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Mikhail Glushenkov772d9c92008-05-30 06:25:24 +00001===================================
Mikhail Glushenkov1ce87222008-05-30 06:14:42 +00002Customizing LLVMC: Reference Manual
3===================================
Mikhail Glushenkovb7677be2008-12-13 17:51:47 +00004..
5 This file was automatically generated by rst2html.
6 Please do not edit directly!
7 The ReST source lives in the directory 'tools/llvmc/doc'.
Mikhail Glushenkov6d1e9282008-12-13 02:28:58 +00008
9.. contents::
10
11.. raw:: html
12
13 <div class="doc_author">
14 <p>Written by <a href="mailto:foldr@codedgers.com">Mikhail Glushenkov</a></p>
15 </div>
16
17Introduction
18============
Anton Korobeynikove9ffb5b2008-03-23 08:57:20 +000019
Mikhail Glushenkov2e6a8442008-05-06 18:17:19 +000020LLVMC is a generic compiler driver, designed to be customizable and
21extensible. It plays the same role for LLVM as the ``gcc`` program
22does for GCC - LLVMC's job is essentially to transform a set of input
23files into a set of targets depending on configuration rules and user
24options. What makes LLVMC different is that these transformation rules
25are completely customizable - in fact, LLVMC knows nothing about the
26specifics of transformation (even the command-line options are mostly
27not hard-coded) and regards the transformation structure as an
Mikhail Glushenkovbd51c232008-10-15 09:29:13 +000028abstract graph. The structure of this graph is completely determined
29by plugins, which can be either statically or dynamically linked. This
30makes it possible to easily adapt LLVMC for other purposes - for
31example, as a build tool for game resources.
Anton Korobeynikove9ffb5b2008-03-23 08:57:20 +000032
Mikhail Glushenkov6d1e9282008-12-13 02:28:58 +000033Because LLVMC employs TableGen_ as its configuration language, you
Mikhail Glushenkov2e6a8442008-05-06 18:17:19 +000034need to be familiar with it to customize LLVMC.
Anton Korobeynikove9ffb5b2008-03-23 08:57:20 +000035
Mikhail Glushenkovb3e41962009-06-17 02:56:08 +000036.. _TableGen: http://llvm.org/docs/TableGenFundamentals.html
Mikhail Glushenkov772d9c92008-05-30 06:25:24 +000037
38
Mikhail Glushenkov2e6a8442008-05-06 18:17:19 +000039Compiling with LLVMC
Mikhail Glushenkov772d9c92008-05-30 06:25:24 +000040====================
Anton Korobeynikove9ffb5b2008-03-23 08:57:20 +000041
Mikhail Glushenkov1ce87222008-05-30 06:14:42 +000042LLVMC tries hard to be as compatible with ``gcc`` as possible,
43although there are some small differences. Most of the time, however,
44you shouldn't be able to notice them::
Anton Korobeynikove9ffb5b2008-03-23 08:57:20 +000045
Mikhail Glushenkov1ce87222008-05-30 06:14:42 +000046 $ # This works as expected:
Mikhail Glushenkovc7e56fe2008-11-25 21:38:12 +000047 $ llvmc -O3 -Wall hello.cpp
Mikhail Glushenkov2e6a8442008-05-06 18:17:19 +000048 $ ./a.out
49 hello
Anton Korobeynikove9ffb5b2008-03-23 08:57:20 +000050
Mikhail Glushenkovb3e41962009-06-17 02:56:08 +000051One nice feature of LLVMC is that one doesn't have to distinguish between
52different compilers for different languages (think ``g++`` vs. ``gcc``) - the
53right toolchain is chosen automatically based on input language names (which
54are, in turn, determined from file extensions). If you want to force files
55ending with ".c" to compile as C++, use the ``-x`` option, just like you would
56do it with ``gcc``::
Anton Korobeynikove9ffb5b2008-03-23 08:57:20 +000057
Mikhail Glushenkov99f10642008-11-25 21:34:29 +000058 $ # hello.c is really a C++ file
Mikhail Glushenkovc7e56fe2008-11-25 21:38:12 +000059 $ llvmc -x c++ hello.c
Mikhail Glushenkov2e6a8442008-05-06 18:17:19 +000060 $ ./a.out
61 hello
Anton Korobeynikove9ffb5b2008-03-23 08:57:20 +000062
Mikhail Glushenkov2e6a8442008-05-06 18:17:19 +000063On the other hand, when using LLVMC as a linker to combine several C++
64object files you should provide the ``--linker`` option since it's
65impossible for LLVMC to choose the right linker in that case::
Anton Korobeynikove9ffb5b2008-03-23 08:57:20 +000066
Mikhail Glushenkovc7e56fe2008-11-25 21:38:12 +000067 $ llvmc -c hello.cpp
68 $ llvmc hello.o
Mikhail Glushenkov2e6a8442008-05-06 18:17:19 +000069 [A lot of link-time errors skipped]
Mikhail Glushenkovc7e56fe2008-11-25 21:38:12 +000070 $ llvmc --linker=c++ hello.o
Mikhail Glushenkov2e6a8442008-05-06 18:17:19 +000071 $ ./a.out
72 hello
Anton Korobeynikove9ffb5b2008-03-23 08:57:20 +000073
Mikhail Glushenkov46518632009-06-30 00:16:22 +000074By default, LLVMC uses ``llvm-gcc`` to compile the source code. It is also
75possible to choose the ``clang`` compiler with the ``-clang`` option.
