Pointer target tracking an empirical study

CONVEX Computer Corp. has developed a language-independent interprocedural optimizer that is now available to users of its C-series supercomputers. This paper documents the benefits of one particular feature of that optimizer, pointer target tracking. This paper surveys the structure of the interprocedural optimizer and the goals of pointer target tracking. It describes the realities of scientific codes that had to be handled, and gives an overview of the algorithms used. It also provides detailed statistics on the opportunities for pointer tracking, the characteristics of pointer ranges, and the benefits to optimization of pointer tracking.