Every compiler passes code through several stages, each a sort of mini-
compiler of its own. Thus each stage may deal with the code in a different
representation, which may have little to do with the source or target language.
We can describe these in-memory representations as languages in their own right,
which we call intermediate languages.
Each intermediate language is designed to accomodate the stage of
compilation that handles it. Those toward the end of the compilation pipeline,
for instance, tend to have features expressing low-level details of computation.
A subtler case is that of the optimization stage, whose role is to transform the
program so that it runs faster, uses less memory, and so forth. The optimizer faces
tradeoffs: The language should provide enough information to guide optimization
algorithms, but all of this information must be kept up to date as the program is
transformed. Also, establishing invariants in the language can be helpful both in
implementing algorithms and in debugging the implementation, but each invariant
may complicate desirable transformations or rule them out altogether. Finally, a
ivlanguage where the invariants are obviously correct may have a form too awkward
or otherwise unsuited to the compiler’s needs.
Given the properties and invariants that we would like the language to
provide, we can approach the design task in a way that gives these features without
necessarily sacrificing implementability. Namely, begin with a formal language that
makes the desired properties obvious, then translate it to one more suitable for
implementation. We can even translate theorems about valid transformations in the
formal language to derive correct algorithms in the implementation language.
This dissertation explores the connections between different intermediate
languages and how they can be interderived, then demonstrates how translation
lead to an improvement to the Glasgow Haskell Compiler opimization engine.
This dissertation includes previously published coauthored material.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:uoregon.edu/oai:scholarsbank.uoregon.edu:1794/23903 |
| Date | 31 October 2018 |
| Creators | Maurer, Luke |
| Contributors | Ariola, Zena |
| Publisher | University of Oregon |
| Source Sets | University of Oregon |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Rights | All Rights Reserved. |
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