Fast searches for effective optimization phase sequences

It has long been known that a fixed ordering of optimization phases will not produce the best code for every application. One approach for addressing this phase ordering problem is to use an evolutionary algorithm to search for a specific sequence of phases for each module or function. While such searches have been shown to produce more efficient code, the approach can be extremely slow because the application is compiled and executed to evaluate each sequence’s effectiveness. Consequently, evolutionary or iterative compilation schemes have been promoted for compilation systems targeting embedded applications where longer compilation times may be tolerated in the final stage of development. In this paper we describe two complementary general approaches for achieving faster searches for effective optimization sequences when using a genetic algorithm. The first approach reduces the search time by avoiding unnecessary executions of the application when possible. Results indicate s...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2004
• Where: PLDI
• Authors: Prasad Kulkarni, Stephen Hines, Jason Hiser, David B. Whalley, Jack W. Davidson, Douglas L. Jones
• Keywords: Embedded Applications, Genetic Algorithms, Iterative Compilation Schemes, PLDI 2004, Programming Languages