COMPILE-TIME ANALYSIS AND OPTIMIZATION OF EXPLICITLY PARALLEL PROGRAMS*

Abstract

Data flow analysis has been used by compilers in diverse contexts, from optimization to register allocation. Traditional analysis of sequential programs has centered on scalar variables. More recently, several researchers have investigated analysis of array sections for optimizations on modern architectures. This information has been used to distribute data, optimize data movement and vectorize or parallelize programs. As multiprocessors become more common-place. we believe there will be considerable interest in explicitly parallel programming languages. In this paper, we extend traditional analysis to array section analysis for parallel languages which include additional control and synchronization structures. We show how to compute array section data flow information, i.e., Communication Sets, for a class of parallel programs. To illustrate its use, we show how this information can be applied in compile-time program partitioning. Information about array accesses can also be used to improve estimates of program execution time used to direct runtime thread scheduling.