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Optimizing Compilers
In computing, an optimizing compiler is a compiler that tries to minimize or maximize some attributes of an executable computer program. Common requirements are to minimize a program's execution time, memory footprint, storage size, and power consumption (the last three being popular for portable computers). Compiler optimization is generally implemented using a sequence of ''optimizing transformations'', algorithms which take a program and transform it to produce a semantically equivalent output program that uses fewer resources or executes faster. It has been shown that some code optimization problems are NP-complete, or even undecidable. In practice, factors such as the programmer's willingness to wait for the compiler to complete its task place upper limits on the optimizations that a compiler might provide. Optimization is generally a very CPU- and memory-intensive process. In the past, computer memory limitations were also a major factor in limiting which optimizations coul ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Computing
Computing is any goal-oriented activity requiring, benefiting from, or creating computing machinery. It includes the study and experimentation of algorithmic processes, and development of both hardware and software. Computing has scientific, engineering, mathematical, technological and social aspects. Major computing disciplines include computer engineering, computer science, cybersecurity, data science, information systems, information technology and software engineering. The term "computing" is also synonymous with counting and calculating. In earlier times, it was used in reference to the action performed by mechanical computing machines, and before that, to human computers. History The history of computing is longer than the history of computing hardware and includes the history of methods intended for pen and paper (or for chalk and slate) with or without the aid of tables. Computing is intimately tied to the representation of numbers, though mathematical conc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Loop-invariant Code Motion
In computer programming, loop-invariant code consists of statements or expressions (in an imperative programming language) that can be moved outside the body of a loop without affecting the semantics of the program. Loop-invariant code motion (also called hoisting or scalar promotion) is a compiler optimization that performs this movement automatically. Example In the following code sample, two optimizations can be applied. int i = 0; while (i < n) Although the calculation x = y + z and x * x is loop-invariant, precautions must be taken before moving the code outside the loop. It is possible that the loop condition is false (for example, if n holds a negative value), and in such case, the loop body should not be executed at all. One way of guaranteeing correct behaviour is using a conditional branch outside of the loop. Evaluating the loop condition can have
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RISC
In computer engineering, a reduced instruction set computer (RISC) is a computer designed to simplify the individual instructions given to the computer to accomplish tasks. Compared to the instructions given to a complex instruction set computer (CISC), a RISC computer might require more instructions (more code) in order to accomplish a task because the individual instructions are written in simpler code. The goal is to offset the need to process more instructions by increasing the speed of each instruction, in particular by implementing an instruction pipeline, which may be simpler given simpler instructions. The key operational concept of the RISC computer is that each instruction performs only one function (e.g. copy a value from memory to a register). The RISC computer usually has many (16 or 32) high-speed, general-purpose registers with a load/store architecture in which the code for the register-register instructions (for performing arithmetic and tests) are separate fr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Processor Register
A processor register is a quickly accessible location available to a computer's processor. Registers usually consist of a small amount of fast storage, although some registers have specific hardware functions, and may be read-only or write-only. In computer architecture, registers are typically addressed by mechanisms other than main memory, but may in some cases be assigned a memory address e.g. DEC PDP-10, ICT 1900. Almost all computers, whether load/store architecture or not, load data from a larger memory into registers where it is used for arithmetic operations and is manipulated or tested by machine instructions. Manipulated data is then often stored back to main memory, either by the same instruction or by a subsequent one. Modern processors use either static or dynamic RAM as main memory, with the latter usually accessed via one or more cache levels. Processor registers are normally at the top of the memory hierarchy, and provide the fastest way to access data. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Side Effect (computer Science)
In computer science, an operation, function or expression is said to have a side effect if it modifies some state variable value(s) outside its local environment, which is to say if it has any observable effect other than its primary effect of returning a value to the invoker of the operation. Example side effects include modifying a non-local variable, modifying a static local variable, modifying a mutable argument passed by reference, performing I/O or calling other functions with side-effects. In the presence of side effects, a program's behaviour may depend on history; that is, the order of evaluation matters. Understanding and debugging a function with side effects requires knowledge about the context and its possible histories. Side effects play an important role in the design and analysis of programming languages. The degree to which side effects are used depends on the programming paradigm. For example, imperative programming is commonly used to produce side effects, to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
PL/I
PL/I (Programming Language One, pronounced and sometimes written PL/1) is a procedural, imperative computer programming language developed and published by IBM. It is designed for scientific, engineering, business and system programming. It has been used by academic, commercial and industrial organizations since it was introduced in the 1960s, and is still used. PL/I's main domains are data processing, numerical computation, scientific computing, and system programming. It supports recursion, structured programming, linked data structure handling, fixed-point, floating-point, complex, character string handling, and bit string handling. The language syntax is English-like and suited for describing complex data formats with a wide set of functions available to verify and manipulate them. Early history In the 1950s and early 1960s, business and scientific users programmed for different computer hardware using different programming languages. Business users were moving from ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alias Analysis
