Re: End of optimization...

Alan Lehotsky <qsmgmt@earthlink.net>
4 Aug 2003 00:07:08 -0400

          From comp.compilers

Related articles
[5 earlier articles]
Re: End of optimization... mayan@sandbridgetech.com (2003-07-21)
Re: End of optimization... walter@bytecraft.com (Walter Banks) (2003-07-23)
Re: End of optimization... nej22@cl.cam.ac.uk (2003-07-25)
Re: End of optimization... fjh@cs.mu.oz.au (Fergus Henderson) (2003-07-25)
Re: End of optimization... Robert@Knighten.org (2003-07-31)
Re: End of optimization... channahr@comcast.net (norm@plumpirate.com) (2003-08-04)
Re: End of optimization... qsmgmt@earthlink.net (Alan Lehotsky) (2003-08-04)
Re: End of optimization... fjh@cs.mu.oz.au (Fergus Henderson) (2003-08-04)
Re: End of optimization... Robert@Knighten.org (2003-08-10)
Re: End of optimization... Robert@Knighten.org (2003-08-10)
| List of all articles for this month |

From: Alan Lehotsky <qsmgmt@earthlink.net>
Newsgroups: comp.compilers
Date: 4 Aug 2003 00:07:08 -0400
Organization: Quality Software Management
References: 03-07-026 03-07-068 03-07-151 03-07-179 03-07-200
Keywords: optimize, practice
Posted-Date: 04 Aug 2003 00:07:08 EDT

  Robert@Knighten.org (Robert L. Knighten) wrote:
......
>
> Fergus Henderson <fjh@cs.mu.oz.au> writes:
> > I think this ignores technology improvements which mean that it is
> > possible to cheaply generate a somewhat optimizing compiler for
> > a new chip, by just giving a machine description for the new chip.
>
> Really? I've not been designing compilers for a dozen years now, but I
> haven't seen any evidence that it has really gotten particularly easier. And
> it certainly wasn't cheap back then, and the result was not even "somewhat
> optimizing". Retargetable compilers fit very closely to the UNCOL myth our
> moderator just exposed.


Well, I missed much of this thread, but I did a gcc port to a
specialized CPU (a network packet processor for a router engine - 512
words of memory (all directly addressable), 4 pointer registers, 2k
instruction words). The compiler, assembler and linker were
functional in 2 man-months (4 calendar months). The compiler was used
to write EXACTLY one program - the routing protocols for ethernet,
FDDI, et al. There was no OS on this box.


So, I believe that retargetable compilers are not a myth....


--
  --
Alan Lehotsky <apl@alum.mit.edu>
Quality Software Management
978-287-0435 Office
978-808-6836 Cell


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