Hi.
This is not a question about OS development, but i felt that only the experts here, can answer it. I am not a developer. :roll:
Using the JumpGate patcher from Aminet, i discovered that many executables, libraries, devices etc. contains TONS of SW+CLR+SW and NOP instructions. Not just old files compiled for the 68000, but also "new", 040 optimized files!
JumpGate replace the SW+CLR+SW with ANDI.L and the NOP with LEA (An). The second conversion is faster only if you have a 040+ cpu, as the guide states. ( I have a 68040)
So far, i have use this utility to optimize many system files and i haven't encounter a problem, atm. Oh, BSR->BRA type of conversions, seems to be safe, too.
Don't try this at home, as other optimizations are proven to be dangerous!! I always keep backup files.
So, i have 2 questions about this:
- Are these optimizations always faster, or there are exceptions to this? I don't know a standard way to detect small changes in speed. (maybe you know one, btw)
- Are there any potential problems that i should know of?