If the compiler doesn't optimize the if(cmp(...)) first += length + rem; perhaps a sign operation could be used when cmp returns a number. Something along the l

If the compiler doesn't optimize the if(cmp(...)) first += length + rem; perhaps a sign operation could be used when cmp returns a number. Something along the lines of: first += (length + rem) * ((sign(cmp(...)) + 1) / 2) Has anyone tried that? DDG isn't very helpful.