Retargetable compiler technology for embedded systems. Tools and applications (Q2770066)

The book is devoted to the retargetable compilers from C++ (and other C-like languages). The retargetability means the possibility of changing a compiler generating code for target processor A such that it will generate the code for target processor B. The main application of such compilers considered in the book is the design of embedded systems (such as processors and software for cars, mobile phones and so on). The authors propose to use the retargetable compilers to estimate the efficiency of different processor architectures. Such estimate is very rough since, as it is noted in the book, manually generated assembly language programs can be 5 times better then compiled codes. But no better estimate is known. NEWLINENEWLINENEWLINEModern optimizing compilation technology is overviewed in the book, including the use of context-free and attribute grammars, intermediate representation of the code, optimal code selection, sheduling, register allocation, address code optimization, phase coupling and peephole optimization. Maybe, most interesting part of the book is the chapter 5, where existing and developed compiler systems are described. It includes overviews of compilers for general purpose processors, such as GCC (a part of GNU software), LCC, Marion, SUIF, LANCE and so on; compilers for digital signal processing (CBS, SPAM, RECORD and others); compilers for VLIW (very long instruction word) processors, ASIP and microcontrollers. Commercial compilers CoSy, CHESS, Archelon and UCC are mentioned also. The book doesn't contain a complete theory of compilation or a description of some specific compiler, but it is a good up-to-date overview of retargetable compillers with a lot of references to more specific papers.