Optimizing an ANSI C Interpreter with Superoperators

Abstract

This paper introduces superoperators, an optimization technique for bytecoded interpreters. Superoperators are virtual machine operations automatically synthesized from smaller operations to avoid costly per-operation overheads. Superoperators decrease executable size and can double or triple the speed of interpreted programs. The paper describes a simple and effective heuristic for inferring powerful superoperators from the usage patterns of simple operators.