Appeal No. 2002-0490 Page 2
Application No. 09/152,751
To execute a computer program more quickly, an instruction may be moved "up"
to a place earlier in the program's execution. In particular, the appellant explains, "it is
useful to move instructions to a location prior to branch instructions, the execution of
which determine whether the moved instructions would have been executed." (Id. at 1.)
Once moved, such an instruction will be executed "speculatively," i.e., before the
branch instruction is executed to determine whether the moved instruction should be
executed. (Id.)
An exception1 may arise when executing a load instruction in a computer
program. (Id. at 2.) Although executing instructions speculatively can be desirable, the
appellant cautions, "it is important not to take exceptions on such instructions where an
instruction potentially may not actually be executed." (Id. at 1-2.)
Accordingly, the appellant's invention replaces a load instruction in a computer
program with a "dismissible load instruction" and a "check instruction." The dismissible
load instruction, which, "by definition, does not generate an exception," (id. at 6), is
positioned in the program to be executed speculatively. (Appeal Br. at 3.) The check
1An exception is "a problem or change in conditions that causes a computer's
microprocessor to stop what it is doing and then find and carry out . . . instructions in a
separate routine designed to handle the situation." Microsoft Press Computer
Dictionary 153 (2d. ed. 1994).
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