A microprocessor chip, and methods for use in that microprocessor chip.
The chip has instruction pipeline circuitry and address translation
circuitry. Table lookup circuitry indexes into a table, the table having
an entry associated with each corresponding address range translated by
the address translation circuitry. Each entry of the table describes a
likelihood of the existence of an alternate coding of instructions
located in the respective corresponding address range. The table lookup
circuitry retrieves a table entry corresponding to the address, and is
operable as part of the basic instruction cycle of executing an
instruction of a non-supervisor mode program executing on a computer.
Interrupt circuitry is cooperatively designed with the instruction
pipeline circuitry to trigger an interrupt on execution of an instruction
of a process, synchronously based at least in part on a memory state of
the computer and the address of the instruction, the architectural
definition of the instruction not calling for an interrupt. A handler for
the interrupt is responsive to the contents of the table to affect the
instruction pipeline circuitry to effect control of an
architecturally-visible data manipulation behavior or control transfer
behavior of the instruction based on the contents of a table entry
associated with the instruction.