are optimised, unless the long form is specified.
\b \c{-On} multi-pass optimization, minimize branch offsets; also will
- minimize signed immediate bytes, overriding size specification.
+ minimize signed immediate bytes, overriding size specification
+ when the \c{strict} keyword hasn't been used (see \k{strict}).
If 2 <= n <= 3, then there are 5 * n passes, otherwise there
are n passes.
\H{strict} \i\c{STRICT}: Inhibiting Optimization
-When compiling with the optimizer set to level 2 or higher (see
-\k{opt-On}), NASM will use size specifiers (\c{BYTE}, \c{WORD},
-\c{DWORD}, \c{QWORD}, or \c{TWORD}) strictly to choose the address- or
-operand-size of the instruction. The keyword \c{STRICT} can be used
-to inhibit optimization and force a particular operand to be emitted
-in the specified size. For example, with the optimizer on, and in
-\c{BITS 16} mode,
+When assembling with the optimizer set to level 2 or higher (see
+\k{opt-On}), NASM will override size specifiers (\c{BYTE}, \c{WORD},
+\c{DWORD}, \c{QWORD}, or \c{TWORD}), giving them the smallest possible
+size. The keyword \c{STRICT} can be used to inhibit optimization and
+force a particular operand to be emitted in the specified size.
+For example, with the optimizer on, and in \c{BITS 16} mode,
\c push dword 33
is encoded in six bytes, with a full dword immediate operand \c{66 68
21 00 00 00}.
+With the optimizer off, the same code (six bytes) is generated whether
+the \c{STRICT} keyword was used or not.
+
\H{crit} \i{Critical Expressions}