Apparatus and method for loop execution

摘要

A processing engine, comprising an execution unit for executing machine-readable instructions dispatched thereto, and an instruction buffer for temporarily storing a plurality of machine-readable instructions transferred thereto prior to dispatch to the execution unit. The execution unit is responsive to a first machine-readable instruction to initiate iterative execution of a block of machine-readable instructions, including an initial and a final instruction for said block, all locatable in said instruction buffer. During iterative execution, instruction fetch into the instruction buffer is inhibited.