An efficient profile-analysis framework for data-layout optimizations

Data-layout optimizations rearrange fields within objects, objects within objects, and objects within the heap, with the goal of increasing spatial locality. While the importance of data-layout optimizations has been growing, their deployment has been limited, partly because they lack a unifying framework. We propose a parameterizable framework for data-layout optimization of generalpurpose applications. Acknowledging that finding an optimal layout is not only NP-hard, but also poorly approximable, our framework finds a good layout by searching the space of possible layouts, with the help of profile feedback. The search process iteratively prototypes candidate data layouts, evaluating them by "simulating" the program on a representative trace of memory accesses. To make the search process practical, we develop space-reduction heuristics and optimize the expensive simulation via memoization. Equipped with this iterative approach, we can synthesize layouts that outperform exis...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2002
• Where: POPL
• Authors: Rastislav Bodík, Shai Rubin, Trishul M. Chilimbi
• Keywords: Application-specific Memory Allocators, Data-layout Optimizations, POPL 2002, Programming Languages, Search Process