program.py

def get_sign(num):
    # Shift the sign bit of the integer to the rightmost position
    sign_bit = num >> 31

    # Use the sign bit to determine the sign:
    # If the number is positive, sign_bit will be 0 (0000...0000).
    # If the number is negative, sign_bit will be -1 (1111...1111).
    # If the number is zero, the sign_bit will remain 0.
    # We can then use the absolute value of sign_bit as the sign representation.
    sign = 1 - ((sign_bit + sign_bit) & 1)

    return sign

def min_branchless(a, b):
    # Calculate the difference between a and b
    diff = a - b

    # Calculate the sign bit of the difference
    sign_bit = diff >> 31

    # If a is less than b, the sign_bit will be -1 (1111...1111).
    # If a is greater than or equal to b, the sign_bit will be 0 (0000...0000).
    # In the case where a is less than b, we will add the difference to b.
    # Otherwise, we will add 0 to b, effectively keeping b as the minimum.
    min_value = b + (diff & sign_bit)

    return min_value

def is_smaller(a, b):
    # Check if a is smaller than b
    return (a - b) < 0

def min_with_helper(a, b):
    # If is_smaller(a, b) returns true, then a is smaller than b.
    # In this case, we will return a + 0, effectively keeping a as the minimum.
    # Otherwise, if is_smaller(a, b) returns false, then a is greater than or equal to b.
    # In this case, we will return a + (b - a), which will be equal to b.
    # This effectively returns the smaller of the two values.
    return a + (b - a) * int(is_smaller(a, b))

# Test the functions
num1 = 42
num2 = -7
num3 = 0

print(f"Sign of {num1}: {get_sign(num1)}")
print(f"Sign of {num2}: {get_sign(num2)}")
print(f"Sign of {num3}: {get_sign(num3)}")

a = 15
b = 9

print(f"Minimum of {a} and {b} (branchless): {min_branchless(a, b)}")
print(f"Minimum of {a} and {b} (with helper): {min_with_helper(a, b)}")