Mikhail Glushenkov8fdb3172008-12-07 16:47:42 +000076
Mikhail Glushenkovbd51c232008-10-15 09:29:13 +000077
Mikhail Glushenkov772d9c92008-05-30 06:25:24 +000078Predefined options
79==================
80
81LLVMC has some built-in options that can't be overridden in the
Mikhail Glushenkov4f82fda2008-11-26 22:59:45 +000082configuration libraries:
Mikhail Glushenkov772d9c92008-05-30 06:25:24 +000083
84* ``-o FILE`` - Output file name.
85
86* ``-x LANGUAGE`` - Specify the language of the following input files
87 until the next -x option.
88
Mikhail Glushenkovbd51c232008-10-15 09:29:13 +000089* ``-load PLUGIN_NAME`` - Load the specified plugin DLL. Example:
90 ``-load $LLVM_DIR/Release/lib/LLVMCSimple.so``.
91
Mikhail Glushenkov772d9c92008-05-30 06:25:24 +000092* ``-v`` - Enable verbose mode, i.e. print out all executed commands.
93
Mikhail Glushenkovdddb2202009-06-25 18:20:44 +000094* ``--save-temps`` - Write temporary files to the current directory and do not
95 delete them on exit. This option can also take an argument: the
96 ``--save-temps=obj`` switch will write files into the directory specified with
97 the ``-o`` option. The ``--save-temps=cwd`` and ``--save-temps`` switches are
98 both synonyms for the default behaviour.
99
Mikhail Glushenkov57b06ba2009-07-11 19:27:40 +0000100* ``--temp-dir DIRECTORY`` - Store temporary files in the given directory. This
101 directory is deleted on exit unless ``--save-temps`` is specified. If
102 ``--save-temps=obj`` is also specified, ``--temp-dir`` is given the
103 precedence.
Mikhail Glushenkov588a7652009-07-09 19:39:16 +0000104
Mikhail Glushenkove68a0052009-03-27 12:58:29 +0000105* ``--check-graph`` - Check the compilation for common errors like mismatched
106 output/input language names, multiple default edges and cycles. Because of
Mikhail Glushenkovbc2a3d32009-06-16 00:13:52 +0000107 plugins, these checks can't be performed at compile-time. Exit with code zero
108 if no errors were found, and return the number of found errors
109 otherwise. Hidden option, useful for debugging LLVMC plugins.
Mikhail Glushenkovf300a822009-01-09 16:16:27 +0000110
Mikhail Glushenkove68a0052009-03-27 12:58:29 +0000111* ``--view-graph`` - Show a graphical representation of the compilation graph
112 and exit. Requires that you have ``dot`` and ``gv`` programs installed. Hidden
113 option, useful for debugging LLVMC plugins.
Mikhail Glushenkov772d9c92008-05-30 06:25:24 +0000114
Mikhail Glushenkove68a0052009-03-27 12:58:29 +0000115* ``--write-graph`` - Write a ``compilation-graph.dot`` file in the current
116 directory with the compilation graph description in Graphviz format (identical
Mikhail Glushenkovbc2a3d32009-06-16 00:13:52 +0000117 to the file used by the ``--view-graph`` option). The ``-o`` option can be
118 used to set the output file name. Hidden option, useful for debugging LLVMC
119 plugins.
Mikhail Glushenkov772d9c92008-05-30 06:25:24 +0000120
Mikhail Glushenkova5bdf6e2008-05-30 06:29:17 +0000121* ``--help``, ``--help-hidden``, ``--version`` - These options have
122 their standard meaning.
