Storage Management Operations in Linked Uniform Shift-Register Loops

Abstract

A new storage structure, called a uniform ladder, consists of a linear array of equal shift-register loops, each holding one record and linked by flow-steering switches. Data exchange across a loop boundary is mandatory if the controlling switch is on and forbidden if off. For MRU (Most Recently Used) storage management, the most important operation is the climbing of data to the top of the ladder from a depth of D loops, which takes only (D + 1)/2 record periods in the uniform ladder. Program switching is enhanced by efficient schemes for partial environmental exchanges and also by internal block transfers. A pushdown stack can be efficiently implemented by a change in the record storing technique.