Code security with variable-length instruction encoding

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for providing code security with variable-length instruction encoding. An aspect may include encoding instructions according to a set of rules. Such encoding may delimit the beginning of instructions using a specific bit, delimit the beginning of a basic block using another specific bit, enable handling of variable length constants that code size, and make code validation decidable and deterministic. Accordingly, code may be scanned once to verify that the code can be decoded into actual instruction, non-computed branches can be validated, and computed branches may trap if they branch to other places than the beginning of a basic starting block.

• Hardware and Architecture