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Proving the correctness of compiler optimisations based on a global analysis: a study of strictness analysis†

Part of: JFP Research Articles

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 November 2008

Geoffrey Burn  and
Daniel Le Métayer
Geoffrey Burn
Affiliation:
Department of Computing, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, 180 Queen's Gate, London SW7 2BZ, UK
Daniel Le Métayer
Affiliation:
Irisa/Inria, Campus de Beaulieu, 35042 Rennes Cedex, France
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Abstract

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A substantial amount of work has been devoted to the proof of correctness of various program analyses but much less attention has been paid to the correctness of compiler optimisations based on these analyses. In this paper we tackle the problem in the context of strictness analysis for lazy functional languages. We show that compiler optimisations based on strictness analysis can be expressed formally in the functional framework using continuations. This formal presentation has two benefits: it allows us to give a rigorous correctness proof of the optimised compiler; and it exposes the various optimisations made possible by a strictness analysis.

Information

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Functional Programming , Volume 6 , Issue 1 , January 1996 , pp. 75 - 109
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1996

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