18479974. SELECTIVE USE OF BRANCH PREDICTION HINTS simplified abstract (Intel Corporation)

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SELECTIVE USE OF BRANCH PREDICTION HINTS

Organization Name

Intel Corporation

Inventor(s)

Jared W. Stark of Portland OR (US)

Ahmad Yasin of Kafr Manda (IL)

Ajay Amarsingh Singh of Rancho Cordova CA (US)

SELECTIVE USE OF BRANCH PREDICTION HINTS - A simplified explanation of the abstract

This abstract first appeared for US patent application 18479974 titled 'SELECTIVE USE OF BRANCH PREDICTION HINTS

Simplified Explanation

The patent application describes apparatuses, methods, and systems for selective use of branch prediction hints. An apparatus includes an instruction decoder and a branch predictor, where the instruction decoder decodes a branch instruction with a hint, and the branch predictor provides a prediction and a hint-override indicator.

  • The instruction decoder decodes branch instructions with hints.
  • The branch predictor provides predictions and hint-override indicators.
  • The hint-override indicator determines if the prediction is based on stored information about the branch instruction.
  • The prediction overrides the hint if the hint-override indicator indicates that the prediction is based on stored information.

Potential Applications

This technology could be applied in:

  • Computer processors
  • Operating systems
  • Software development tools

Problems Solved

This technology helps in:

  • Improving branch prediction accuracy
  • Enhancing overall system performance

Benefits

The benefits of this technology include:

  • Optimizing branch prediction
  • Reducing unnecessary branch mispredictions

Potential Commercial Applications

A potential commercial application for this technology could be:

  • Incorporating it into high-performance computing systems

Possible Prior Art

One possible prior art for this technology could be:

  • Previous branch prediction algorithms used in computer processors

Unanswered Questions

How does this technology impact power consumption in devices?

This article does not address the potential impact of this technology on power consumption in devices.

Are there any limitations to the size or complexity of branch instructions that can be decoded?

The article does not discuss any limitations to the size or complexity of branch instructions that can be decoded using this technology.


Original Abstract Submitted

Embodiments of apparatuses, methods, and systems for selective use of branch prediction hints are described. In an embodiment, an apparatus includes an instruction decoder and a branch predictor. The instruction decoder is to decode a branch instruction having a hint. The branch predictor is to provide a prediction and a hint-override indicator. The hint-override indicator is to indicate whether the prediction is based on stored information about the branch instruction. The prediction is to override the hint if the hint-override indicator indicates that the prediction is based on stored information about the branch instruction.