Compare alternative IF performance to implemented one

[ohhmm]

An alternative approach:

lets describe mathematically this expression: "if m=0 then a=1" [ else a=a ]

Using mathematical notation, we can write this expression as:

if(m,a) = abs(sign(m))*a + (1 + sign(m))/2 * a
if(m,a) = ((1 - m/|m|)/2 + (1 + m/|m|)/2) * a

This expression uses the sign function, which returns -1 if m is negative, 0 if m is zero, and 1 if m is positive. If m is zero, the first term evaluates to 1/2 and the second term evaluates to a,
so the expression simplifies to a = 1/2 + 1/2 * a, which yields a = 1.
If m is not zero, the first term evaluates to 0 and the second term evaluates to a, so the expression simplifies to a = a, which is true for any value of a.