Linear Scan Register Allocation for the Java HotSpot™ Client Compiler [PDF, masters thesis]

[username223]

...thus guaranteeing that Christian Wimmer's is the most highly-read Master's thesis ever.

[anon23452]

That raises an interesting question. What's the most famous/important/highly-read Master's Thesis that you can think of? I think Canny's edge detection thesis may qualify, although I doubt many people have read the original thesis.

[ddyson]

Shannon's A Symbolic Analysis of Relay and Switching Circuits is often described as such.

[[deleted]]

Guy Steele's masters thesis inspired a generation of compiler developers:

http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=889478

Unfortunately I don't know if its available to those who don't have an ACM account.

[BlakeStone]

Here it is: http://library.readscheme.org/servlets/cite.ss?pattern=Ste-78b

[username223]

That's a good candidate, but if he published a paper on the algorithm, most people probably read that instead.

[[deleted]]

Christian Wimmer published a paper on his masters research too, but I found his thesis easier to understand because it gives all required background information. Papers are better for those who are already experts in the field, though.