Compiler manipulation of stream descriptors for data access optimization

Efficient data movement is one of the key attributes for high performance computing. This paper advocates the use of stream descriptors to convey memory access patterns from the programmer to the compiler. This explicit separation of computation and data movement enables the compiler to manipulate the stream descriptors to match the system´s interconnect capabilities. Data movement is optimized by manipulating stream descriptors to target specific optimizations such as bandwidth management and buffer allocation. In this paper, bandwidth improvements are shown for an example system performing video analysis using computer vision methods. The system includes key hardware mechanisms that use stream descriptors to prefetch and align data for stream processors