Enhancing Compiler Transformation Robustness with Large Language Models

This paper presents a framework that integrates Large Language Models (LLMs) into translation validation, targeting LLVM compiler transformations where formal verification tools are insufficient. Our framework first utilizes existing formal verification frameworks for translation validation. In this work, we use Alive2, a well-known tool in LLVM compiler verification, as an example. When formal verification frameworks are unable to confirm a transformation's soundness, our framework employs fine-tuned LLMs for prediction. It applies fuzzing to transformations predicted as potentially unsound by the LLMs due to return value or memory inconsistencies, aiming to find counterexamples. In cases where transformations are unsound for other reasons or sound, or if no counterexamples emerge, the framework directly reports these outcomes without further fuzzing. This methodology has shown effectiveness in complex areas like deep-learning accelerator design, where traditional tools struggle.