Using Peephole Optimization on Intermediate Code

Many portable compilers generate an intermediate code that is subsequently translated into the target machine's assembly language. In this paper a stack-machine-based intermediate code suitable for algebraic languages (e.g., PASCAL, C, FORTRAN) and most byte-addressed mini- and microcomputers is described. A table-driven peephole optimizer that improves this intermediate code is then discussed in detail and compared with other local optimization methods. Measurements show an improvement of about 15 percent, depending on the precise metric used. © 1982, ACM. All rights reserved