Compiler Technologies for Understanding Legacy Scientific Code
We present a procedure to use compiler-based technologies to better understand complex scientific code. The approach requires no extra software installation and configuration and its software analysis can be transparent to developer and users.
We designed a sample code to illustrate the data collection and analysis procedure from compiler technologies and showed a case study that used the information from interprocedure analysis to analyze a scientific function module extracted from an Earth System Model. We believe this study provides a new path to better understand legacy scientific code.
The complexity of software systems have become a barrier for scientific model development and software modernization. In this study, we present a procedure to use compiler-based technologies to better understand complex scientific code. The approach requires no extra software installation and configuration and its software analysis can be transparent to developer and users. We believe this study provides a new path to better understand legacy scientific code.