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DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2012/2013
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DRPS : Course Catalogue : School of Informatics : Informatics

Postgraduate Course: Compiler Optimisation (Level 11) (INFR11032)

Course Outline
SchoolSchool of Informatics CollegeCollege of Science and Engineering
Course typeStandard AvailabilityNot available to visiting students
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) Credits10
Home subject areaInformatics Other subject areaNone
Course website http://www.inf.ed.ac.uk/teaching/courses/copt Taught in Gaelic?No
Course descriptionThis course introduces students to modern techniques in efficient implementation of programming languages. Modern processors and systems are designed based on the assumption that a compiler will be able to effectively exploit architectural resources. This course will examine in detail techniques to exploit instruction level parallelism, memory hierarchy and higher level parallelism. It will examine classic static analysis approaches to these problems and introduce newer feedback directed and dynamic approaches to optimisation. The course work will require students to implement selected optimisations in a research compiler and critically review literature in compiler optimisation.
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Students MUST NOT also be taking Compiler Optimisation (Level 10) (INFR10023)
Other requirements For Informatics PG and final year MInf students only, or by special permission of the School. Students must have completed an introductory course in compilation or have designed and implemented a basic compiler, also expected to be competent programmers in C, C++ or Java.
Additional Costs None
Course Delivery Information
Delivery period: 2012/13 Semester 2, Not available to visiting students (SS1) Learn enabled:  No Quota:  None
Location Activity Description Weeks Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
No Classes have been defined for this Course
First Class First class information not currently available
Exam Information
Exam Diet Paper Name Hours:Minutes
Main Exam Diet S2 (April/May)2:00
Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes
1 - Understanding of inherent computational complexity of optimisation
2 - Development of optimizations via search based approaches
3 - Ability to parallelise programs via systematic algorithms
4 - Knowledge of dynamic and adaptive approaches to modern optimisation
Assessment Information
Written Examination 75
Assessed Assignments 25
Oral Presentations 0

Assessment
The coursework will consist of two practical compiler exercises where students will design and implement an optimisation and evaluate it on a set of benchmarks, writing a report on their work and findings. The second exercise will consist of a literature review of a particular area followed by an implementation of a selected optimisation approach.
Special Arrangements
None
Additional Information
Academic description Not entered
Syllabus *Compiler Construction, phase order, compilation as optimisation
*Architecture costs: Parallelism and Latency in uni and multi-processors
*Architecture "independent" optimisation, dataflow analysis, lattices and fixed points
*Code generation, register allocation and scheduling in superscalar and vliw processors
*High level analysis based on dependence analysis. Intra and inter procedural analysis, whole program analysis.
*High level transformations including linear algebraic formalisation, unimodular transformations and space/time representation
*Automated parallelisation. shared and distributed memory models. Linear algebraic approach to parallelisation.
*Adaptive optimisation: Feedback directed optimisation, iterative compilation, program specialisation and dynamic compilation eg JIT, DBT
*Compiler infrastructure case studies: SUIF, Machine SUIF, JIKES
*Current themes:low power compilation, automatic compiler generation and machine learning.

Relevant QAA Computing Curriculum Sections: Compilers and Syntax Directed Tools
Transferable skills Not entered
Reading list * A. Aho,R. Sethi, J.D.Ullman Compilers: Priciples, Techniques and Tools.
* S. Muchnick, Advanced Compiler Design and Implementation Morgan Kaufmann 1997
* R. Allen K. Kennedy Optimizing Compilers for Modern Architectures: A
* K. D. Cooper, L. Torczon Engineering a Compiler Morgan Kaufmann 2003
* A selection of conference and journal paper as appropriate
Study Abroad Not entered
Study Pattern Lectures 20
Tutorials 0
Timetabled Laboratories 0
Non-timetabled assessed assignments 25
Private Study/Other 55
Total 100
KeywordsNot entered
Contacts
Course organiserDr Iain Murray
Tel: (0131 6)51 9078
Email: I.Murray@ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMiss Kate Weston
Tel: (0131 6)50 2701
Email: Kate.Weston@ed.ac.uk
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