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JULY 29, 2026
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rs6000 Performance Win

rs6000: Introduce -mdense-math option for Dense Math Facility

New -mdense-math option controls Dense Math Facility instructions on PowerPC.

The PowerPC backend now supports a new compiler option, -mdense-math, to control the emission of Dense Math Facility (DMF) instructions. When targeting ‘future’ CPUs, DMF is enabled by default unless explicitly disabled. Attempting to use -mdense-math on unsupported targets results in a hard error.

In Details

This commit introduces the OPTION_MASK_DMF and TARGET_DMF macros to the rs6000 backend, controlled by the new -mdense-math command-line option. This provides explicit control over the use of the Dense Math Facility, a set of special instructions available on newer PowerPC processors. The option is automatically enabled for the 'future' CPU type unless overridden, ensuring efficient use of these instructions when available.

For Context
Dense Math Facility (DMF)
A set of specialized instructions on certain PowerPC processors designed for efficient floating-point and vector arithmetic operations.
rs6000
The GCC backend for IBM POWER and PowerPC microarchitectures.
TARGET_DMF
A preprocessor macro used within the GCC rs6000 backend to indicate whether code generation for the Dense Math Facility is enabled.
Filed Under: rs6000powerpccompiler optioninstruction