[MLton-devel] icfp

[Stephen Weeks]

> These languages use types in their ILs to ensure the correctness of
> the compiler,

This is too strong.

> and to guide advanced optimizations. 

I don't see this (for us).

> In these implementations, the ILs themselves are expressed using a
> rich type system, often tailored to exploit specific characteristics
> of the source language.  This approach suffers from two drawbacks.

I like this point -- Flint, TIL(T), and CIL all suffer from this to my
mind.

> In this paper, we present a systematic evaluation of the compilation
> strategy used in \mlton, an optimizing compiler for Standard ML.
> \mlton\ transforms SML programs early in the compilation process to
> a first-order simply-typed IL.

This bit makes me think that the right thing for us to do is to write
a mini-opus, kind of like the original TIL paper.  We could focus on
the benefits of whole-program compilation, first-order simply-typed
SSA as our main IL, and performance of generated code.

> We have developed an allocation and time-based profiling tool for
> \mlton, and apply it to a range of benchmarks, including the
> compiler itself, to help verify the feasibility of this approach.
> Profiling data indicates that \mlton's compilation strategy is
> effective, yielding code efficient in both runtime and allocation
> costs.

I, like Henry, am confused.  I can see using the profiler to analyze
the compile time costs (time and allocation) of manipulating types.  I
don't see how it helps us understand the wonderfully efficient code
that MLton generates.  As I said before, I could see some careful
analysis of running a profiled MLton supporting conclusions like "only
10% of the time (or allocation) is spent manipulating types".  That
would fit nicely into a mini-opus as well.

> The profiler itself is novel enough to warrant a significant
> section, and its implementation ties pretty well with this general
> claim that simple (and simply-typed) ILs are a good idea.

I think that there is enough interesting stuff about the profiler for
a separate 10-page paper.


-------------------------------------------------------
This sf.net email is sponsored by:ThinkGeek
Welcome to geek heaven.
http://thinkgeek.com/sf
_______________________________________________
MLton-devel mailing list
MLton-devel@lists.sourceforge.net
https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/mlton-devel