A data processing apparatus, a computer, an article including a
machine-accessible medium, and a method of processing data are disclosed.
The data processing apparatus may include a pair of pipelines sharing an
instruction cache, data cache, and a branch predictor with the second
pipeline running ahead of the first pipeline using a data value
prediction module. The pipelines may be included in one or more
processors and coupled to a memory to form a computer. The method
includes executing a plurality of instructions using the pipeline pair,
such that when a cache miss is encountered by the second pipeline during
execution of a LOAD instruction, the data value prediction module
supplies a predicted load value in lieu of a cached value, enabling
continued execution of the plurality of instructions by the second
pipeline without waiting for the return of the cached value.