Low-Level Optimizations

These optimizations focus on making the most efficient use of CPU and memory:

SIMD (Single Instruction, Multiple Data)

#[cfg(target_arch = "x86_64")]
use std::arch::x86_64::*;

// Scalar implementation
fn add_arrays_scalar(a: &[f32], b: &[f32], result: &mut [f32]) {
    for i in 0..a.len() {
        result[i] = a[i] + b[i];
    }
}

// SIMD implementation
#[cfg(target_arch = "x86_64")]
#[target_feature(enable = "avx2")]
unsafe fn add_arrays_simd(a: &[f32], b: &[f32], result: &mut [f32]) {
    let n = a.len();
    let mut i = 0;
    
    // Process 8 elements at a time using AVX2
    while i + 8 <= n {
        let a_vec = _mm256_loadu_ps(&a[i]);
        let b_vec = _mm256_loadu_ps(&b[i]);
        let sum = _mm256_add_ps(a_vec, b_vec);
        _mm256_storeu_ps(&mut result[i], sum);
        i += 8;
    }
    
    // Process remaining elements
    for j in i..n {
        result[j] = a[j] + b[j];
    }
}

// Safe wrapper
fn add_arrays(a: &[f32], b: &[f32], result: &mut [f32]) {
    assert_eq!(a.len(), b.len());
    assert_eq!(a.len(), result.len());
    
    #[cfg(target_arch = "x86_64")]
    {
        if is_x86_feature_detected!("avx2") {
            unsafe {
                add_arrays_simd(a, b, result);
                return;
            }
        }
    }
    
    // Fall back to scalar implementation
    add_arrays_scalar(a, b, result);
}

Memory Layout Optimization

// Cache-unfriendly struct (fields accessed at different times)
struct CacheUnfriendly {
    a: [u8; 64],  // 64 bytes (one cache line)
    b: [u8; 64],  // 64 bytes (another cache line)
    c: [u8; 64],  // 64 bytes (yet another cache line)
}

// Cache-friendly struct (fields accessed together are stored together)
struct CacheFriendly {
    // Fields accessed together in one operation
    header: Header,
    // Fields accessed together in another operation
    data: Data,
}

struct Header {
    id: u64,
    flags: u32,
    type_code: u32,
}

struct Data {
    buffer: [u8; 1024],
    length: usize,
}

// Structure of Arrays vs Array of Structures
// Array of Structures (AoS) - Cache-unfriendly for some operations
struct Particle {
    position: [f32; 3],
    velocity: [f32; 3],
    acceleration: [f32; 3],
    mass: f32,
}

// Structure of Arrays (SoA) - Cache-friendly for operations on specific attributes
struct ParticleSystem {
    positions: Vec<[f32; 3]>,
    velocities: Vec<[f32; 3]>,
    accelerations: Vec<[f32; 3]>,
    masses: Vec<f32>,
}

Alignment and Padding

// Unaligned struct (potentially inefficient memory access)
struct Unaligned {
    a: u8,    // 1 byte
    b: u32,   // 4 bytes (might not be aligned)
    c: u16,   // 2 bytes (might not be aligned)
}

// Aligned struct (more efficient memory access)
#[repr(C)]
struct Aligned {
    b: u32,   // 4 bytes (aligned)
    c: u16,   // 2 bytes (aligned)
    a: u8,    // 1 byte
    _pad: u8, // 1 byte padding to maintain alignment
}

// Explicitly aligned struct
#[repr(align(64))]
struct CacheLineAligned {
    data: [u8; 64],
}

Branch Prediction Optimization

// Branch-heavy code (potentially slow due to branch mispredictions)
fn sum_if_positive(data: &[i32]) -> i32 {
    let mut sum = 0;
    for &x in data {
        if x > 0 {
            sum += x;
        }
    }
    sum
}

// Branchless version (potentially faster if branches are unpredictable)
fn sum_if_positive_branchless(data: &[i32]) -> i32 {
    let mut sum = 0;
    for &x in data {
        // Use arithmetic to avoid branches
        sum += x * (x > 0) as i32;
    }
    sum
}

Memory Management Optimizations

Efficient memory management can significantly improve performance:

Custom Allocators

use std::alloc::{GlobalAlloc, Layout, System};

// A simple allocator that tracks allocations
struct TracingAllocator;

unsafe impl GlobalAlloc for TracingAllocator {
    unsafe fn alloc(&self, layout: Layout) -> *mut u8 {
        println!("Allocating {} bytes", layout.size());
        System.alloc(layout)
    }
    
    unsafe fn dealloc(&self, ptr: *mut u8, layout: Layout) {
        println!("Deallocating {} bytes", layout.size());
        System.dealloc(ptr, layout)
    }
}

// Register the custom allocator
#[global_allocator]
static ALLOCATOR: TracingAllocator = TracingAllocator;

// Using a bump allocator for temporary allocations
use bumpalo::Bump;

fn process_data(data: &[u8]) -> Vec<u8> {
    // Create a bump allocator for temporary allocations
    let bump = Bump::new();
    
    // Allocate temporary buffers from the bump allocator
    let temp1 = bump.alloc_slice_copy(&[1, 2, 3]);
    let temp2 = bump.alloc_slice_copy(&[4, 5, 6]);
    
    // Process data using temporary buffers
    let mut result = Vec::new();
    for &x in data {
        for &y in temp1 {
            for &z in temp2 {
                result.push(x + y + z);
            }
        }
    }
    
    // The bump allocator and all its allocations are freed when it goes out of scope
    result
}