http://gcc.gnu.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=49054
Summary: useless cmp+jmp generated for switch when "default:" is unreachable Product: gcc Version: unknown Status: UNCONFIRMED Severity: normal Priority: P3 Component: c AssignedTo: unassig...@gcc.gnu.org ReportedBy: a...@gnu.org Host: x86-64 Build: x86-64 gcc (Debian 4.6.0-7) 4.6.1 20110507 (prerelease) When I compile the following switch, GCC generates code to check that id <= 4 and to conditionally jump to... the next instruction. % cat foo.c unsigned f(void); unsigned g(void); unsigned h(void); unsigned i(void); unsigned j(void); unsigned int baz(unsigned int id) { switch (id) { case 0: return f(); case 1: return g(); case 2: return h(); case 3: return i(); case 4: return j(); default: __builtin_unreachable(); } } % gcc -march=core2 -m64 -O3 foo.c -c -o foo.o % objdump -DC foo.o | head -23 foo.o: file format elf64-x86-64 Disassembly of section .text: 0000000000000000 <baz>: 0: 83 ff 05 cmp $0x4,%edi 3: 76 03 jbe 8 <baz+0x8> 5: 0f 1f 00 nopl (%rax) 8: 89 ff mov %edi,%edi a: ff 24 fd 00 00 00 00 jmpq *0x0(,%rdi,8) 11: 0f 1f 80 00 00 00 00 nopl 0x0(%rax) 18: e9 00 00 00 00 jmpq 1d <baz+0x1d> 1d: 0f 1f 00 nopl (%rax) 20: e9 00 00 00 00 jmpq 25 <baz+0x25> 25: 0f 1f 00 nopl (%rax) 28: e9 00 00 00 00 jmpq 2d <baz+0x2d> 2d: 0f 1f 00 nopl (%rax) 30: e9 00 00 00 00 jmpq 35 <baz+0x35> 35: 0f 1f 00 nopl (%rax) 38: e9 00 00 00 00 jmpq 3d <baz+0x3d> What is the point of the first three instructions? I would have expected baz to start at adress 8.