What is the most efficient algorithm to achieve the following:
0010 0000 => 0000 0100
The conversion is from MSB->LSB to LSB->MSB. All bits
Bit reversal in pseudo code
source -> byte to be reversed b00101100 destination -> reversed, also needs to be of unsigned type so sign bit is not propogated down
copy into temp so original is unaffected, also needs to be of unsigned type so that sign bit is not shifted in automaticaly
bytecopy = b0010110
LOOP8: //do this 8 times test if bytecopy is < 0 (negative)
set bit8 (msb) of reversed = reversed | b10000000
else do not set bit8
shift bytecopy left 1 place
bytecopy = bytecopy << 1 = b0101100 result
shift result right 1 place
reversed = reversed >> 1 = b00000000
8 times no then up^ LOOP8
8 times yes then done.
Of course the obvious source of bit-twiddling hacks is here: http://graphics.stanford.edu/~seander/bithacks.html#BitReverseObvious
This ain't no job for a human! ... but perfect for a machine
This is 2015, 6 years from when this question was first asked. Compilers have since become our masters, and our job as humans is only to help them. So what's the best way to give our intentions to the machine?
Bit-reversal is so common that you have to wonder why the x86's ever growing ISA doesn't include an instruction to do it one go.
The reason: if you give your true concise intent to the compiler, bit reversal should only take ~20 CPU cycles. Let me show you how to craft reverse() and use it:
#include <inttypes.h>
#include <stdio.h>
uint64_t reverse(const uint64_t n,
const uint64_t k)
{
uint64_t r, i;
for (r = 0, i = 0; i < k; ++i)
r |= ((n >> i) & 1) << (k - i - 1);
return r;
}
int main()
{
const uint64_t size = 64;
uint64_t sum = 0;
uint64_t a;
for (a = 0; a < (uint64_t)1 << 30; ++a)
sum += reverse(a, size);
printf("%" PRIu64 "\n", sum);
return 0;
}
Compiling this sample program with Clang version >= 3.6, -O3, -march=native (tested with Haswell), gives artwork-quality code using the new AVX2 instructions, with a runtime of 11 seconds processing ~1 billion reverse()s. That's ~10 ns per reverse(), with .5 ns CPU cycle assuming 2 GHz puts us at the sweet 20 CPU cycles.
Caveat: this sample code should hold as a decent benchmark for a few years, but it will eventually start to show its age once compilers are smart enough to optimize main() to just printf the final result instead of really computing anything. But for now it works in showcasing reverse().
Generic
C code. Using 1 byte input data num as example.
unsigned char num = 0xaa; // 1010 1010 (aa) -> 0101 0101 (55)
int s = sizeof(num) * 8; // get number of bits
int i, x, y, p;
int var = 0; // make var data type to be equal or larger than num
for (i = 0; i < (s / 2); i++) {
// extract bit on the left, from MSB
p = s - i - 1;
x = num & (1 << p);
x = x >> p;
printf("x: %d\n", x);
