Mathematical optimizationMathematical optimization (alternatively spelled optimisation) or mathematical programming is the selection of a best element, with regard to some criterion, from some set of available alternatives. It is generally divided into two subfields: discrete optimization and continuous optimization. Optimization problems arise in all quantitative disciplines from computer science and engineering to operations research and economics, and the development of solution methods has been of interest in mathematics for centuries.
Program counterThe program counter (PC), commonly called the instruction pointer (IP) in Intel x86 and Itanium microprocessors, and sometimes called the instruction address register (IAR), the instruction counter, or just part of the instruction sequencer, is a processor register that indicates where a computer is in its program sequence. Usually, the PC is incremented after fetching an instruction, and holds the memory address of ("points to") the next instruction that would be executed.
Predication (computer architecture)In computer architecture, predication is a feature that provides an alternative to conditional transfer of control, as implemented by conditional branch machine instructions. Predication works by having conditional (predicated) non-branch instructions associated with a predicate, a Boolean value used by the instruction to control whether the instruction is allowed to modify the architectural state or not. If the predicate specified in the instruction is true, the instruction modifies the architectural state; otherwise, the architectural state is unchanged.
Prefetch input queueFetching the instruction opcodes from program memory well in advance is known as prefetching and it is served by using a prefetch input queue (PIQ). The pre-fetched instructions are stored in a queue. The fetching of opcodes well in advance, prior to their need for execution, increases the overall efficiency of the processor boosting its speed. The processor no longer has to wait for the memory access operations for the subsequent instruction opcode to complete. This architecture was prominently used in the Intel 8086 microprocessor.
Branch tableIn computer programming, a branch table or jump table is a method of transferring program control (branching) to another part of a program (or a different program that may have been dynamically loaded) using a table of branch or jump instructions. It is a form of multiway branch. The branch table construction is commonly used when programming in assembly language but may also be generated by compilers, especially when implementing optimized switch statements whose values are densely packed together.
