Reasoning about non-functional properties using compiler intrinsic function annotations

Abstract

Embedded systems often need to adhere to time and energy constraints. With the increasing popularity of embed-ded systems, the interest in evaluating and optimizing non-functional properties like execution time and energy of these systems is increasing. In this paper, we describe a Resource-usage Estimate Expression Language (REEL), which allows the user to arguea bout these properties, within the source code, in a compiler understandable manner. Furthermore, we discuss the integration of REEL within a compiler framework. We, also show the propagation of REEL annotations within the compiler, and how they can be exploited to make decisions based on the non-functional properties within the source code. Finally, we explore REEL’s potential to perform ILP-based optimizations.