| 摘要 |
<p>A branch prediction system is provided that includes a first, low-latency storage structure (230), a second, higher-latency storage structure (240), and a branch prediction manager (BPM) (260) for updating the first and second storage structures according to software provided hint information (524). For one embodiment, the BPM (260) identifies branch hint information from branch related instructions and writes the identified branch hint information according to the state of an importance bit (524) in the instruction. When the importance bit (524) is in a first state, branch prediction information is stored in the first storage structure (230). When the hint information (524) is in a second state, the branch prediction information is stored in a second structure (240).</p> |
