Architecture-oriented C optimization, part 1: DSP features

Here's how C optimizations can take advantage of zero overhead loop mechanisms, hardware saturation, modulo registers, and more.

By Mr. Eran Belaish, CEVA
dspdesignline.com (August 27, 2008)

Know your hardware! That's what it's all about. Using programming guidelines derived from the processor's architecture can dramatically improve performance of C applications. In some cases, it can even make the difference between having the application implemented in C and having it implemented in assembly. Well written C code and an advanced compiler that utilizes various architectural features often reach performance results similar to those of hand written assembly code. A quick survey of assembly coding drawbacks should make it fairly clear why real-time programmers need architecture oriented programming guidelines in their toolkit.

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