Compiling and combining instructions from different branches for execution in a processing element of a multithreaded processor

A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having stored thereon a compiler comprising computer readable code, said compiler being configured to compile a program into a plurality of instructions executable at a data processing system comprising a first processor having a plurality of processing elements, each processing element capable of executing n instructions per cycle, wherein n is an integer greater than 1, and an interface configured to mimic a plurality of processing elements each being capable of executing no more than one instruction per cycle, the compiler being configured to:

• read the program and, on detecting a branch operation creating m number of branches wherein m is an integer greater than 1, each branch having a different sequence of instructions, compile the sequence of instructions from each branch so as to be suitable for processing elements that are only capable of executing one instruction per cycle, and combine an instruction from one of the branches with an instruction from at least one other branch to form a combined instruction so as to cause at least one processing element to execute the combined instruction during a single cycle.