Multi-threaded processor with thread granularity

A multi-thread processor has a canonical thread map register which outputs a sequence of thread_id values indicating a current thread for execution. The thread map register is programmable to provide granularity of number of cycles of the canonical sequence assigned to each thread. In one example of the invention, the thread map register has repeating thread identifiers in a sequential or non-sequential manner to overcome memory latency and avoid thread stalls. In another example of the invention, separate interrupt tasks are placed on each thread to reduce interrupt processing latency.