An evaluation of compiler-processor interaction for DSP applications

Recently, C compilers have started to be widely used in software development for embedded DSP applications. Hence, compiler performance is becoming very important for such applications. In this study, we propose a C compiler benchmarking methodology which is based on how C compilers are typically used for DSP software and which is able to quantify the compiler-introduced overhead in terms of cycle count and code size. The methodology has been applied to three different DSP processors representing three different types of architectures, and the results are discussed. We believe that the methodology outlined will prove useful in assessing the effectiveness of compilers for DSP applications, and in this way will aid DSP application developers in selecting processors, realistically estimating obtainable performance, and prudently using compilers.