The specification describes a program used to optimize journal files such as metafiles used in the Microsoft.RTM. Windows.RTM. programming environment. The program steps through instructions from the original journal file and selectively emits the instructions to an optimized metafile using several optimization techniques. One such technique is to defer the emission of any state modification instruction until such emission is actually required by a subsequent instruction that is dependent on the state modification instruction. For instance, resource creation and selection instructions are not emitted until the specified resource is actually used. Another technique is to indefinitely defer the emission of any state modification instruction that would merely duplicate the currently existing effect of previously emitted state modification instructions. A further technique is to indefinitely defer the emission of resource deletion instructions, and to re-use existing resources rather than creating a new resource prior to every resource usage instruction.