Patent ID: 7178011

Claim:
Apparatus for processing data, said apparatus comprising: data processing logic operable to perform data processing operations; an instruction decoder operable to decode program instructions to control said data processing logic to perform said data processing operations, a program counter register operable to store an address indicative of a memory location of a program instruction being executed, wherein said instruction decoder is responsive to a predication instruction to control said data processing logic to either execute or not execute one or more associated program instructions in dependence upon one or more condition states of said apparatus for processing data set by execution of one or more program instructions other than said predication instruction, a predicated instruction counter register operable to store a counter value indicative of how many of said one or more associated program instructions subject to said predication instruction have been executed, wherein said program counter register is configured to continue to store an address corresponding to said predication instruction when said one or more associated program instructions subject to said predication instruction are executing; and an exception handling circuit operable upon occurrence of an exception to store said counter value, and upon completion of said exception, to restart execution starting at a program instruction pointed to by said counter value.