The very good author of LuaJIT explains some of the problems modern compilers have in optimizing an interpreter and how to solve the problem in assembly:
http://article.gmane.org/gmane.comp.lang.lua.general/75426 http://www.reddit.com/r/programming/comments/badl2/luajit_2_beta_3_is_out_support_both_x32_x64/c0lrus0 His JIT is much more complex. Bye, bearophile
