It's useful when execute this routine when LOOPS > BTB_SIZE, eg,
from
int n = 0;
for (int i = 0; i < LOOPS; i++)
n++;
to
int n = 0;
int loops = LOOPS / 2;
for(int i = 0; i < loops; i+=2)
n += 2;
can reduce branch misses.
BTB ref:http://www-ee.eng.hawaii.edu/~tep/EE461/Notes/ILP/buffer.html but it doesn't tell how to get the BTB size.