Array-access analysis: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 13:07, 7 November 2020

Revision as of 01:28, 15 July 2021

Line 6:

In [[computer science]], '''array access analysis''' is a [[compiler analysis]] approach used to decide the read and write access patterns to elements or portions of arrays.<ref name="Paek2002">{{cite journal |last1=Paek |first1=Yunheung |last2=Hoeflinger |first2=Jay |last3=Padua |first3=David |title=Efficient and precise array access analysis |journal=ACM Transactions on Programming Languages and Systems |date=January 2002 |volume=24 |issue=1 |pages=65–109 |doi=10.1145/509705.509708}}</ref>

The major data type manipulated in scientific programs is the array. The define/use analysis on a whole array is insufficient for aggressive [[compiler optimization]]s such as [[Automatic parallelization|auto parallelization]] and array [[arrayPrivatization (computer programming)|privatization]]. Array access analysis aims to obtain the knowledge of which portions or even which elements of the array are accessed by a given code segment ([[basic block]], [[Control flow#Loops|loop]], or even at the [[Subroutine|procedure]] level).

Array access analysis can be largely categorized into exact (or reference-list-based) and summary methods for different tradeoffs of accuracy and complexity. Exact methods are precise but very costly in terms of computation and space storage, while summary methods are approximate but can be computed quickly and economically.