IMPACT Open-Source Compiler Efficiently Integrates Instruction-Level Parallelism
- 詳細技術說明
- The OpenIMPACT C-compiler incorporates instruction-level parallelism and generates C code for highly parallel microprocessors with twice the efficiency of existing open source compilers.
- *Abstract
-
The OpenIMPACT C-compiler incorporates instruction-level parallelism and generates C code for highly parallel microprocessors with twice the efficiency of existing open source compilers. It is designed to produce code for the newest state-of-the-art 64-bit processors and is freely available as an open-source program. IMPACT has been used for nearly five years by leading microprocessor manufacturers for both microprocessor design and architectural evaluation.
DESCRIPTION/DETAILS
Optimizing compilers improve execution speed by reducing the number of instructions that must be executed. This function is important for the performance of programs, especially with future microprocessors.
Hardware parallelism (i.e., execution of a large number of instructions concurrently) is increasing, which demands parallelism techniques that are not available in existing commercial compilers. A well-parallelized program can run at many times the speed of a poorly parallelized program.
The IMPACT C-compiler is a collection of over 30 software programs that generates code from user programs for several types of processors. It incorporates instruction-level parallelism and generates C code for highly parallel applications with twice the efficiency of existing compilers -- the level of efficiency that is/will be required by current and future microprocessors, specifically 64-bit microprocessors. Almost all major manufacturers have announced that their future servers will be based on this type of microprocessor.
IMPACT has been used for nearly five years by leading microprocessor manufacturers in their research into prototyping new architectural designs and generating code for those designs. They used IMPACT for both microprocessor design and architectural evaluation. By using the IMPACT compiler during the design phase, they were able to determine how users' software that is based on commercial compilers would perform on their platform as well as how a powerful compiler made use of the chip's new features.
Existing compilers, such as the Gnu C Compiler (GCC), run with half the efficiency of the IMPACT compiler in highly parallel applications. While GCC is the most commonly used compiler on the market, it currently is not capable of keeping up with the newer platforms as IMPACT is. For example, one of the newest processors on the market has a clock speed of 6 instructions executed every clock cycle with a clock frequency of 300 MHz. (That is 1.25 ns for every six instructions.) GCC's clock speed is 0.8, while IMPACT's is 1.6. Because of this, GCC cannot run instructions in parallel nearly as efficiently as IMPACT can.
APPLICATIONS
- Microprocessor manufacturers (e.g., microprocessor design, architectural evaluation)
- Software developers (e.g., code compiler for state-of-the-art processors)
BENEFITS
The IMPACT C-compiler incorporates instruction-level parallelism, generates C code for highly parallel applications with twice the efficiency of existing compilers, and is an open-source product.
- Efficient: IMPACT produces code for highly parallel microprocessor hardware with twice the efficiency of existing open source compilers.
- State of the art: IMPACT works with the newest state-of-the-art 64-bit processors.
- Enhances instruction-level parallelism: IMPACT is designed specifically to take advantage of instruction-level parallelism, making it the ideal compiler for processor developers.
- Open source: IMPACT is freely available as an open-source product.
- Versatile: Although IMPACT is designed for 64-bit processors, it also is compatible with 32-bit devices and has a high level of compatibility with GNU C Compiler.
For more information about this technology, please contact the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Office of Technology Management at otm@illinois.edu.
- 國家/地區
- 美國
