Learning GNU GCC compiler optimization implementation

I would like to understand how the GNU GCC compiler handles optimizations. I know its not easy but I can't seem to find any GCC internal implementation details even just to get started.

Do I have to be a contributing GNU GCC developer to view the source code and know the low/high level design? Where can a developer, who wants to contribute to GCC,开发者_如何学Go find the implementation details?

GCC is open source and its source code is freely available. You can even browse it online. And its internals are documented.

You can download gcc from all over the place. The best place to start might be the official page: http://gcc.gnu.org/releases.html

A good place to read about the optimizations is in the man page, which describes a lot of flags that control individual optimizations.