A survey of compiler optimization techniques

Abstract

This survey describes the major optimization techniques of compilers and groups them into three categories: machine dependent, architecture dependent, and architecture independent. Machine-dependent optimizations tend to be local and are performed upon short spans of generated code by using particular properties of an instruction set to reduce the time or space required by a program. Architecture-dependent optimizations are global and are performed while generating code. These optimizations consider the structure of a computer, but not its detailed instruction set. Architecture-independent optimizations are also global but are based on analysis of the program flow graph and the dependencies among statements of source program. The paper also presents a conceptual review of a universal optimizer that performs architecture-independent optimizations at source-code level.