protocolbuffers / protocolbuffers/protobuf

Evaluate Profile-Guided Optimization (PGO)

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enhancement help wanted
Dominant language
C++
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Description

Hi!

Recently I checked Profile-Guided Optimization (PGO) improvements on multiple projects. The results are here.

Since PGO showed measurable improvements in compiler-like loads (Clang, Clangd, clang-format, GCC, Rustc, etc.) I think it could be useful to check PGO on Protobuf compiler (protoc) as well.

We need to perform PGO benchmarks on protoc. And if it shows improvements - add a note about possible improvements protoc performance with PGO. Providing an easier way (e.g. a build option) to build scripts with PGO can be useful for the end-users too. Improving protoc performance can help with faster Protobuf compilation time (and that's nice to have e.g. on CI).

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start by benchmarking protoc with Profile-Guided Optimization and comparing the results with a non-PGO build. If the benchmarks show measurable improvements, document the possible protoc performance benefits and assess whether an easier build option for PGO should be added to the build scripts.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
cpp
Domain
compilers, performance
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
5/5
Estimated time
Over a week
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
30/100

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