A method, and bus prefetching mechanism are provided for implementing
enhanced buffer control. A computer system includes a plurality of
masters and at least one slave exchanging data over a system bus and the
slave prefetches read data under control of a master. The master
generates a continue bus signal that indicates a new or a continued
request. The master generates a prefetch bus signal that indicates an
amount to prefetch including no prefetching. The master includes a
mechanism for continuing a sequence of reads allowing prefetching until a
request is made indicating a prefetch amount of zero.