Methods and structure for dynamic modifications to arbitration for a shared resource

Methods and structure for enhanced flexibility in bus arbitration without requiring modification to a standard arbiter circuit. Parameters for determining the priority of each channel involved in the arbitration are provided to a computational element to apply predicate functions thereto and thereby generate an index value. The index value is then used to access the lookup table for that channel to determine the present priority of the channel in an arbitration structure. The use of a lookup table permits simple modification to the arbitration structure for a particular application. The predicate evaluation of selected parameters further enhances flexibility in adapting the arbitration structure to the requirements of a particular application.