Compaq 21264 - Manual (Page 327)

Alpha 21264/EV67 Hardware Reference Manual Glossary –1
Glossary
This glossary provides definitions for specific terms and acronyms associated with the
Alpha 21264/EV67 microprocessor and chips in general.
abort
The unit stops the operation it is performing, without saving status, to perform some
other operation.
address space number (ASN)
An optionally implemented register used to reduce the need for invalidation of cached
address translations for process-specific addresses when a context switch occurs. ASNs
are processor specific; the hardware makes no attempt to maintain coherency across
multiple processors.
address translation
The process of mapping addresses from one address space to another.
ALIGNED
A datum of size 2**N is stored in memory at a byte address that is a multiple of 2**N
(that is, one that has N low-order zeros).
ALU
Arithmetic logic unit.
ANSI
American National Standards Institute. An organization that develops and publishes
standards for the computer industry.
ASIC
Application-specific integrated circuit.
ASM
Address space match.
ASN
See address space number.
assert
To cause a signal to change to its logical true state.
AST
See asynchronous system trap.