資料來源 : Free On-Line Dictionary of Computing
horizontal encoding
An {instruction set} where each field (a bit or
group of bits) in an instruction word controls some
{functional unit} or {gate} directly, as opposed to {vertical
encoding} where instruction fields are decoded (by
{hard-wired} {logic} or {microcode}) to produce the control
signals. Horizontal encoding allows all possible combinations
of control signals (and therefore operations) to be expressed
as instructions whereas vertical encoding uses a shorter
instruction word but can only encode those combinations of
operations built into the decoding logic.
An {instruction set} may use a mixture of horizontal and
vertical encoding within each instruction. Because an
architecture using horizontal encoding typically requires more
instruction word bits it is sometimes known as a {very long
instruction word} (VLIW) architecture.
(1995-04-23)