Title: Dynamic branch prediction and control speculation

Authors: Jurij Silc, Theo Ungerer, Borut Robic

Addresses: Department of Computer System, Jozef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia. ' Institute of Computer Science, University of Augsburg, Germany. ' Faculty of Computer and Information Science, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia

Abstract: Branch prediction schemes have become an integral part of today|s superscalar processors. They are one of the key issues in enhancing the performance of processors. Pipeline stalls due to conditional branches are one of the most significant impediments to realise the performance potential of superscalar processors. Many schemes for branch prediction that can effectively and accurately predict the outcome of branch instructions have been proposed. In this paper, an overview of some dynamic branch prediction schemes for superscalar processors are presented.

Keywords: superscalar processors; dynamic branch prediction; high performance; simulation; prototypes.

DOI: 10.1504/IJHPSA.2007.013287

International Journal of High Performance Systems Architecture, 2007 Vol.1 No.1, pp.2 - 13

Published online: 19 Apr 2007 *

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