Compiler optimization with Greta Yorsh

In this episode of Signals and Threads, Ron Minsky interviews Greta Yorsh, a compiler engineer at Jane Street, about her background in compiler optimization, program analysis, and verification. They discuss the challenges and trade-offs in software verification, the combination of testing and formal proofs, and the role of super-optimization in modern compilers. Greta shares her experiences at ARM and IBM, her move from academia to industry, and her work on profile-guided optimizations in OCaml at Jane Street, including feedback-directed optimization. The conversation also covers the importance of feedback from users and benchmarks, the challenges of contributing to the OCaml language, and the trade-offs between portability and performance in compiler design.