Chaining Span-Dependent Jump Instructions

Abstract

The assembled length of a span-dependent jump instruction depends on the distance between the instruction and its target. Such instructions are found on many computers and typically have two forms, long and short. We consider the problem of minimizing object program length for such machines by chaining together jumps with the same target. Although the problem is NP-complete in its most general form, several mildly restricted forms of the problem exist that are of practical importance and have efficient solutions.