Early execution time-estimation through automatically generated timing models

  • Traditional timing analysis, such as worst-case execution time analysis, is normally applied only in the late stages of embedded system software development, when the hardware is available and the code is compiled and linked. However, preliminary timing estimates are often needed in early stages of system development as an essential prerequisite for the configuration of the hardware setup and dimensioning of the system. During this phase the hardware is often not available, and the code might not be ready to link. This article describes an approach to predict the execution time of software through an early, source-level timing analysis. A timing model for source code is automatically derived from a given combination of hardware architecture and compiler. The model is identified from measured execution times for a set of synthetic training programs, compiled for the hardware platform in question. It can be used to estimate the execution time for code running on the platform: the estimation is then done directly from the source code,Traditional timing analysis, such as worst-case execution time analysis, is normally applied only in the late stages of embedded system software development, when the hardware is available and the code is compiled and linked. However, preliminary timing estimates are often needed in early stages of system development as an essential prerequisite for the configuration of the hardware setup and dimensioning of the system. During this phase the hardware is often not available, and the code might not be ready to link. This article describes an approach to predict the execution time of software through an early, source-level timing analysis. A timing model for source code is automatically derived from a given combination of hardware architecture and compiler. The model is identified from measured execution times for a set of synthetic training programs, compiled for the hardware platform in question. It can be used to estimate the execution time for code running on the platform: the estimation is then done directly from the source code, without compiling and running it. Our experiments show that, using this model, we can predict the execution times of the final, compiled code surprisingly well. For instance, we achieve an average deviation of 8% for a set of benchmark programs for the ARM7 architecture.show moreshow less

Export metadata

Additional Services

Search Google Scholar
Metadaten
Author:Peter Altenbernd, Jan Gustafsson, Björn Lisper, Friedhelm StappertORCiD
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1007/s11241-016-9250-7
ISSN:0922-6443
Parent Title (English):Real-Time Systems
Publisher:Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Document Type:Article
Language:English
Reviewed:Begutachtet/Reviewed
Release Date:2025/08/11
Tag:Early timing estimates · Timing model identification · WCET analysis
Volume:52
Issue:6
Pagenumber:30
First Page:731
Last Page:760
institutes:Fakultät Informatik
Verstanden ✔
Diese Webseite verwendet technisch erforderliche Session-Cookies. Durch die weitere Nutzung der Webseite stimmen Sie diesem zu. Unsere Datenschutzerklärung finden Sie hier.