diff --git a/Lib/compiler/pyassem.py b/Lib/compiler/pyassem.py
index e8810ae..0684623 100644
--- a/Lib/compiler/pyassem.py
+++ b/Lib/compiler/pyassem.py
@@ -613,16 +613,16 @@
 class LineAddrTable:
     """lnotab
     
-    This class builds the lnotab, which is undocumented but described
-    by com_set_lineno in compile.c.  Here's an attempt at explanation:
+    This class builds the lnotab, which is documented in compile.c.
+    Here's a brief recap:
 
     For each SET_LINENO instruction after the first one, two bytes are
     added to lnotab.  (In some cases, multiple two-byte entries are
     added.)  The first byte is the distance in bytes between the
     instruction for the last SET_LINENO and the current SET_LINENO.
     The second byte is offset in line numbers.  If either offset is
-    greater than 255, multiple two-byte entries are added -- one entry
-    for each factor of 255.
+    greater than 255, multiple two-byte entries are added -- see
+    compile.c for the delicate details.
     """
 
     def __init__(self):
@@ -657,19 +657,16 @@
             # compiler because it only generates a SET_LINENO instruction
             # for the assignment.
             if line > 0:
-                while addr > 0 or line > 0:
-                    # write the values in 1-byte chunks that sum
-                    # to desired value
-                    trunc_addr = addr
-                    trunc_line = line
-                    if trunc_addr > 255:
-                        trunc_addr = 255
-                    if trunc_line > 255:
-                        trunc_line = 255
-                    self.lnotab.append(trunc_addr)
-                    self.lnotab.append(trunc_line)
-                    addr = addr - trunc_addr
-                    line = line - trunc_line
+                push = self.lnotab.append
+                while addr > 255:
+                    push(255); push(0)
+                    addr -= 255
+                while line > 255:
+                    push(addr); push(255)
+                    line -= 255
+                    addr = 0
+                if addr > 0 or line > 0:
+                    push(addr); push(line)
                 self.lastline = lineno
                 self.lastoff = self.codeOffset
 
diff --git a/Misc/ACKS b/Misc/ACKS
index 3326096..ebe6770 100644
--- a/Misc/ACKS
+++ b/Misc/ACKS
@@ -319,6 +319,7 @@
 Bernhard Reiter
 Steven Reiz
 Jan Pieter Riegel
+Armin Rigo
 Nicholas Riley
 Jean-Claude Rimbault
 Andy Robinson
diff --git a/Python/compile.c b/Python/compile.c
index ec3de26..b9ba0fc 100644
--- a/Python/compile.c
+++ b/Python/compile.c
@@ -336,6 +336,50 @@
    c_argcount, c_globals, and c_flags.
 */
 