123
Mikhail Glushenkovbd51c232008-10-15 09:29:13 +0000124Compiling LLVMC plugins
125=======================
126
127It's easiest to start working on your own LLVMC plugin by copying the
128skeleton project which lives under ``$LLVMC_DIR/plugins/Simple``::
129
130 $ cd $LLVMC_DIR/plugins
131 $ cp -r Simple MyPlugin
132 $ cd MyPlugin
133 $ ls
134 Makefile PluginMain.cpp Simple.td
135
136As you can see, our basic plugin consists of only two files (not
137counting the build script). ``Simple.td`` contains TableGen
138description of the compilation graph; its format is documented in the
139following sections. ``PluginMain.cpp`` is just a helper file used to
140compile the auto-generated C++ code produced from TableGen source. It
141can also contain hook definitions (see `below`__).
142
143__ hooks_
144
145The first thing that you should do is to change the ``LLVMC_PLUGIN``
146variable in the ``Makefile`` to avoid conflicts (since this variable
147is used to name the resulting library)::
148
149 LLVMC_PLUGIN=MyPlugin
150
151It is also a good idea to rename ``Simple.td`` to something less
152generic::
153
154 $ mv Simple.td MyPlugin.td
155
Mikhail Glushenkovbd51c232008-10-15 09:29:13 +0000156To build your plugin as a dynamic library, just ``cd`` to its source
157directory and run ``make``. The resulting file will be called
Mikhail Glushenkovb3e41962009-06-17 02:56:08 +0000158``plugin_llvmc_$(LLVMC_PLUGIN).$(DLL_EXTENSION)`` (in our case,
159``plugin_llvmc_MyPlugin.so``). This library can be then loaded in with the
Mikhail Glushenkovbd51c232008-10-15 09:29:13 +0000160``-load`` option. Example::
161
162 $ cd $LLVMC_DIR/plugins/Simple
163 $ make
Mikhail Glushenkovb3e41962009-06-17 02:56:08 +0000164 $ llvmc -load $LLVM_DIR/Release/lib/plugin_llvmc_Simple.so
Mikhail Glushenkovbd51c232008-10-15 09:29:13 +0000165
Mikhail Glushenkovbc2a3d32009-06-16 00:13:52 +0000166Compiling standalone LLVMC-based drivers
167========================================
168
169By default, the ``llvmc`` executable consists of a driver core plus several
170statically linked plugins (``Base`` and ``Clang`` at the moment). You can
171produce a standalone LLVMC-based driver executable by linking the core with your
172own plugins. The recommended way to do this is by starting with the provided
173``Skeleton`` example (``$LLVMC_DIR/example/Skeleton``)::
174
175 $ cd $LLVMC_DIR/example/
176 $ cp -r Skeleton mydriver
177 $ cd mydriver
178 $ vim Makefile
179 [...]
180 $ make
181
182If you're compiling LLVM with different source and object directories, then you
183must perform the following additional steps before running ``make``::
184
185 # LLVMC_SRC_DIR = $LLVM_SRC_DIR/tools/llvmc/
186 # LLVMC_OBJ_DIR = $LLVM_OBJ_DIR/tools/llvmc/
187 $ cp $LLVMC_SRC_DIR/example/mydriver/Makefile \
188 $LLVMC_OBJ_DIR/example/mydriver/
189 $ cd $LLVMC_OBJ_DIR/example/mydriver
190 $ make
191
192Another way to do the same thing is by using the following command::
193
194 $ cd $LLVMC_DIR
195 $ make LLVMC_BUILTIN_PLUGINS=MyPlugin LLVMC_BASED_DRIVER_NAME=mydriver
196
Mikhail Glushenkovb3e41962009-06-17 02:56:08 +0000197This works with both srcdir == objdir and srcdir != objdir, but assumes that the
Mikhail Glushenkovbc2a3d32009-06-16 00:13:52 +0000198plugin source directory was placed under ``$LLVMC_DIR/plugins``.
