<html lang="en"> <head> <title>i386-Jumps - Using as</title> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html"> <meta name="description" content="Using as"> <meta name="generator" content="makeinfo 4.13"> <link title="Top" rel="start" href="index.html#Top"> <link rel="up" href="i386_002dDependent.html#i386_002dDependent" title="i386-Dependent"> <link rel="prev" href="i386_002dMemory.html#i386_002dMemory" title="i386-Memory"> <link rel="next" href="i386_002dFloat.html#i386_002dFloat" title="i386-Float"> <link href="http://www.gnu.org/software/texinfo/" rel="generator-home" title="Texinfo Homepage"> <!-- This file documents the GNU Assembler "as". Copyright (C) 1991-2015 Free Software Foundation, Inc. Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.3 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, with no Front-Cover Texts, and with no Back-Cover Texts. A copy of the license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation License''. --> <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css"> <style type="text/css"><!-- pre.display { font-family:inherit } pre.format { font-family:inherit } pre.smalldisplay { font-family:inherit; font-size:smaller } pre.smallformat { font-family:inherit; font-size:smaller } pre.smallexample { font-size:smaller } pre.smalllisp { font-size:smaller } span.sc { font-variant:small-caps } span.roman { font-family:serif; font-weight:normal; } span.sansserif { font-family:sans-serif; font-weight:normal; } --></style> </head> <body> <div class="node"> <a name="i386-Jumps"></a> <a name="i386_002dJumps"></a> <p> Next: <a rel="next" accesskey="n" href="i386_002dFloat.html#i386_002dFloat">i386-Float</a>, Previous: <a rel="previous" accesskey="p" href="i386_002dMemory.html#i386_002dMemory">i386-Memory</a>, Up: <a rel="up" accesskey="u" href="i386_002dDependent.html#i386_002dDependent">i386-Dependent</a> <hr> </div> <h4 class="subsection">9.15.8 Handling of Jump Instructions</h4> <p><a name="index-jump-optimization_002c-i386-1111"></a><a name="index-i386-jump-optimization-1112"></a><a name="index-jump-optimization_002c-x86_002d64-1113"></a><a name="index-x86_002d64-jump-optimization-1114"></a>Jump instructions are always optimized to use the smallest possible displacements. This is accomplished by using byte (8-bit) displacement jumps whenever the target is sufficiently close. If a byte displacement is insufficient a long displacement is used. We do not support word (16-bit) displacement jumps in 32-bit mode (i.e. prefixing the jump instruction with the ‘<samp><span class="samp">data16</span></samp>’ instruction prefix), since the 80386 insists upon masking ‘<samp><span class="samp">%eip</span></samp>’ to 16 bits after the word displacement is added. (See also see <a href="i386_002dArch.html#i386_002dArch">i386-Arch</a>) <p>Note that the ‘<samp><span class="samp">jcxz</span></samp>’, ‘<samp><span class="samp">jecxz</span></samp>’, ‘<samp><span class="samp">loop</span></samp>’, ‘<samp><span class="samp">loopz</span></samp>’, ‘<samp><span class="samp">loope</span></samp>’, ‘<samp><span class="samp">loopnz</span></samp>’ and ‘<samp><span class="samp">loopne</span></samp>’ instructions only come in byte displacements, so that if you use these instructions (<code>gcc</code> does not use them) you may get an error message (and incorrect code). The AT&T 80386 assembler tries to get around this problem by expanding ‘<samp><span class="samp">jcxz foo</span></samp>’ to <pre class="smallexample"> jcxz cx_zero jmp cx_nonzero cx_zero: jmp foo cx_nonzero: </pre> </body></html>