277 lines
10 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
277 lines
10 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
optimization Tips (for libavcodec):
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===================================
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What to optimize:
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-----------------
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If you plan to do non-x86 architecture specific optimizations (SIMD normally),
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then take a look in the x86/ directory, as most important functions are
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already optimized for MMX.
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If you want to do x86 optimizations then you can either try to fine-tune the
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stuff in the x86 directory or find some other functions in the C source to
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optimize, but there aren't many left.
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Understanding these overoptimized functions:
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--------------------------------------------
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As many functions tend to be a bit difficult to understand because
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of optimizations, it can be hard to optimize them further, or write
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architecture-specific versions. It is recommended to look at older
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revisions of the interesting files (web frontends for the various FFmpeg
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branches are listed at http://ffmpeg.org/download.html).
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Alternatively, look into the other architecture-specific versions in
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the x86/, ppc/, alpha/ subdirectories. Even if you don't exactly
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comprehend the instructions, it could help understanding the functions
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and how they can be optimized.
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NOTE: If you still don't understand some function, ask at our mailing list!!!
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(http://lists.ffmpeg.org/mailman/listinfo/ffmpeg-devel)
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When is an optimization justified?
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----------------------------------
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Normally, clean and simple optimizations for widely used codecs are
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justified even if they only achieve an overall speedup of 0.1%. These
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speedups accumulate and can make a big difference after awhile. Also, if
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none of the following factors get worse due to an optimization -- speed,
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binary code size, source size, source readability -- and at least one
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factor improves, then an optimization is always a good idea even if the
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overall gain is less than 0.1%. For obscure codecs that are not often
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used, the goal is more toward keeping the code clean, small, and
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readable instead of making it 1% faster.
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WTF is that function good for ....:
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-----------------------------------
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The primary purpose of this list is to avoid wasting time optimizing functions
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which are rarely used.
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put(_no_rnd)_pixels{,_x2,_y2,_xy2}
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Used in motion compensation (en/decoding).
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avg_pixels{,_x2,_y2,_xy2}
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Used in motion compensation of B-frames.
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These are less important than the put*pixels functions.
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avg_no_rnd_pixels*
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unused
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pix_abs16x16{,_x2,_y2,_xy2}
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Used in motion estimation (encoding) with SAD.
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pix_abs8x8{,_x2,_y2,_xy2}
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Used in motion estimation (encoding) with SAD of MPEG-4 4MV only.
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These are less important than the pix_abs16x16* functions.
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put_mspel8_mc* / wmv2_mspel8*
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Used only in WMV2.
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it is not recommended that you waste your time with these, as WMV2
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is an ugly and relatively useless codec.
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mpeg4_qpel* / *qpel_mc*
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Used in MPEG-4 qpel motion compensation (encoding & decoding).
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The qpel8 functions are used only for 4mv,
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the avg_* functions are used only for B-frames.
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Optimizing them should have a significant impact on qpel
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encoding & decoding.
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qpel{8,16}_mc??_old_c / *pixels{8,16}_l4
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Just used to work around a bug in an old libavcodec encoder version.
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Don't optimize them.
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add_bytes/diff_bytes
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For huffyuv only, optimize if you want a faster ffhuffyuv codec.
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get_pixels / diff_pixels
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Used for encoding, easy.
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clear_blocks
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easiest to optimize
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gmc
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Used for MPEG-4 gmc.
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Optimizing this should have a significant effect on the gmc decoding
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speed.
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gmc1
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Used for chroma blocks in MPEG-4 gmc with 1 warp point
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(there are 4 luma & 2 chroma blocks per macroblock, so
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only 1/3 of the gmc blocks use this, the other 2/3
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use the normal put_pixel* code, but only if there is
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just 1 warp point).
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Note: DivX5 gmc always uses just 1 warp point.
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pix_sum
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Used for encoding.
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hadamard8_diff / sse / sad == pix_norm1 / dct_sad / quant_psnr / rd / bit
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Specific compare functions used in encoding, it depends upon the
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command line switches which of these are used.
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Don't waste your time with dct_sad & quant_psnr, they aren't
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really useful.
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put_pixels_clamped / add_pixels_clamped
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Used for en/decoding in the IDCT, easy.
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Note, some optimized IDCTs have the add/put clamped code included and
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then put_pixels_clamped / add_pixels_clamped will be unused.
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idct/fdct
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idct (encoding & decoding)
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fdct (encoding)
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difficult to optimize
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dct_quantize_trellis
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Used for encoding with trellis quantization.
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difficult to optimize
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dct_quantize
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Used for encoding.
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dct_unquantize_mpeg1
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Used in MPEG-1 en/decoding.
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dct_unquantize_mpeg2
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Used in MPEG-2 en/decoding.
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dct_unquantize_h263
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Used in MPEG-4/H.263 en/decoding.
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Alignment:
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Some instructions on some architectures have strict alignment restrictions,
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for example most SSE/SSE2 instructions on x86.
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The minimum guaranteed alignment is written in the .h files, for example:
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void (*put_pixels_clamped)(const int16_t *block/*align 16*/, uint8_t *pixels/*align 8*/, ptrdiff_t stride);
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General Tips:
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-------------
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Use asm loops like:
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__asm__(
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"1: ....
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...
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"jump_instruction ....
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Do not use C loops:
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do{
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__asm__(
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...
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}while()
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For x86, mark registers that are clobbered in your asm. This means both
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general x86 registers (e.g. eax) as well as XMM registers. This last one is
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particularly important on Win64, where xmm6-15 are callee-save, and not
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restoring their contents leads to undefined results. In external asm,
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you do this by using:
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cglobal function_name, num_args, num_regs, num_xmm_regs
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In inline asm, you specify clobbered registers at the end of your asm:
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__asm__(".." ::: "%eax").