// extract bit on the right, from LSB
y = num & (1 << i);
y = y >> i;
printf("y: %d\n", y);
var = var | (x << i); // apply x
var = var | (y << p); // apply y
}
printf("new: 0x%x\n", new);
// Purpose: to reverse bits in an unsigned short integer
// Input: an unsigned short integer whose bits are to be reversed
// Output: an unsigned short integer with the reversed bits of the input one
unsigned short ReverseBits( unsigned short a )
{
// declare and initialize number of bits in the unsigned short integer
const char num_bits = sizeof(a) * CHAR_BIT;
// declare and initialize bitset representation of integer a
bitset<num_bits> bitset_a(a);
// declare and initialize bitset representation of integer b (0000000000000000)
bitset<num_bits> bitset_b(0);
// declare and initialize bitset representation of mask (0000000000000001)
bitset<num_bits> mask(1);
for ( char i = 0; i < num_bits; ++i )
{
bitset_b = (bitset_b << 1) | bitset_a & mask;
bitset_a >>= 1;
}
return (unsigned short) bitset_b.to_ulong();
}
void PrintBits( unsigned short a )
{
// declare and initialize bitset representation of a
bitset<sizeof(a) * CHAR_BIT> bitset(a);
// print out bits
cout << bitset << endl;
}
// Testing the functionality of the code
int main ()
{
unsigned short a = 17, b;
cout << "Original: ";
PrintBits(a);
b = ReverseBits( a );
cout << "Reversed: ";
PrintBits(b);
}
// Output:
Original: 0000000000010001
Reversed: 1000100000000000
NOTE: All algorithms below are in C, but should be portable to your language of choice (just don't look at me when they're not as fast :)
Low Memory (32-bit int
, 32-bit machine)(from here):
unsigned int
reverse(register unsigned int x)
{
x = (((x & 0xaaaaaaaa) >> 1) | ((x & 0x55555555) << 1));
x = (((x & 0xcccccccc) >> 2) | ((x & 0x33333333) << 2));
x = (((x & 0xf0f0f0f0) >> 4) | ((x & 0x0f0f0f0f) << 4));
x = (((x & 0xff00ff00) >> 8) | ((x & 0x00ff00ff) << 8));
return((x >> 16) | (x << 16));
}
From the famous Bit Twiddling Hacks page:
Fastest (lookup table):
static const unsigned char BitReverseTable256[] =
{
0x00, 0x80, 0x40, 0xC0, 0x20, 0xA0, 0x60, 0xE0, 0x10, 0x90, 0x50, 0xD0, 0x30, 0xB0, 0x70, 0xF0,
0x08, 0x88, 0x48, 0xC8, 0x28, 0xA8, 0x68, 0xE8, 0x18, 0x98, 0x58, 0xD8, 0x38, 0xB8, 0x78, 0xF8,
0x04, 0x84, 0x44, 0xC4, 0x24, 0xA4, 0x64, 0xE4, 0x14, 0x94, 0x54, 0xD4, 0x34, 0xB4, 0x74, 0xF4,
0x0C, 0x8C, 0x4C, 0xCC, 0x2C, 0xAC, 0x6C, 0xEC, 0x1C, 0x9C, 0x5C, 0xDC, 0x3C, 0xBC, 0x7C, 0xFC,
0x02, 0x82, 0x42, 0xC2, 0x22, 0xA2, 0x62, 0xE2, 0x12, 0x92, 0x52, 0xD2, 0x32, 0xB2, 0x72, 0xF2,
0x0A, 0x8A, 0x4A, 0xCA, 0x2A, 0xAA, 0x6A, 0xEA, 0x1A, 0x9A, 0x5A, 0xDA, 0x3A, 0xBA, 0x7A, 0xFA,
0x06, 0x86, 0x46, 0xC6, 0x26, 0xA6, 0x66, 0xE6, 0x16, 0x96, 0x56, 0xD6, 0x36, 0xB6, 0x76, 0xF6,
0x0E, 0x8E, 0x4E, 0xCE, 0x2E, 0xAE, 0x6E, 0xEE, 0x1E, 0x9E, 0x5E, 0xDE, 0x3E, 0xBE, 0x7E, 0xFE,
