RISC-V Toolchain and Compiler Optimization Techniques (LFD113x)

This course is designed for engineers working with RISC-V vendors who are designing their own architectures, and those using RISC-V development boards to build applications. It is also useful for RISC-V application developers looking to improve performance or reduce the code size of their applications, as well as toolchain developers, compiler engineers/performance engineers, and computer science students aspiring to major in systems software.

This course begins with an introduction to the compiler toolchain and concepts of cross-compilation. You will learn how to use popular compiler toolchains (both LLVM and GCC) to build RISC-V applications. You will also learn how to debug toolchain issues and what resources to consult when you need help. This course will help you optimize applications for code size or performance and gain an understanding of the demands of applications with instrumentation techniques.

The course prepares you to apply to in-demand job opportunities like toolchain engineers or systems performance engineers, as most large organizations have a difficult time finding engineers who are good with performance optimizations. This is a beginner-level course to get you started with optimizing data center applications and mobile applications for performance. It enables you to work in startups building RISC-V-based devices and IOT systems that are resource-constrained. The course will also help undergraduate students get started with compiler toolchains and equip them with skills to optimize applications using compiler technologies.