The DLX Instruction Set Architecture Handbook

The definitive source for the DLX instruction set architecture introducedin John L. Hennessy and David A. Patterson's Computer Architecture: AQuantitative Approach. DLX is a selective amalgam of several sophisticatedload/store architectures; it was developed to serve as a simple example ofa pure RISC architecture and is invoked throughout Computer Architecture todemonstrate design principles. With its complete and up-to-date informationon the details of DLX, this handbook is a valuable supplement for anyonestudying from Computer Architecture, whether self-taught or as part of aclass. It will also make an informative addition to the library of anycomputer systems designer or RISC aficionado.Beginning with the origins and history of DLX, the opening section of thehandbook covers the essential topics of registers, data formats,addressing, and interrupt handling. The second section provides a generaldescription of the instruction set architecture, followed by the specificsof DLX instruction types, format notation, and operation notation.Appendices provide a quick reference to the instruction set and the latestavailable version of documentation for the DLXsim simulator.