0x01, 0x81, 0x41, 0xC1, 0x21, 0xA1, 0x61, 0xE1, 0x11, 0x91, 0x51, 0xD1, 0x31, 0xB1, 0x71, 0xF1,
0x09, 0x89, 0x49, 0xC9, 0x29, 0xA9, 0x69, 0xE9, 0x19, 0x99, 0x59, 0xD9, 0x39, 0xB9, 0x79, 0xF9,
0x05, 0x85, 0x45, 0xC5, 0x25, 0xA5, 0x65, 0xE5, 0x15, 0x95, 0x55, 0xD5, 0x35, 0xB5, 0x75, 0xF5,
0x0D, 0x8D, 0x4D, 0xCD, 0x2D, 0xAD, 0x6D, 0xED, 0x1D, 0x9D, 0x5D, 0xDD, 0x3D, 0xBD, 0x7D, 0xFD,
0x03, 0x83, 0x43, 0xC3, 0x23, 0xA3, 0x63, 0xE3, 0x13, 0x93, 0x53, 0xD3, 0x33, 0xB3, 0x73, 0xF3,
0x0B, 0x8B, 0x4B, 0xCB, 0x2B, 0xAB, 0x6B, 0xEB, 0x1B, 0x9B, 0x5B, 0xDB, 0x3B, 0xBB, 0x7B, 0xFB,
0x07, 0x87, 0x47, 0xC7, 0x27, 0xA7, 0x67, 0xE7, 0x17, 0x97, 0x57, 0xD7, 0x37, 0xB7, 0x77, 0xF7,
0x0F, 0x8F, 0x4F, 0xCF, 0x2F, 0xAF, 0x6F, 0xEF, 0x1F, 0x9F, 0x5F, 0xDF, 0x3F, 0xBF, 0x7F, 0xFF
};
unsigned int v; // reverse 32-bit value, 8 bits at time
unsigned int c; // c will get v reversed
// Option 1:
c = (BitReverseTable256[v & 0xff] << 24) |
(BitReverseTable256[(v >> 8) & 0xff] << 16) |
(BitReverseTable256[(v >> 16) & 0xff] << 8) |
(BitReverseTable256[(v >> 24) & 0xff]);
// Option 2:
unsigned char * p = (unsigned char *) &v;
unsigned char * q = (unsigned char *) &c;
q[3] = BitReverseTable256[p[0]];
q[2] = BitReverseTable256[p[1]];
q[1] = BitReverseTable256[p[2]];
q[0] = BitReverseTable256[p[3]];
You can extend this idea to 64-bit int
s, or trade off memory for speed (assuming your L1 Data Cache is large enough), and reverse 16 bits at a time with a 64K-entry lookup table.
Simple
unsigned int v; // input bits to be reversed
unsigned int r = v & 1; // r will be reversed bits of v; first get LSB of v
int s = sizeof(v) * CHAR_BIT - 1; // extra shift needed at end
for (v >>= 1; v; v >>= 1)
{
r <<= 1;
r |= v & 1;
s--;
}
r <<= s; // shift when v's highest bits are zero
Faster (32-bit processor)
unsigned char b = x;
b = ((b * 0x0802LU & 0x22110LU) | (b * 0x8020LU & 0x88440LU)) * 0x10101LU >> 16;
Faster (64-bit processor)
unsigned char b; // reverse this (8-bit) byte
b = (b * 0x0202020202ULL & 0x010884422010ULL) % 1023;
If you want to do this on a 32-bit int
, just reverse the bits in each byte, and reverse the order of the bytes. That is:
unsigned int toReverse;
unsigned int reversed;
unsigned char inByte0 = (toReverse & 0xFF);
unsigned char inByte1 = (toReverse & 0xFF00) >> 8;
unsigned char inByte2 = (toReverse & 0xFF0000) >> 16;
unsigned char inByte3 = (toReverse & 0xFF000000) >> 24;
reversed = (reverseBits(inByte0) << 24) | (reverseBits(inByte1) << 16) | (reverseBits(inByte2) << 8) | (reverseBits(inByte3);
I benchmarked the two most promising solutions, the lookup table, and bitwise-AND (the first one). The test machine is a laptop w/ 4GB of DDR2-800 and a Core 2 Duo T7500 @ 2.4GHz, 4MB L2 Cache; YMMV. I used gcc 4.3.2 on 64-bit Linux. OpenMP (and the GCC bindings) were used for high-resolution timers.