Alias may refer to: * Pseudonym * Pen name * Nickname Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Alias'' (2013 film), a 2013 Canadian documentary film * ''Alias'' (TV series), an American action thriller series 2001–2006 * ''Alias the Jester'', a 1995 British animated series * ''Alias – the Bad Man'', a 1931 American Western film Gaming * ''Alias'' (board game) * Alias (''Forgotten Realms''), a fictional character in ''Dungeons & Dragons'' * ''Alias'' (video game), 2004, based on the TV series Literature * ''Alias'' (comics), an American comic book series * Alias Enterprises, an American publishing company Music * Alias (band), a Canadian rock supergroup ** ''Alias'' (album), 1990 * ''Alias'' (The Magic Numbers album), 2014 * ''Alias'' (EP), by Shygirl, 2020 * Alias (musician) (Brendon Whitney, 1976–2018), an American rapper * Alias (Ryan Tedder, born 1979), American singer, songwriter and record producer * Alias Records, a record label * "Alias", a song ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
C (programming Language)
C (''pronounced like the letter c'') is a General-purpose language, general-purpose computer programming language. It was created in the 1970s by Dennis Ritchie, and remains very widely used and influential. By design, C's features cleanly reflect the capabilities of the targeted CPUs. It has found lasting use in operating systems, device drivers, protocol stacks, though decreasingly for application software. C is commonly used on computer architectures that range from the largest supercomputers to the smallest microcontrollers and embedded systems. A successor to the programming language B (programming language), B, C was originally developed at Bell Labs by Ritchie between 1972 and 1973 to construct utilities running on Unix. It was applied to re-implementing the kernel of the Unix operating system. During the 1980s, C gradually gained popularity. It has become one of the measuring programming language popularity, most widely used programming languages, with C compilers avail ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Programming Language
A programming language is a system of notation for writing computer programs. Most programming languages are text-based formal languages, but they may also be graphical. They are a kind of computer language. The description of a programming language is usually split into the two components of syntax (form) and semantics (meaning), which are usually defined by a formal language. Some languages are defined by a specification document (for example, the C programming language is specified by an ISO Standard) while other languages (such as Perl) have a dominant implementation that is treated as a reference. Some languages have both, with the basic language defined by a standard and extensions taken from the dominant implementation being common. Programming language theory is the subfield of computer science that studies the design, implementation, analysis, characterization, and classification of programming languages. Definitions There are many considerations when defini ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Linker (computing)
In computing, a linker or link editor is a computer system program that takes one or more object files (generated by a compiler or an assembler) and combines them into a single executable file, library file, or another "object" file. A simpler version that writes its output directly to memory is called the ''loader'', though loading is typically considered a separate process. Overview Computer programs typically are composed of several parts or modules; these parts/modules do not need to be contained within a single object file, and in such cases refer to each other by means of symbols as addresses into other modules, which are mapped into memory addresses when linked for execution. While the process of linking is meant to ultimately combine these independent parts, there are many good reasons to develop those separately at the source-level. Among these reasons are the ease of organizing several smaller pieces over a monolithic whole and the ability to better define the pur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Object Code Optimizer
An object code optimizer, sometimes also known as a post pass optimizer or, for small sections of code, peephole optimizer, takes the output from a source language compile step - the object code or binary file - and tries to replace identifiable sections of the code with replacement code that is more algorithmically efficient (usually improved speed). Examples * " IBM Automatic Binary Optimizer for z/OS" (ABO) was introduced in 2015 as a cutting-edge technology designed to optimize the performance of COBOL applications on IBM Z mainframes without the need for recompiling source. It uses advanced optimization technology shipped in the latest Enterprise COBOL. ABO optimizes compiled binaries without affecting program logic. As a result, the application runs faster but behavior remains unchanged so testing effort could be reduced. Clients normally don't recompile 100 percent of their code when they upgrade to new compiler or IBM Z hardware levels, so code that's not recompiled wou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Inline Expansion
In computing, inline expansion, or inlining, is a manual or compiler optimization that replaces a function call site with the body of the called function. Inline expansion is similar to macro expansion, but occurs during compilation, without changing the source code (the text), while macro expansion occurs prior to compilation, and results in different text that is then processed by the compiler. Inlining is an important optimization, but has complicated effects on performance. As a rule of thumb, some inlining will improve speed at very minor cost of space, but excess inlining will hurt speed, due to inlined code consuming too much of the instruction cache, and also cost significant space. A survey of the modest academic literature on inlining from the 1980s and 1990s is given in Peyton Jones & Marlow 1999. Overview Inline expansion is similar to macro expansion as the compiler places a new copy of the function in each place it is called. Inlined functions run a little faster ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
