Scalable self-improvement for compiler optimization

One of the fun parts of compiler optimizations is that they can be competing forces, for example inlining for speed and outlining for size. You can see a similar pattern in garbage collectors (throughout vs latency). It can be easy to land in an infinite loop or an oscillating function.

One technique I've seen is to set a goal for one optimization and, once that's met, throw the remaining resources at the other target. That feels like a bit of a cop out, though.