[comp.sys.pyramid] GCC for newer pyramids

tege@sics.se (Torbj|rn Granlund) (01/21/91)

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I have been told that gcc generated code sometimes runs slower than cc
generated code, in spite of its "better quality and smaller size".

The problems seems to be that the tr registers are faster than other
register categories on the MIServers, and that gcc uses these last,
and cc uses them first.

Fortunately, this is easy to fix.  If anyone is interested, please
contact me by email, and I'll send you the patch needed.
--
Torbjorn Granlund (tege@sics.se, tege@ai.mit.edu)

hyerle@pyrthoth.pyramid.com (Robert H. Hyerle) (01/22/91)

In article <1991Jan20.180348.5004@sics.se> tege@sics.se (Torbj|rn Granlund) writes:

>I have been told that gcc generated code sometimes runs slower than cc
>generated code, in spite of its "better quality and smaller size".
>
>The problems seems to be that the tr registers are faster than other
>register categories on the MIServers, and that gcc uses these last,
>and cc uses them first.
>

Differing register speed is not the problem because all registers in the
MIServer have identical, single cycle access times.

I am not familiar with the gcc code but one possible answer is that the
MIServer has various hardware artifacts (such as an execution pipeline) that
complicate code generation with respect to performance.  The Pyramid
compiler group spent quite a bit of effort building an instruction scheduling
component into "cc" and choosing appropriate instructions in an effort
to improve performance.  Without an understanding of the underlying hardware,
generating quality code is not really possible.

-- robert hyerle

rbj@uunet.UU.NET (Root Boy Jim) (01/24/91)

In article <141873@pyramid.pyramid.com> hyerle@pyrthoth.pyramid.com (Robert H. Hyerle) writes:
>Without an understanding of the underlying hardware,
>generating quality code is not really possible.

And Pyramid doesn't tell anyone how their machine works.

Or has that policy been changed?
-- 

	Root Boy Jim Cottrell <rbj@uunet.uu.net>
	Close the gap of the dark year in between