Context controller having instruction-based time slice task switching capability and processor employing the same

A context controller for managing multitasking in a processor and a method of operating the same. In one embodiment, the context controller includes: (1) a time slice instruction counter that counts a number of instructions executed with respect to a given background task and (2) a background task controller that cyclicly executes a context corresponding to another background task when the number of instructions executed equals a dynamically-programmable time slice value.