Let's study whole-program cache behaviour analytically

• Based on a new characterisation of data reuse across multiple loop nests, we preset a method, a prototyping implementation and some experimental results for analysing the cache behaviour of whole programs with regular computations. Validation against cache simulation using real codes shows the efficiency and accuracy of our method. The largest program, we have analysed, Applu from SPECfP95, has 3868 lines, 16 subroutines and 2565 references. In the case of a 32KB cache with a 32B line size, our method obtains the miss ratio with an absolute error of about 0.80% in about 128 seconds while the simulator used runs for nearly 5 hours on a 933MHz Pentium. III PC. Our method can be used to guide compiler locality optimisations and improve cache simulation performance.

Subject headings

TEKNIK OCH TEKNOLOGIER  -- Elektroteknik och elektronik (hsv//swe)

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY  -- Electrical Engineering, Electronic Engineering, Information Engineering (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Boolean functions

Computer architecture

Data structures

Computer software reusability

Subroutines

Supercomputers

Absolute error

Cache simulation

Data reuse

Multiple loops

Optimisations

Pentium

Real code

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

kon (subject category)