Instruction scheduling
In computer science, instruction scheduling is a compiler optimization used to improve instruction-level parallelism, which improves performance on machines with instruction pipelines. Put more simply, without changing the meaning of the code, it tries to
The pipeline stalls can be caused by structural hazards (processor resource limit), data hazards (output of one instruction needed by another instruction) and control hazards (branching).
Instruction scheduling is typically done on a single basic block. In order to determine whether rearranging the block's instructions in a certain way preserves the behavior of that block, we need the concept of a data dependency. There are three types of dependencies, which also happen to be the three data hazards:
Technically, there is a fourth type, Read after Read (RAR or "Input"): Both instructions read the same location. Input dependence does not constrain the execution order of two statements, but it is useful in scalar replacement of array elements.
To make sure we respect the three types of dependencies, we construct a dependency graph, which is a directed graph where each vertex is an instruction and there is an edge from I1 to I2 if I1 must come before I2 due to a dependency. If loop-carried dependencies are left out, the dependency graph is a directed acyclic graph. Then, any topological sort of this graph is a valid instruction schedule. The edges of the graph are usually labelled with the latency of the dependence. This is the number of clock cycles that needs to elapse before the pipeline can proceed with the target instruction without stalling.
The simplest algorithm to find a topological sort is frequently used and is known as list scheduling. Conceptually, it repeatedly selects a source of the dependency graph, appends it to the current instruction schedule and removes it from the graph. This may cause other vertices to be sources, which will then also be considered for scheduling. The algorithm terminates if the graph is empty.
To arrive at a good schedule, stalls should be prevented. This is determined by the choice of the next instruction to be scheduled. A number of heuristics are in common use:
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