199
Mikhail Glushenkovd333fce2008-11-25 21:34:01 +0000200Sometimes, you will want a 'bare-bones' version of LLVMC that has no
201built-in plugins. It can be compiled with the following command::
202
203 $ cd $LLVMC_DIR
Mikhail Glushenkovbc2a3d32009-06-16 00:13:52 +0000204 $ make LLVMC_BUILTIN_PLUGINS=""
Mikhail Glushenkovd333fce2008-11-25 21:34:01 +0000205
Mikhail Glushenkovbd51c232008-10-15 09:29:13 +0000206
Mikhail Glushenkov2e6a8442008-05-06 18:17:19 +0000207Customizing LLVMC: the compilation graph
Mikhail Glushenkov772d9c92008-05-30 06:25:24 +0000208========================================
Mikhail Glushenkov2e6a8442008-05-06 18:17:19 +0000209
Mikhail Glushenkovbd51c232008-10-15 09:29:13 +0000210Each TableGen configuration file should include the common
211definitions::
Mikhail Glushenkov2e6a8442008-05-06 18:17:19 +0000212
Mikhail Glushenkovbd51c232008-10-15 09:29:13 +0000213 include "llvm/CompilerDriver/Common.td"
Mikhail Glushenkov1ce87222008-05-30 06:14:42 +0000214
215Internally, LLVMC stores information about possible source
216transformations in form of a graph. Nodes in this graph represent
217tools, and edges between two nodes represent a transformation path. A
218special "root" node is used to mark entry points for the
219transformations. LLVMC also assigns a weight to each edge (more on
220this later) to choose between several alternative edges.
221
Mikhail Glushenkovbd51c232008-10-15 09:29:13 +0000222The definition of the compilation graph (see file
223``plugins/Base/Base.td`` for an example) is just a list of edges::
Mikhail Glushenkov2e6a8442008-05-06 18:17:19 +0000224
225 def CompilationGraph : CompilationGraph<[
Mikhail Glushenkovfa990682008-11-17 17:29:18 +0000226 Edge<"root", "llvm_gcc_c">,
227 Edge<"root", "llvm_gcc_assembler">,
Mikhail Glushenkov2e6a8442008-05-06 18:17:19 +0000228 ...
229
Mikhail Glushenkovfa990682008-11-17 17:29:18 +0000230 Edge<"llvm_gcc_c", "llc">,
231 Edge<"llvm_gcc_cpp", "llc">,
Mikhail Glushenkov2e6a8442008-05-06 18:17:19 +0000232 ...
233
Mikhail Glushenkov817b2f42008-11-25 21:34:53 +0000234 OptionalEdge<"llvm_gcc_c", "opt", (case (switch_on "opt"),
235 (inc_weight))>,
236 OptionalEdge<"llvm_gcc_cpp", "opt", (case (switch_on "opt"),
237 (inc_weight))>,
Mikhail Glushenkov2e6a8442008-05-06 18:17:19 +0000238 ...
239
Mikhail Glushenkovfa990682008-11-17 17:29:18 +0000240 OptionalEdge<"llvm_gcc_assembler", "llvm_gcc_cpp_linker",
Mikhail Glushenkov1ce87222008-05-30 06:14:42 +0000241 (case (input_languages_contain "c++"), (inc_weight),
242 (or (parameter_equals "linker", "g++"),
243 (parameter_equals "linker", "c++")), (inc_weight))>,
Mikhail Glushenkov2e6a8442008-05-06 18:17:19 +0000244 ...
245
246 ]>;
247
248As you can see, the edges can be either default or optional, where
Mikhail Glushenkovbd51c232008-10-15 09:29:13 +0000249optional edges are differentiated by an additional ``case`` expression
Mikhail Glushenkovfa990682008-11-17 17:29:18 +0000250used to calculate the weight of this edge. Notice also that we refer
Mikhail Glushenkovd333fce2008-11-25 21:34:01 +0000251to tools via their names (as strings). This makes it possible to add
252edges to an existing compilation graph in plugins without having to
253know about all tool definitions used in the graph.
Mikhail Glushenkov2e6a8442008-05-06 18:17:19 +0000254
Mikhail Glushenkov1ce87222008-05-30 06:14:42 +0000255The default edges are assigned a weight of 1, and optional edges get a
256weight of 0 + 2*N where N is the number of tests that evaluated to
257true in the ``case`` expression. It is also possible to provide an
258integer parameter to ``inc_weight`` and ``dec_weight`` - in this case,
259the weight is increased (or decreased) by the provided value instead
Mikhail Glushenkov4f82fda2008-11-26 22:59:45 +0000260of the default 2. It is also possible to change the default weight of
261an optional edge by using the ``default`` clause of the ``case``
262construct.
Mikhail Glushenkov1ce87222008-05-30 06:14:42 +0000263
264When passing an input file through the graph, LLVMC picks the edge
265with the maximum weight. To avoid ambiguity, there should be only one
266default edge between two nodes (with the exception of the root node,
267which gets a special treatment - there you are allowed to specify one
268default edge *per language*).
