Branch prediction
Branch prediction is a processor technique that forecasts the outcome or path of a control-flow branch before it is resolved.
Hacking Cryptography
Branch prediction is a processor mechanism that forecasts the outcome or target of a control-flow branch to keep instruction execution supplied.
- How it is used
- Explains how data-dependent control flow changes processor performance and motivates branchless techniques for cryptographic implementations.
- How deep it goes
- Demonstrates prediction patterns, compares timings, and reaches CMOV-based code, but does not detail predictor hardware internals.
- Examples
- Uses a threshold-summing loop, sorted and unsorted arrays, CMOV inline assembly, and measured GCC program output.
- What you can do after
- Diagnose performance variation by comparing branch patterns and apply conditional moves to construct a branchless implementation.
100 Go Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
Branch prediction is a processor technique that forecasts the outcome of a conditional branch so subsequent instructions can be executed speculatively.
- How it is used
- Explains how processors mitigate conditional-branch stalls while exploiting instruction-level parallelism.
- How deep it goes
- Explains control hazards, prediction, pipeline flushing, and penalties, but stops short of predictor implementation details.
- Examples
- Uses Go increment loops, conditional checks, execution diagrams, and contrasting dependency structures.
- What you can do after
- Diagnose performance effects by relating conditional branches and data dependencies to speculative execution and pipeline stalls.
Read how 100 Go Mistakes and How to Avoid Them explains branch prediction →
Related concepts
- control hazardaddresses · A control hazard is an instruction-execution dependency caused by a conditional branch whose outcome determines subsequent instructions.
- CPUuses · A central processing unit (CPU) is a general-purpose processor that executes computer instructions and performs computational operations.
- hardwarepart of · Hardware is the physical equipment and components of a computing system that provide resources for computation and software execution.
- branchaddresses · Branching is the selection among alternative execution paths according to a condition, outcome, or program state.
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