Survey on Combinatorial Register Allocation and Instruction Scheduling
Abstract
Register allocation (mapping variables to processor registers or memory) and instruction scheduling (reordering instructions to increase instruction-level parallelism) are essential tasks for generating efficient assembly code in a compiler. In the last three decades, combinatorial optimization has emerged as an alternative to traditional, heuristic algorithms for these two tasks. Combinatorial optimization approaches can deliver optimal solutions according to a model, can precisely capture trade-offs between conflicting decisions, and are more flexible at the expense of increased compilation time. This paper provides an exhaustive literature review and a classification of combinatorial optimization approaches to register allocation and instruction scheduling, with a focus on the techniques that are most applied in this context: integer programming, constraint programming, partitioned Boolean quadratic programming, and enumeration. Researchers in compilers and combinatorial optimization can benefit from identifying developments, trends, and challenges in the area; compiler practitioners may discern opportunities and grasp the potential benefit of applying combinatorial optimization.
Cite
@article{arxiv.1409.7628,
title = {Survey on Combinatorial Register Allocation and Instruction Scheduling},
author = {Roberto Castañeda Lozano and Christian Schulte},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1409.7628},
year = {2019}
}