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If gcc is not set to support sse (-msse) it will not accept xmm registers
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in the clobber list. For that we use two macros to declare the clobbers.
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XMM_CLOBBERS should be used when there are other clobbers, for example:
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__asm__(".." ::: XMM_CLOBBERS("xmm0",) "eax");
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and XMM_CLOBBERS_ONLY should be used when the only clobbers are xmm registers:
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__asm__(".." :: XMM_CLOBBERS_ONLY("xmm0"));
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Do not expect a compiler to maintain values in your registers between separate
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(inline) asm code blocks. It is not required to. For example, this is bad:
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__asm__("movdqa %0, %%xmm7" : src);
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/* do something */
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__asm__("movdqa %%xmm7, %1" : dst);
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- first of all, you're assuming that the compiler will not use xmm7 in
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between the two asm blocks. It probably won't when you test it, but it's
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a poor assumption that will break at some point for some --cpu compiler flag
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- secondly, you didn't mark xmm7 as clobbered. If you did, the compiler would
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have restored the original value of xmm7 after the first asm block, thus
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rendering the combination of the two blocks of code invalid
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Code that depends on data in registries being untouched, should be written as
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a single __asm__() statement. Ideally, a single function contains only one
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__asm__() block.
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Use external asm (nasm/yasm) or inline asm (__asm__()), do not use intrinsics.
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The latter requires a good optimizing compiler which gcc is not.
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When debugging a x86 external asm compilation issue, if lost in the macro
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expansions, add DBG=1 to your make command-line: the input file will be
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preprocessed, stripped of the debug/empty lines, then compiled, showing the
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actual lines causing issues.
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Inline asm vs. external asm
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---------------------------
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Both inline asm (__asm__("..") in a .c file, handled by a compiler such as gcc)
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and external asm (.s or .asm files, handled by an assembler such as nasm/yasm)
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are accepted in FFmpeg. Which one to use differs per specific case.
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- if your code is intended to be inlined in a C function, inline asm is always
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better, because external asm cannot be inlined
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- if your code calls external functions, external asm is always better
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- if your code takes huge and complex structs as function arguments (e.g.
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MpegEncContext; note that this is not ideal and is discouraged if there
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are alternatives), then inline asm is always better, because predicting
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member offsets in complex structs is almost impossible. It's safest to let
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the compiler take care of that
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- in many cases, both can be used and it just depends on the preference of the
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person writing the asm. For new asm, the choice is up to you. For existing
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asm, you'll likely want to maintain whatever form it is currently in unless
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there is a good reason to change it.
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- if, for some reason, you believe that a particular chunk of existing external
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asm could be improved upon further if written in inline asm (or the other
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way around), then please make the move from external asm <-> inline asm a
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separate patch before your patches that actually improve the asm.
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Links:
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======
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http://www.aggregate.org/MAGIC/
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x86-specific:
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-------------
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http://developer.intel.com/design/pentium4/manuals/248966.htm
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The IA-32 Intel Architecture Software Developer's Manual, Volume 2:
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Instruction Set Reference
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http://developer.intel.com/design/pentium4/manuals/245471.htm
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http://www.agner.org/assem/
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AMD Athlon Processor x86 Code Optimization Guide:
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http://www.amd.com/us-en/assets/content_type/white_papers_and_tech_docs/22007.pdf
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ARM-specific:
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-------------
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ARM Architecture Reference Manual (up to ARMv5TE):
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http://www.arm.com/community/university/eulaarmarm.html
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Procedure Call Standard for the ARM Architecture:
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http://www.arm.com/pdfs/aapcs.pdf
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Optimization guide for ARM9E (used in Nokia 770 Internet Tablet):
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http://infocenter.arm.com/help/topic/com.arm.doc.ddi0240b/DDI0240A.pdf
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Optimization guide for ARM11 (used in Nokia N800 Internet Tablet):
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http://infocenter.arm.com/help/topic/com.arm.doc.ddi0211j/DDI0211J_arm1136_r1p5_trm.pdf
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Optimization guide for Intel XScale (used in Sharp Zaurus PDA):
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http://download.intel.com/design/intelxscale/27347302.pdf
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Intel Wireless MMX 2 Coprocessor: Programmers Reference Manual
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http://download.intel.com/design/intelxscale/31451001.pdf
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PowerPC-specific:
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-----------------
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PowerPC32/AltiVec PIM:
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www.freescale.com/files/32bit/doc/ref_manual/ALTIVECPEM.pdf
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PowerPC32/AltiVec PEM:
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www.freescale.com/files/32bit/doc/ref_manual/ALTIVECPIM.pdf
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CELL/SPU:
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http://www-01.ibm.com/chips/techlib/techlib.nsf/techdocs/30B3520C93F437AB87257060006FFE5E/$file/Language_Extensions_for_CBEA_2.4.pdf
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http://www-01.ibm.com/chips/techlib/techlib.nsf/techdocs/9F820A5FFA3ECE8C8725716A0062585F/$file/CBE_Handbook_v1.1_24APR2007_pub.pdf
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GCC asm links:
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--------------
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official doc but quite ugly
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http://gcc.gnu.org/onlinedocs/gcc/Extended-Asm.html
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a bit old (note "+" is valid for input-output, even though the next disagrees)
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http://www.cs.virginia.edu/~clc5q/gcc-inline-asm.pdf
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