Rewriting branch instructions using branch stubs

A method, in a data processing system, for rewriting branch instructions in a portion of code, comprising:

• receiving, in a processor of the data processing system, a portion of source code having an original branch instruction;
• generating, by a compiler executing on the processor, a branch stub for the original branch instruction, wherein the branch stub stores information about the original branch instruction including an original target address of the original branch instruction;
• rewriting, by the compiler, the original branch instruction so that a target of the rewritten branch instruction references the branch stub;
• and
• outputting, by the compiler, compiled code including the rewritten branch instruction and the branch stub for execution by a computing device, wherein the branch stub is utilized by the computing device at runtime to determine if execution of the rewritten branch instruction can be redirected directly to a target instruction corresponding to the original target address in an instruction cache of the computing device without intervention by an instruction cache runtime system, wherein:
• the compiler analyzes the portion of source code to determine if the original branch instruction is a direct branch instruction, in which the target of the original branch instruction is identifiable at compile time, or an indirect branch instruction, in which the target of the branch instruction is not identifiable at compile time, and
• in response to the original branch instruction being an indirect branch instruction, inserting a check instruction prior to the rewritten branch instruction in the compiled code, wherein the check instruction, at runtime, checks whether a target of the rewritten branch instruction is a same target as a previous execution of the rewritten branch instruction.