reverse.c
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <stdio.h>
#include <omp.h>
unsigned int
reverse(register unsigned int x)
{
x = (((x & 0xaaaaaaaa) >> 1) | ((x & 0x55555555) << 1));
x = (((x & 0xcccccccc) >> 2) | ((x & 0x33333333) << 2));
x = (((x & 0xf0f0f0f0) >> 4) | ((x & 0x0f0f0f0f) << 4));
x = (((x & 0xff00ff00) >> 8) | ((x & 0x00ff00ff) << 8));
return((x >> 16) | (x << 16));
}
int main()
{
unsigned int *ints = malloc(100000000*sizeof(unsigned int));
unsigned int *ints2 = malloc(100000000*sizeof(unsigned int));
for(unsigned int i = 0; i < 100000000; i++)
ints[i] = rand();
unsigned int *inptr = ints;
unsigned int *outptr = ints2;
unsigned int *endptr = ints + 100000000;
// Starting the time measurement
double start = omp_get_wtime();
// Computations to be measured
while(inptr != endptr)
{
(*outptr) = reverse(*inptr);
inptr++;
outptr++;
}
// Measuring the elapsed time
double end = omp_get_wtime();
// Time calculation (in seconds)
printf("Time: %f seconds\n", end-start);
free(ints);
free(ints2);
return 0;
}
reverse_lookup.c
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <stdio.h>
#include <omp.h>
static const unsigned char BitReverseTable256[] =
{
0x00, 0x80, 0x40, 0xC0, 0x20, 0xA0, 0x60, 0xE0, 0x10, 0x90, 0x50, 0xD0, 0x30, 0xB0, 0x70, 0xF0,
0x08, 0x88, 0x48, 0xC8, 0x28, 0xA8, 0x68, 0xE8, 0x18, 0x98, 0x58, 0xD8, 0x38, 0xB8, 0x78, 0xF8,
0x04, 0x84, 0x44, 0xC4, 0x24, 0xA4, 0x64, 0xE4, 0x14, 0x94, 0x54, 0xD4, 0x34, 0xB4, 0x74, 0xF4,
0x0C, 0x8C, 0x4C, 0xCC, 0x2C, 0xAC, 0x6C, 0xEC, 0x1C, 0x9C, 0x5C, 0xDC, 0x3C, 0xBC, 0x7C, 0xFC,
0x02, 0x82, 0x42, 0xC2, 0x22, 0xA2, 0x62, 0xE2, 0x12, 0x92, 0x52, 0xD2, 0x32, 0xB2, 0x72, 0xF2,
0x0A, 0x8A, 0x4A, 0xCA, 0x2A, 0xAA, 0x6A, 0xEA, 0x1A, 0x9A, 0x5A, 0xDA, 0x3A, 0xBA, 0x7A, 0xFA,
0x06, 0x86, 0x46, 0xC6, 0x26, 0xA6, 0x66, 0xE6, 0x16, 0x96, 0x56, 0xD6, 0x36, 0xB6, 0x76, 0xF6,
0x0E, 0x8E, 0x4E, 0xCE, 0x2E, 0xAE, 0x6E, 0xEE, 0x1E, 0x9E, 0x5E, 0xDE, 0x3E, 0xBE, 0x7E, 0xFE,
0x01, 0x81, 0x41, 0xC1, 0x21, 0xA1, 0x61, 0xE1, 0x11, 0x91, 0x51, 0xD1, 0x31, 0xB1, 0x71, 0xF1,
0x09, 0x89, 0x49, 0xC9, 0x29, 0xA9, 0x69, 0xE9, 0x19, 0x99, 0x59, 0xD9, 0x39, 0xB9, 0x79, 0xF9,
0x05, 0x85, 0x45, 0xC5, 0x25, 0xA5, 0x65, 0xE5, 0x15, 0x95, 0x55, 0xD5, 0x35, 0xB5, 0x75, 0xF5,
0x0D, 0x8D, 0x4D, 0xCD, 0x2D, 0xAD, 0x6D, 0xED, 0x1D, 0x9D, 0x5D, 0xDD, 0x3D, 0xBD, 0x7D, 0xFD,
0x03, 0x83, 0x43, 0xC3, 0x23, 0xA3, 0x63, 0xE3, 0x13, 0x93, 0x53, 0xD3, 0x33, 0xB3, 0x73, 0xF3,
0x0B, 0x8B, 0x4B, 0xCB, 0x2B, 0xAB, 0x6B, 0xEB, 0x1B, 0x9B, 0x5B, 0xDB, 0x3B, 0xBB, 0x7B, 0xFB,
0x07, 0x87, 0x47, 0xC7, 0x27, 0xA7, 0x67, 0xE7, 0x17, 0x97, 0x57, 0xD7, 0x37, 0xB7, 0x77, 0xF7,
0x0F, 0x8F, 0x4F, 0xCF, 0x2F, 0xAF, 0x6F, 0xEF, 0x1F, 0x9F, 0x5F, 0xDF, 0x3F, 0xBF, 0x7F, 0xFF
};
int main()
{
unsigned int *ints = malloc(100000000*sizeof(unsigned int));
unsigned int *ints2 = malloc(100000000*sizeof(unsigned int));
for(unsigned int i = 0; i < 100000000; i++)
