| Feature | Benefit |
|---|---|
| Industry leading optimization and performance tuning technology | |
| Improve compilation time and scalability for a wide range of applications at a number of commonly used optimization levels. | The result is faster compile time, notably for large C or C++ applications. The improved scalability allows significantly larger programs to be optimized. |
| Compiler optimization reports provide information about the optimizations that the compiler was able to perform and also which optimizations were missed. | Reports about compiler optimizations identify opportunities to improve code performance thereby reducing programming effort to tune applications. |
| Industry-leading optimizations including advanced loop optimizations, aggressive inlining and whole program analysis. | Improved performance on POWER architectures for a wide range of applications from highly tuned scientific code to very large commercial applications. |
| Vector instruction support for systems with processor architectures and operating systems that execute single instruction, multiple data (SIMD) instruction sets, including Vector Multimedia eXtension (VMX) instructions and the POWER7 Vector Scalar eXtension (VSX) instruction set | Simplifies and improves manipulation of vector operations in applications. |
| High performance libraries specifically tuned for POWER architecture | |
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Mathematical Acceleration Subsystem (MASS) consists of libraries of mathematical intrinsic functions tuned specifically for optimum performance on Power Architecture. Shared memory parallelization (SMP) runtime library supports both explicit and automatic parallel processing. |
These libraries will increase user productivity, and runtime application performance speeding initial development, resulting in fewer bugs and cutting long-term maintenance costs. |
| Profile driven optimization | |
| Profile directed feedback (PDF) optimization collects information about an application run with typical input data and then applies transformations to the program based on that information. PDF can ensure the performance of the application is optimized for its important inputs. | Application profile monitoring and profile directed feedback capabilities minimize the need for manual tuning to achieve desirable performance on large, complex applications. |
| SHOWPDF reports provide profiling information that includes block-counter and call-counter profiling information and now cache-miss profiling and value profiling information. | SHOWPDF reports identify opportunities to improve code performance thereby reducing programming effort to tune applications. |
| Debugging capabilities | |
| XL compilers generate debugging information for use by a symbolic debugger. |
XL compilers help increase programmer productivity and lower maintenance costs by providing information consumable by standard symbolic debugging tools, including the Debugger for AIX component included with XL C/C++ for AIX. The user benefits from a familiar development environment using debugging tools of choice with increased proficiency and productivity, debugging source and optimized code. |
| Improved capability for debugging optimized code. | Users can balance between debug capability and application performance. |
| Language standards compliance | |
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Supports:
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XL compilers comply with the latest international programming language standards, including language interoperability standards, providing support for code portability between multiple operating systems and hardware platforms. XL compilers help protect the investment in existing C/C++ source and object code built with previous versions of the compilers allowing users to rebuild and link all the components into the same applications using the latest compiler versions,. Similarly, object code or libraries compiled with previous versions of XL C/C++ are still compatible with the newest XL C/C++ compiler and runtime environment. |
| Language extensions to support VMX and VSX vector programming | Simplifies and improves manipulation of vector operations in applications. |
| Full support for the latest OpenMP 3.1 specification providing new features to support the development of parallel applications. | OpenMP is a portable, scalable programming model that provides parallel programmers a simple and flexible, standard interface for developing parallel applications for platforms ranging from the desktop to the supercomputer. |
| New XL C and XL C++ built-in functions for atomic memory access, whose behavior corresponds to that provided by GNU Compiler Collection (GCC). | In a program with multiple threads, users can use these functions to atomically and safely modify data in one thread without interference from another thread. |
| Integration with IBM Rational Developer for Power and IBM Rational Team Concert | |
| IBM Rational Developer for Power Systems Software is a premier Eclipse-based integrated development environment for application development and maintenance; and IBM Rational Team Concert™, is a Jazz-based application lifecycle management software product. | These development tools improve programmer productivity and overall team efficiency and help reduce cost, risk, and improve time to value. |
*Pricing: Catalog prices are exclusive of tax and subject to change without notice. Passport Advantage customers will see their Relationship Suggested Volume Pricing during checkout.
