Enforce In-order Execution of I/O (EIEIO) is an assembly language instruction used on the PowerPC central processing unit (CPU) which prevents one memory or input/output (I/O) operation from starting until the previous memory or I/O operation completed. This instruction is needed as I/O controllers on the system bus require that accesses follow a particular order, while the CPU reorders accesses to optimize memory bandwidth usage.
Where the name comes from
Notice the pun in the name; the old children's song goes "Old MacDonald had a farm, E-I-E-I-O!". In the book Expert C Programming, Peter van der Linden comments that this instruction is "Probably designed by some old farmer named McDonald" and "There’s nothing wrong with well-placed whimsy."
References
- "Help - AIX 6.1 Information Center". Archived from the original on 2013-06-29. Retrieved 2013-06-04.
- Linden, Peter van der. Expert C Programming: Deep C Secrets (Prentice Hall, 1994) pg.xxii
External links
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