Compare-and-Branch
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The 960 architectures provide combined Compare-and-Branch
instructions that permit you to store the branch target in the lower 13
bits of the instruction word itself. However, if you specify a branch
target far enough away that its address won't fit in 13 bits, the
assembler can either issue an error, or convert your Compare-and-Branch
instruction into separate instructions to do the compare and the branch.
Whether `as' gives an error or expands the instruction depends on
two choices you can make: whether you use the `-no-relax' option, and
whether you use a "Compare and Branch" instruction or a "Compare and
Jump" instruction. The "Jump" instructions are _always_ expanded if
necessary; the "Branch" instructions are expanded when necessary
_unless_ you specify `-no-relax'--in which case `as' gives an error
instead.
These are the Compare-and-Branch instructions, their "Jump" variants,
and the instruction pairs they may expand into:
Compare and
Branch Jump Expanded to
------ ------ ------------
bbc chkbit; bno
bbs chkbit; bo
cmpibe cmpije cmpi; be
cmpibg cmpijg cmpi; bg
cmpibge cmpijge cmpi; bge
cmpibl cmpijl cmpi; bl
cmpible cmpijle cmpi; ble
cmpibno cmpijno cmpi; bno
cmpibne cmpijne cmpi; bne
cmpibo cmpijo cmpi; bo
cmpobe cmpoje cmpo; be
cmpobg cmpojg cmpo; bg
cmpobge cmpojge cmpo; bge
cmpobl cmpojl cmpo; bl
cmpoble cmpojle cmpo; ble
cmpobne cmpojne cmpo; bne