Finding effective compilation sequences

Most modern compilers operate by applying a fixed, program-independent sequence of optimizations to all programs. Compiler writers choose a single “compilation sequence”, or perhaps a couple of compilation sequences. In choosing a sequence, they may consider performance of benchmarks or other important codes. These sequences are intended as general-purpose tools, accessible through command-line flags such as -O2 and -O3. Specific compilation sequences make a significant difference in the quality of the generated code, whether compiling for speed, for space, or for other metrics. A single universal compilation sequence does not produce the best results over all programs [8, 10, 29, 32]. Finding an optimal programspecific compilation sequence is difficult because the space of potential sequences is huge and the interactions between optimizations are poorly understood. Moreover, there is no systematic exploration of the costs and benefits of searching for good (i.e., within a ...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2004
• Where: LCTRTS
• Authors: L. Almagor, Keith D. Cooper, Alexander Grosul, Timothy J. Harvey, Steven W. Reeves, Devika Subramanian, Linda Torczon, Todd Waterman
• Keywords: Compilation Sequences, LCTRTS 2004, Sequences, Software Engineering, Specific Compilation Sequences