Experiences Constructing a Lightweight SPARC Interpreter for a Dynamic Binary Translator

Abstract

Dynamic binary translation is an important area for compiler research, because additional information available at runtime can substantially improve the effectiveness of optimizations. The difficulty lies in creating a system capable of gathering runtime information without slowing down the running executable. Several such systems have been created "Dynamo, DynamoRIO, FX!32, etc.", but their use presents several problems to the researcher. They are either closed or proprietary, and are often tied to a very specific platform. In this paper we discuss the design of a new, open, cross-platform dynamic binary translation system, SIND. Specifically we discuss the design in general terms, and then focus on the specific implementation of a lightweight interpreter for the SPARC architecture. We explore the many issues involved in building a self-bootstrapping efficient interpreter.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 14, 2003
Accession Number
ADA498792

Entities

People

  • Darko Stefanovic
  • Trek Palmer

Organizations

  • University of New Mexico

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Compilers
  • Computer Science
  • Computers
  • Computing System Architectures
  • Debugging
  • Instruction Set Architecture
  • Instructions
  • Lightweight
  • Modular Construction
  • New Mexico
  • Operating Systems
  • Optimization
  • Platforms
  • Standards
  • Translations
  • Translators

Fields of Study

  • Computer science

Readers

  • Computational Linguistics
  • Database Systems and Applications
  • Systems Analysis and Design