Compiler-directed management of instruction accesses

Chen G., Chen G., Kadayif I., Zhang W., Kandemir M., Kolcu I., ...More

Euromicro Symposium on Digital System Design, BELEK, Turkey, 1 - 06 September 2003, pp.459-462 identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Conference Paper / Full Text
  • Volume:
  • Doi Number: 10.1109/dsd.2003.1231984
  • City: BELEK
  • Country: Turkey
  • Page Numbers: pp.459-462
  • Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University Affiliated: No

Abstract

We present a compiler-oriented strategy to reduce the memory system energy consumption due to instruction accesses and increase performance by exploiting scratch pad memories. Scratch pad memories (SPMs) are alternatives to conventional cache memories in embedded computing. These small on-chip memories, like caches, provide fast and low-power access to data and instructions; but, they differ from caches in that their contents are managed by software instead of hardware. Our compiler framework keeps the most frequently used instructions in SPM and dynamically changes the contents of the SPM as the (instruction) working set of the application changes.