A method and apparatus for optimizing a sequence of operations adapted for execution by a processor is disclosed to include associating with each register a symbolic expression selected from a set of possible symbolic expressions, locating an operation, if any, that is next within the sequence of operations and setting that operation to be a working operation, where the working operation has associated therewith a destination register and zero or more source registers, and processing the working operation when the working operation and any symbolic expressions of its source registers, if any, match at least one of a set of rules, where each rule specifies that the working operation must match a subset of the operation set, where each rule also specifies that the symbolic expressions, if any, of any source registers of the working operation must match a subset of the possible symbolic expressions, and where the rule also specifies a result, then posting the result as the symbolic expression of the destination register.