CONDITIONAL BRANCH EXECUTION USING A BRANCH OUTCOME TABLE HAVING A TOTOTAL SIZE IN BITS CORRESPONDING TO A TOTAL NUMBER OF ACTIVE PRE-CONDITIONED BRANCH INSTRUCTIONS

Reliable branch predictions for real-time applications reduce both conditional branch execution time and uncertainties associated with their prediction in a computer implemented application. One method ensures that certain conditional branches are always correctly predicted, effectively converting them to jump instructions during program execution. Another method exploits the fact that some conditional branches always branch in the same direction within a task invocation, although that direction may vary across invocations. These methods improve computer processor utilization and performance.