Design and performance of an optimizing SIMD compiler

Abstract

The work reported has taken place within the context of the Scan Line Array Processor (SLAP) project. The SLAP is a long SIMD (single-instruction-stream, multiple-data-stream) vector of word-parallel processing elements designed to combine high-performance integer processing with real-time video I/O. An optimizing compiler has been built for SLANG, a high-level programming language designed to permit concise expression of many image-processing constructs and to provide the compiler with significant information for use in optimization. The SLAP processing elements have been fabricated and are currently being integrated into a prototype system. Early results of using the compiler as a tool for evaluating the SLAP processing element design and as a testbed for the authors' optimization techniques are reported.<>