence of instructions based on the checking indicating that the selected command is the special command; and
outputting to the computer instruction queue an instruction associated with the selected command based on the checking indicating that the selected command is not the special command.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the repeatedly selecting, checking, and outputting produces a command stream, wherein based on the outputting being based on the checking whether the selected command is the special command, instructions of the sequence of instructions appear in random positions in the command stream, and wherein, based on the sequence of instructions having the order in which instructions of the sequence of instructions are to appear, instructions of the sequence of instructions appear inside the command stream in that order relative to each other.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the repeatedly selecting selects the selected command from the plurality of commands and wherein, for each selection of the repeatedly selecting, each command of the plurality of commands is available for selection.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the selection data is representative, for each of the plurality of commands, of a weight associated with the respective command and wherein the selecting the one of the plurality of commands is further based on the weight of one or more of the plurality of commands.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the sequence of instructions includes mailbox commands.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the outputting outputs to the computer instruction queue an instruction associated with the selected command based on the checking indicating that the selected command is not the special command, wherein the instruction associated with the selected command is not a mailbox instruction.

7. A computer instruction generating system comprising:
a memory, and
a processor in communication with the memory, wherein the computer instruction generating system is configured to perform a method comprising:
receiving a sequence of instructions, the sequence having an order in which instructions of the sequence of instructions are to appear relative to each other;
receiving selection data representative of a plurality of commands including a special command; and
repeatedly selecting, by a processing circuit, one of the plurality of commands, performing, for each iteration of the repeatedly selecting, a check whether the selected command of the plurality of commands is the special command, and outputting a computer instruction to a computer instruction queue based on the checking whether the selected command is the special command, wherein the outputting of the computer instruction comprises:
outputting to the computer instruction queue a next instruction of the sequence of instructions based on the checking indicating that the selected command is the special command; and
outputting to the computer instruction queue an instruction associated with the selected command based on the checking indicating that the selected command is not the special command.

8. The system of claim 7 , wherein the repeatedly selecting, checking, and outputting produces a command stream, wherein based on the outputting being based on the checking whether the selected command is the special command, instructions of the sequence of instructions appear in random positions in the command stream, and wherein, based on the sequence of instructions having the order in which instructions of the sequence of instructions are to appear, instructions of the sequence of instructions appear inside the command stream in that order relative to each other.

9. The system of claim 7 , wherein the repeatedly selecting selects the selected command from the plurality of commands and wherein, for each selection of the repeatedly selecting, each command of the plurality of commands is available for selection.

10. The system of claim 7 , wherein the selection data is representative, for each of the plurality of commands, of a weight associated with the respective command and wherein the selecting the one of the plurality of commands is further based on the weight of one or more of the plurality of commands.

11. The system of claim 7 , wherein the sequence of instructions includes mailbox commands.

12. The system of claim 7 , wherein the outputting outputs to the computer instruction queue an instruction associated with the selected command based on the checking indicating that the selected command is not the special command, wherein the instruction associated with the selected command is not a mailbox instruction.

13. A computer program product for generating computer instructions, the computer program product comprising:
a non-transitory computer readable storage medium readable by a processing circuit and storing instructions for execution by the processing circuit for performing a method comprising:
receiving a sequence of instructions, the sequence having an order in which instructions of the sequence of instructions are to appear relative to each other;
receiving selection data representative of a plurality of commands including a special command; and
repeatedly selecting one of the plurality of commands, performing, for each iteration of the repeatedly selecting, a check whether the selected command of the plurality of commands is the special command, and outputting a computer instruction to a computer instruction queue based on the checking whether the selected command is the special command, wherein the outputting of the computer instruction comprises:
outputting to the computer instruction queue a next instruction of the sequence of instructions based on the checking indicating that the selected command is the special command; and
outputting to the computer instruction queue an instruction associated with the selected command based on the checking indicating that the selected command is not the special command.

14. The computer program product of claim 13 , wherein the repeatedly selecting, checking, and outputting produces a command stream, wherein based on the outputting being based on the checking whether the selected command is the special command, instructions of the sequence of instructions appear in random positions in the command stream, and wherein, based on the sequence of instructions having the order in which instructions of the sequence of instructions are to appear, instructions of the sequence of instructions appear inside the command stream in that order relative to each other.

15. The computer program product of claim 13 , wherein the repeatedly selecting selects the selected command from the plurality of commands and wherein, for each selection of the repeatedly selecting, each command of the plurality of commands is

Assignees

• IBM

Inventors

• Deutschle Joerg
• Hahn Ursel
• Walter Joerg
• Weissenberger Ernst-Dieter

Classifications

• G06F11/3664 Primary

  Physics · mapped topic

• G06F11/3684

  for test design, e.g. generating new test cases · CPC title

• G06F11/263 Primary

  Generation of test inputs, e.g. test vectors, patterns or sequences {; with adaptation of the tested hardware for testability with external testers} · CPC title

• G06F11/3698 Primary

  Environments for analysis, debugging or testing of software · CPC title