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Chapter 7 Scheduling Optimizations 149
Software Optimization Guide for AMD64 Processors
25112 Rev. 3.06 September 2005
7.3 Inline Functions
Optimization
Use function inlining when:
• A function is called from just one site in the code. (For the C language, determination of this
characteristic is made easier if functions are explicitly declared static unless they require
external linkage.)
• A function—once inlined—contains fewer than 25 machine instructions.
Application
This optimization applies to:
• 32-bit software
• 64-bit software
Rationale
There are advantages and disadvantages to function inlining. On the one hand, function inlining
eliminates function-call overhead and allows better register allocation and instruction scheduling at
the site of the function call. The disadvantage of function inlining is decreased code reference locality,
which can increase execution time due to instruction cache misses.
For functions that create fewer than 25 machine instructions once inlined, it is likely that the function-
call overhead is close to, or more than, the time spent executing the function body. In these cases,
function inlining is recommended.
Function-call overhead on the AMD Athlon 64 and AMD Opteron processors can be low because
calls and returns are executed very quickly due to the use of prediction mechanisms. However, there is
still overhead due to passing function arguments through memory, which creates store-to-load-
forwarding dependencies. (In 64-bit mode, this overhead is typically avoided by passing more
arguments in registers, as specified in the AMD64 Application Binary Interface [ABI] for the
operating system.)
For longer functions, the benefits of reduced function-call overhead give diminishing returns. A
function that results in the insertion of more than 500 machine instructions at the call site should
probably not be inlined. Some larger functions might consist of multiple, relatively short paths that
are negatively affected by function overhead. In such a case, it can be advantageous to inline larger
functions. Profiling information is the best guide in determining whether to inline such large
functions.