Profile-guided optimizations (PGO) tell the compiler which areas of an application are most frequently executed. By knowing these areas, the compiler is able to use feedback from a previous compilation to be more selective in optimizing the application. For example, the use of PGO often enables the compiler to make better decisions about function inlining, thereby increasing the effectiveness of interprocedural optimizations.
Profile-guided optimization creates an instrumented program from your source code and special code from the compiler. Each time this instrumented code is executed, the instrumented program generates a dynamic information file. When you compile a second time, the dynamic information files are merged into a summary file. Using the profile information in this file, the compiler attempts to optimize the execution of the most heavily travelled paths in the program.
Unlike other optimizations, such as those used strictly for size or speed, the results of IPO and PGO vary. This is due to each program having a different profile and different opportunities for optimizations. The guidelines provided here help you determine if you can benefit by using IPO and PGO.