https://gcc.gnu.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=65440
--- Comment #1 from vries at gcc dot gnu.org --- Concrete example ( based on example at https://gcc.gnu.org/git/?p=gcc.git;a=blob;f=gcc/tree-ssa-loop-im.c;h=9aba79ba776944ec6fba8459354deabe8c126b75;hb=HEAD#l333) test.c: ... #include <string.h> const char *something (void); size_t f (unsigned int n) { const char *s = something (); size_t sum = 0; size_t t; unsigned int i; for (i = 0; i < n; ++i) { if (s) t = strlen (s); else t = i * 2; sum += t; } return sum; } ... The resulting code with -O2 from the optimized dump is: ... f (unsigned int n) { unsigned int i; size_t t; size_t sum; const char * s; unsigned int _9; <bb 2>: s_6 = something (); if (n_7(D) != 0) goto <bb 3>; else goto <bb 8>; <bb 3>: # sum_13 = PHI <0(2)> # i_1 = PHI <0(2)> <bb 4>: # sum_14 = PHI <sum_13(3), sum_11(7)> # i_17 = PHI <i_1(3), i_12(7)> if (s_6 != 0B) goto <bb 5>; else goto <bb 6>; <bb 5>: t_8 = strlen (s_6); goto <bb 7>; <bb 6>: _9 = i_17 * 2; t_10 = (size_t) _9; <bb 7>: # t_2 = PHI <t_8(5), t_10(6)> sum_11 = t_2 + sum_14; i_12 = i_17 + 1; if (n_7(D) != i_12) goto <bb 4>; else goto <bb 8>; <bb 8>: # sum_16 = PHI <sum_11(7), 0(2)> return sum_16; } ... [ The same code is generated with -O3 -fno-tree-vectorize -fno-unswitch-loops. -funswitch-loops manages to take the strlen out of the loop, but by generating two loops. ]