Control Flow Analysis in Scheme Olin Shivers Carnegie Mellon University
[email protected] Abstract Fortran). Representative texts describing these techniques are [Dragon], and in more detail, [Hecht]. Flow analysis is perhaps Traditional ¯ow analysis techniques, such as the ones typically the chief tool in the optimising compiler writer's bag of tricks; employed by optimising Fortran compilers, do not work for an incomplete list of the problems that can be addressed with Scheme-like languages. This paper presents a ¯ow analysis ¯ow analysis includes global constant subexpression elimina- technique Ð control ¯ow analysis Ð which is applicable to tion, loop invariant detection, redundant assignment detection, Scheme-like languages. As a demonstration application, the dead code elimination, constant propagation, range analysis, information gathered by control ¯ow analysis is used to per- code hoisting, induction variable elimination, copy propaga- form a traditional ¯ow analysis problem, induction variable tion, live variable analysis, loop unrolling, and loop jamming. elimination. Extensions and limitations are discussed. However, these traditional ¯ow analysis techniques have The techniques presented in this paper are backed up by never successfully been applied to the Lisp family of computer working code. They are applicable not only to Scheme, but languages. This is a curious omission. The Lisp community also to related languages, such as Common Lisp and ML. has had suf®cient time to consider the problem. Flow analysis dates back at least to 1960, ([Dragon], pp. 516), and Lisp is 1 The Task one of the oldest computer programming languages currently in use, rivalled only by Fortran and COBOL. Flow analysis is a traditional optimising compiler technique Indeed, the Lisp community has long been concerned with for determining useful information about a program at compile the execution speed of their programs.