ints[i] = rand();
unsigned int *inptr = ints;
unsigned int *outptr = ints2;
unsigned int *endptr = ints + 100000000;
// Starting the time measurement
double start = omp_get_wtime();
// Computations to be measured
while(inptr != endptr)
{
unsigned int in = *inptr;
// Option 1:
//*outptr = (BitReverseTable256[in & 0xff] << 24) |
// (BitReverseTable256[(in >> 8) & 0xff] << 16) |
// (BitReverseTable256[(in >> 16) & 0xff] << 8) |
// (BitReverseTable256[(in >> 24) & 0xff]);
// Option 2:
unsigned char * p = (unsigned char *) &(*inptr);
unsigned char * q = (unsigned char *) &(*outptr);
q[3] = BitReverseTable256[p[0]];
q[2] = BitReverseTable256[p[1]];
q[1] = BitReverseTable256[p[2]];
q[0] = BitReverseTable256[p[3]];
inptr++;
outptr++;
}
// Measuring the elapsed time
double end = omp_get_wtime();
// Time calculation (in seconds)
printf("Time: %f seconds\n", end-start);
free(ints);
free(ints2);
return 0;
}
I tried both approaches at several different optimizations, ran 3 trials at each level, and each trial reversed 100 million random unsigned ints
. For the lookup table option, I tried both schemes (options 1 and 2) given on the bitwise hacks page. Results are shown below.
Bitwise AND
mrj10@mjlap:~/code$ gcc -fopenmp -std=c99 -o reverse reverse.c
mrj10@mjlap:~/code$ ./reverse
Time: 2.000593 seconds
mrj10@mjlap:~/code$ ./reverse
Time: 1.938893 seconds
mrj10@mjlap:~/code$ ./reverse
Time: 1.936365 seconds
mrj10@mjlap:~/code$ gcc -fopenmp -std=c99 -O2 -o reverse reverse.c
mrj10@mjlap:~/code$ ./reverse
Time: 0.942709 seconds
mrj10@mjlap:~/code$ ./reverse
Time: 0.991104 seconds
mrj10@mjlap:~/code$ ./reverse
Time: 0.947203 seconds
mrj10@mjlap:~/code$ gcc -fopenmp -std=c99 -O3 -o reverse reverse.c
mrj10@mjlap:~/code$ ./reverse
Time: 0.922639 seconds
mrj10@mjlap:~/code$ ./reverse
Time: 0.892372 seconds
mrj10@mjlap:~/code$ ./reverse
Time: 0.891688 seconds
Lookup Table (option 1)
mrj10@mjlap:~/code$ gcc -fopenmp -std=c99 -o reverse_lookup reverse_lookup.c
mrj10@mjlap:~/code$ ./reverse_lookup
Time: 1.201127 seconds
mrj10@mjlap:~/code$ ./reverse_lookup
Time: 1.196129 seconds
mrj10@mjlap:~/code$ ./reverse_lookup
Time: 1.235972 seconds
mrj10@mjlap:~/code$ gcc -fopenmp -std=c99 -O2 -o reverse_lookup reverse_lookup.c
mrj10@mjlap:~/code$ ./reverse_lookup
Time: 0.633042 seconds
mrj10@mjlap:~/code$ ./reverse_lookup
Time: 0.655880 seconds
mrj10@mjlap:~/code$ ./reverse_lookup
Time: 0.633390 seconds
mrj10@mjlap:~/code$ gcc -fopenmp -std=c99 -O3 -o reverse_lookup reverse_lookup.c
mrj10@mjlap:~/code$ ./reverse_lookup
Time: 0.652322 seconds
mrj10@mjlap:~/code$ ./reverse_lookup
Time: 0.631739 seconds
mrj10@mjlap:~/code$ ./reverse_lookup
Time: 0.652431 seconds
Lookup Table (option 2)
mrj10@mjlap:~/code$ gcc -fopenmp -std=c99 -o reverse_lookup reverse_lookup.c
mrj10@mjlap:~/code$ ./reverse_lookup
Time: 1.671537 seconds
mrj10@mjlap:~/code$ ./reverse_lookup
Time: 1.688173 seconds
