Register spilling

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Register spilling occurs where there are more live variables than the machine has registers.

[edit] Description

When a compiler is generating machine code and there are more live variables than the machine has registers, it has to transfer or "spill" some variables from registers to memory. This incurrs a certain cost, as access from memory is typically slower than access from a register.

[edit] See also

• Register allocation.
• Processor register

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