computer science Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to Applied science, practical discipli ...

, bounds-checking elimination is a

compiler optimization 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 con ...

useful in

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 ...

s or

runtime system In computer programming, a runtime system or runtime environment is a sub-system that exists both in the computer where a program is created, as well as in the computers where the program is intended to be run. The name comes from the compile t ...

s that enforce

bounds checking In computer programming, bounds checking is any method of detecting whether a variable is within some bounds before it is used. It is usually used to ensure that a number fits into a given type (range checking), or that a variable being used as a ...

, the practice of checking every index into an

array An array is a systematic arrangement of similar objects, usually in rows and columns. Things called an array include: {{TOC right Music * In twelve-tone and serial composition, the presentation of simultaneous twelve-tone sets such that the ...

to verify that the index is within the defined valid range of indexes. Its goal is to detect which of these indexing operations do not need to be validated at runtime, and eliminating those checks. One common example is accessing an array element, modifying it, and storing the modified value in the same array at the same location. Normally, this example would result in a bounds check when the element is read from the array and a second bounds check when the modified element is stored using the same array index. Bounds-checking elimination could eliminate the second check if the compiler or runtime can determine that neither the array size nor the index could change between the two array operations. Another example occurs when a programmer loops over the elements of the array, and the loop condition guarantees that the index is within the bounds of the array. It may be difficult to detect that the programmer's manual check renders the automatic check redundant. However, it may still be possible for the compiler or runtime to perform proper bounds-checking elimination in this case.

Implementations

In natively compiled languages

One technique for bounds-checking elimination is to use a typed

static single assignment form In compiler design, static single assignment form (often abbreviated as SSA form or simply SSA) is a property of an intermediate representation (IR) that requires each variable to be assigned exactly once and defined before it is used. Existing var ...

representation and for each array to create a new type representing a safe index for that particular array. The first use of a value as an array index results in a runtime type cast (and appropriate check), but subsequently the safe index value can be used without a type cast, without sacrificing correctness or safety.

In JIT-compiled languages

Just-in-time compiled languages such as

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List ...

and C# often check indexes at runtime before accessing

arrays An array is a systematic arrangement of similar objects, usually in rows and columns. Things called an array include: {{TOC right Music * In twelve-tone and serial composition, the presentation of simultaneous twelve-tone sets such that the ...

. Some just-in-time compilers such as HotSpot are able to eliminate some of these checks if they discover that the index is always within the correct range, or if an earlier check would have already thrown an exception.

References

External links

* W. Amme, J. von Ronne, M. Franz
Using the SafeTSA Representation to Boost the Performance of an Existing Java Virtual Machine
(2002). {{Compiler optimizations Computer errors Compiler optimizations