mrj10@mjlap:~/code$ ./reverse_lookup
Time: 1.664662 seconds
mrj10@mjlap:~/code$ gcc -fopenmp -std=c99 -O2 -o reverse_lookup reverse_lookup.c
mrj10@mjlap:~/code$ ./reverse_lookup
Time: 1.049851 seconds
mrj10@mjlap:~/code$ ./reverse_lookup
Time: 1.048403 seconds
mrj10@mjlap:~/code$ ./reverse_lookup
Time: 1.085086 seconds
mrj10@mjlap:~/code$ gcc -fopenmp -std=c99 -O3 -o reverse_lookup reverse_lookup.c
mrj10@mjlap:~/code$ ./reverse_lookup
Time: 1.082223 seconds
mrj10@mjlap:~/code$ ./reverse_lookup
Time: 1.053431 seconds
mrj10@mjlap:~/code$ ./reverse_lookup
Time: 1.081224 seconds
Use the lookup table, with option 1 (byte addressing is unsurprisingly slow) if you're concerned about performance. If you need to squeeze every last byte of memory out of your system (and you might, if you care about the performance of bit reversal), the optimized versions of the bitwise-AND approach aren't too shabby either.
Yes, I know the benchmark code is a complete hack. Suggestions on how to improve it are more than welcome. Things I know about:
ld
blew up with some crazy symbol redefinition error), so I don't believe the generated code is tuned for my microarchitecture.32-bit
.L3:
movl (%r12,%rsi), %ecx
movzbl %cl, %eax
movzbl BitReverseTable256(%rax), %edx
movl %ecx, %eax
shrl $24, %eax
mov %eax, %eax
movzbl BitReverseTable256(%rax), %eax
sall $24, %edx
orl %eax, %edx
movzbl %ch, %eax
shrl $16, %ecx
movzbl BitReverseTable256(%rax), %eax
movzbl %cl, %ecx
sall $16, %eax
orl %eax, %edx
movzbl BitReverseTable256(%rcx), %eax
sall $8, %eax
orl %eax, %edx
movl %edx, (%r13,%rsi)
addq $4, %rsi
cmpq $400000000, %rsi
jne .L3
EDIT: I also tried using uint64_t
types on my machine to see if there was any performance boost. Performance was about 10% faster than 32-bit, and was nearly identical whether you were just using 64-bit types to reverse bits on two 32-bit int
types at a time, or whether you were actually reversing bits in half as many 64-bit values. The assembly code is shown below (for the former case, reversing bits for two 32-bit int
types at a time):
.L3:
movq (%r12,%rsi), %rdx
movq %rdx, %rax
shrq $24, %rax
andl $255, %eax
movzbl BitReverseTable256(%rax), %ecx
movzbq %dl,%rax
movzbl BitReverseTable256(%rax), %eax
salq $24, %rax
orq %rax, %rcx
movq %rdx, %rax
shrq $56, %rax
movzbl BitReverseTable256(%rax), %eax
salq $32, %rax
orq %rax, %rcx
movzbl %dh, %eax
shrq $16, %rdx
movzbl BitReverseTable256(%rax), %eax
salq $16, %rax
orq %rax, %rcx
movzbq %dl,%rax
shrq $16, %rdx
movzbl BitReverseTable256(%rax), %eax
salq $8, %rax
orq %rax, %rcx
movzbq %dl,%rax
shrq $8, %rdx
movzbl BitReverseTable256(%rax), %eax
salq $56, %rax
orq %rax, %rcx
movzbq %dl,%rax
shrq $8, %rdx
movzbl BitReverseTable256(%rax), %eax
andl $255, %edx
salq $48, %rax
orq %rax, %rcx
movzbl BitReverseTable256(%rdx), %eax
salq $40, %rax
orq %rax, %rcx
movq %rcx, (%r13,%rsi)
addq $8, %rsi
cmpq $400000000, %rsi
jne .L3