Precise pointer analysis in high-level synthesis
File(s)NadeshFPL20.pdf (215.31 KB)
Accepted version
Author(s)
Ramanathan, Nadesh
Constantinides, George
Wickerson, John
Type
Conference Paper
Abstract
Pointer analysis computes the set of memory locations that each pointer access can point to during hardware runtime. The more sensitive the pointer analysis, the more precise these sets are likely to be, reducing unnecessary sharing of memory resources between instructions during high-level synthesis (HLS) memory generation. Despite the importance of precision, modern HLS tools typically sacrifice precision to prioritise quicker analysis times, although there are several pointer analyses that can produce reasonably precise points-to sets within an acceptable amount of time. In this paper, we explore the effects of precise pointer analysis within a modern HLS tool (LegUp) on a set of benchmark programs (PTABen) that are challenging to its original pointer analysis. We see precise analysis that reduces unnecessary memory sharing, leading to average LUT savings of 60% and runtime improvements of 42%.
Date Issued
2020-10-13
Date Acceptance
2020-05-19
Citation
2020, pp.220-224
Publisher
IEEE
Start Page
220
End Page
224
Copyright Statement
© 2020 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other works.
Sponsor
Engineering & Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC)
Grant Number
EP/P010040/1
Source
30th International Conference on Field-Programmable Logic and Applications 2020
Subjects
Science & Technology
Technology
Computer Science, Hardware & Architecture
Computer Science, Software Engineering
Computer Science, Theory & Methods
Engineering, Electrical & Electronic
Computer Science
Engineering
Publication Status
Published
Start Date
2020-08-31
Finish Date
2020-09-04
Coverage Spatial
Virtual conference
Date Publish Online
2020-10-13