+/* All about c_lnotab.
+
+c_lnotab is an array of unsigned bytes disguised as a Python string.  In -O
+mode, SET_LINENO opcodes aren't generated, and bytecode offsets are mapped
+to source code line #s (when needed for tracebacks) via c_lnotab instead.
+The array is conceptually a list of
+    (bytecode offset increment, line number increment)
+pairs.  The details are important and delicate, best illustrated by example:
+
+    byte code offset    source code line number
+        0		    1
+        6		    2
+       50		    7
+      350                 307
+      361                 308
+
+The first trick is that these numbers aren't stored, only the increments
+from one row to the next (this doesn't really work, but it's a start):
+
+    0, 1,  6, 1,  44, 5,  300, 300,  11, 1
+
+The second trick is that an unsigned byte can't hold negative values, or
+values larger than 255, so (a) there's a deep assumption that byte code
+offsets and their corresponding line #s both increase monotonically, and (b)
+if at least one column jumps by more than 255 from one row to the next, more
+than one pair is written to the table. In case #b, there's no way to know
+from looking at the table later how many were written.  That's the delicate
+part.  A user of c_lnotab desiring to find the source line number
+corresponding to a bytecode address A should do something like this
+
+    lineno = addr = 0
+    for addr_incr, line_incr in c_lnotab:
+        addr += addr_incr
+        if addr > A:
+            return lineno
+        lineno += line_incr
+
+In order for this to work, when the addr field increments by more than 255,
+the line # increment in each pair generated must be 0 until the remaining addr
+increment is < 256.  So, in the example above, com_set_lineno should not (as
+was actually done until 2.2) expand 300, 300 to 255, 255,  45, 45, but to
+255, 0,  45, 255,  0, 45.
+*/
+
 struct compiling {
 	PyObject *c_code;	/* string */
 	PyObject *c_consts;	/* list of objects */
@@ -692,17 +736,17 @@
 	else {
 		int incr_addr = c->c_nexti - c->c_last_addr;
 		int incr_line = lineno - c->c_last_line;
-		while (incr_addr > 0 || incr_line > 0) {
-			int trunc_addr = incr_addr;
-			int trunc_line = incr_line;
-			if (trunc_addr > 255)
-				trunc_addr = 255;
-			if (trunc_line > 255)
-				trunc_line = 255;
-			com_add_lnotab(c, trunc_addr, trunc_line);
-			incr_addr -= trunc_addr;
-			incr_line -= trunc_line;
+		while (incr_addr > 255) {
+			com_add_lnotab(c, 255, 0);
+			incr_addr -= 255;
 		}
+		while (incr_line > 255) {
+			com_add_lnotab(c, incr_addr, 255);
+			incr_line -=255;
+			incr_addr = 0;
+		}
+		if (incr_addr > 0 || incr_line > 0)
+			com_add_lnotab(c, incr_addr, incr_line);
 		c->c_last_addr = c->c_nexti;
 		c->c_last_line = lineno;
 	}
diff --git a/Tools/compiler/compiler/pyassem.py b/Tools/compiler/compiler/pyassem.py
index e8810ae..0684623 100644
--- a/Tools/compiler/compiler/pyassem.py
+++ b/Tools/compiler/compiler/pyassem.py
@@ -613,16 +613,16 @@
 class LineAddrTable:
     """lnotab
     
-    This class builds the lnotab, which is undocumented but described
-    by com_set_lineno in compile.c.  Here's an attempt at explanation:
+    This class builds the lnotab, which is documented in compile.c.
+    Here's a brief recap:
 
     For each SET_LINENO instruction after the first one, two bytes are
     added to lnotab.  (In some cases, multiple two-byte entries are
     added.)  The first byte is the distance in bytes between the
     instruction for the last SET_LINENO and the current SET_LINENO.
     The second byte is offset in line numbers.  If either offset is
-    greater than 255, multiple two-byte entries are added -- one entry
-    for each factor of 255.
+    greater than 255, multiple two-byte entries are added -- see
+    compile.c for the delicate details.
     """
 
     def __init__(self):
@@ -657,19 +657,16 @@
             # compiler because it only generates a SET_LINENO instruction
             # for the assignment.
             if line > 0:
-                while addr > 0 or line > 0:
-                    # write the values in 1-byte chunks that sum
-                    # to desired value
-                    trunc_addr = addr
-                    trunc_line = line
-                    if trunc_addr > 255:
-                        trunc_addr = 255
-                    if trunc_line > 255:
-                        trunc_line = 255
-                    self.lnotab.append(trunc_addr)
-                    self.lnotab.append(trunc_line)
-                    addr = addr - trunc_addr
-                    line = line - trunc_line
+                push = self.lnotab.append
+                while addr > 255:
+                    push(255); push(0)
+                    addr -= 255
+                while line > 255:
+                    push(addr); push(255)
+                    line -= 255
+                    addr = 0
+                if addr > 0 or line > 0:
+                    push(addr); push(line)
                 self.lastline = lineno
                 self.lastoff = self.codeOffset