On the limits of cache-oblivious matrix transposition

Abstract Intuitively, a cache-oblivious algorithm implements an adaptive strategy which runs efficiently on any memory hierarchy without requiring previous knowledge of the parameters of the hierarchy. For this reason, cache-obliviousness is an attractive feature of an algorithm meant for a global computing environment, where software may be run on a variety of different platforms for load management purposes. In this paper we present a negative result on cache-obliviousness, namely, we show that an optimal cache-oblivious algorithm for the fundamental primitive of matrix transposition cannot exist without the tall cache assumption, which forces the (unknown) parameters of the memory hierarchy to satisfy a certain technical relation. Our contribution specializes the result of Brodal and Fagerberg for general permutations to matrix transposition, and provides further evidence that the tall cache assumption is often necessary to attain optimality in the context of cache-oblivious algorithms.