Compilation Order Matters: Exploring the Structure of the Space of Compilation Sequences Using Randomized Search Algorithms

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dc.contributor.authorAlmagor, L.
dc.contributor.authorCooper, Keith D.
dc.contributor.authorGrosul, Alexander
dc.contributor.authorHarvey, Timothy J.
dc.contributor.authorReeves, Steven W.
dc.contributor.authorSubramanian, Devika
dc.contributor.authorTorczon, Linda
dc.contributor.authorWaterman, Todd
dc.date.accessioned2017-08-02T22:03:01Z
dc.date.available2017-08-02T22:03:01Z
dc.date.issued2004-06-18
dc.date.noteJune 18, 2004
dc.description.abstractMost modern compilers operate by applying a fixed sequence of code optimizations, called a compilation sequence, to all programs. Compiler writers determine a small set of good, general-purpose, compilation sequences by extensive hand-tuning over particular benchmarks. The compilation sequence makes a significant difference in the quality of the generated code; in particular, we know that a single universal compilation sequence does not produce the best results over all programs. Three questions arise in customizing compilation sequences: (1) What is the incremental benefit of using a customized sequence instead of a universal sequence? (2) What is the average computational cost of constructing a customized sequence? (3) When does the benefit exceed the cost? We present one of the first empirically derived cost-benefit tradeoff curves for custom compilation sequences. These curves are for two randomized sampling algorithms: descent with randomized restarts and genetic algorithms. They demonstrate the dominance of these two methods over simple random sampling in sequence spaces where the probability of finding a good sequence is very low. Further, these curves allow compilers to decide whether custom sequence generation is worthwhile, by explicitly relating the computational effort required to obtain a program-specific sequence to the incremental improvement in quality of code generated by that sequence.
dc.format.extent12 pp
dc.identifier.citationAlmagor, L., Cooper, Keith D., Grosul, Alexander, et al.. "Compilation Order Matters: Exploring the Structure of the Space of Compilation Sequences Using Randomized Search Algorithms." (2004) https://hdl.handle.net/1911/96327.
dc.identifier.digitalTR04-436
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1911/96327
dc.language.isoeng
dc.rightsYou are granted permission for the noncommercial reproduction, distribution, display, and performance of this technical report in any format, but this permission is only for a period of forty-five (45) days from the most recent time that you verified that this technical report is still available from the Computer Science Department of Rice University under terms that include this permission. All other rights are reserved by the author(s).
dc.titleCompilation Order Matters: Exploring the Structure of the Space of Compilation Sequences Using Randomized Search Algorithms
dc.typeTechnical report
dc.type.dcmiText
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