269
Mikhail Glushenkov4f82fda2008-11-26 22:59:45 +0000270When multiple plugins are loaded, their compilation graphs are merged
Mikhail Glushenkov642e9a12008-11-28 00:12:09 +0000271together. Since multiple edges that have the same end nodes are not
272allowed (i.e. the graph is not a multigraph), an edge defined in
Mikhail Glushenkov4f82fda2008-11-26 22:59:45 +0000273several plugins will be replaced by the definition from the plugin
274that was loaded last. Plugin load order can be controlled by using the
275plugin priority feature described above.
276
Mikhail Glushenkov1ce87222008-05-30 06:14:42 +0000277To get a visual representation of the compilation graph (useful for
Mikhail Glushenkovc7e56fe2008-11-25 21:38:12 +0000278debugging), run ``llvmc --view-graph``. You will need ``dot`` and
Mikhail Glushenkov1ce87222008-05-30 06:14:42 +0000279``gsview`` installed for this to work properly.
280
Mikhail Glushenkov8fdb3172008-12-07 16:47:42 +0000281Describing options
282==================
Mikhail Glushenkov1ce87222008-05-30 06:14:42 +0000283
Mikhail Glushenkov8fdb3172008-12-07 16:47:42 +0000284Command-line options that the plugin supports are defined by using an
285``OptionList``::
Mikhail Glushenkov2e6a8442008-05-06 18:17:19 +0000286
Mikhail Glushenkov8fdb3172008-12-07 16:47:42 +0000287 def Options : OptionList<[
288 (switch_option "E", (help "Help string")),
289 (alias_option "quiet", "q")
290 ...
291 ]>;
Anton Korobeynikove9ffb5b2008-03-23 08:57:20 +0000292
Mikhail Glushenkov8fdb3172008-12-07 16:47:42 +0000293As you can see, the option list is just a list of DAGs, where each DAG
294is an option description consisting of the option name and some
295properties. A plugin can define more than one option list (they are
296all merged together in the end), which can be handy if one wants to
297separate option groups syntactically.
Anton Korobeynikove9ffb5b2008-03-23 08:57:20 +0000298
299* Possible option types:
Anton Korobeynikove9ffb5b2008-03-23 08:57:20 +0000300
Mikhail Glushenkov8139ba32009-01-28 03:47:20 +0000301 - ``switch_option`` - a simple boolean switch without arguments, for example
302 ``-O2`` or ``-time``. At most one occurrence is allowed.
Anton Korobeynikove9ffb5b2008-03-23 08:57:20 +0000303
Mikhail Glushenkov8139ba32009-01-28 03:47:20 +0000304 - ``parameter_option`` - option that takes one argument, for example
305 ``-std=c99``. It is also allowed to use spaces instead of the equality
306 sign: ``-std c99``. At most one occurrence is allowed.
Mikhail Glushenkov2e6a8442008-05-06 18:17:19 +0000307
Mikhail Glushenkov8139ba32009-01-28 03:47:20 +0000308 - ``parameter_list_option`` - same as the above, but more than one option
309 occurence is allowed.
Anton Korobeynikove9ffb5b2008-03-23 08:57:20 +0000310
Mikhail Glushenkov8139ba32009-01-28 03:47:20 +0000311 - ``prefix_option`` - same as the parameter_option, but the option name and
312 argument do not have to be separated. Example: ``-ofile``. This can be also
313 specified as ``-o file``; however, ``-o=file`` will be parsed incorrectly
314 (``=file`` will be interpreted as option value). At most one occurrence is
315 allowed.
Anton Korobeynikove9ffb5b2008-03-23 08:57:20 +0000316
Mikhail Glushenkov8139ba32009-01-28 03:47:20 +0000317 - ``prefix_list_option`` - same as the above, but more than one occurence of
318 the option is allowed; example: ``-lm -lpthread``.
Anton Korobeynikove9ffb5b2008-03-23 08:57:20 +0000319
Mikhail Glushenkov8139ba32009-01-28 03:47:20 +0000320 - ``alias_option`` - a special option type for creating aliases. Unlike other
321 option types, aliases are not allowed to have any properties besides the
322 aliased option name. Usage example: ``(alias_option "preprocess", "E")``
Mikhail Glushenkov75ade502008-05-30 06:28:00 +0000323
Mikhail Glushenkov2e6a8442008-05-06 18:17:19 +0000324
Anton Korobeynikove9ffb5b2008-03-23 08:57:20 +0000325* Possible option properties:
Anton Korobeynikove9ffb5b2008-03-23 08:57:20 +0000326
Mikhail Glushenkov8139ba32009-01-28 03:47:20 +0000327 - ``help`` - help string associated with this option. Used for ``--help``
328 output.
Anton Korobeynikove9ffb5b2008-03-23 08:57:20 +0000329
Mikhail Glushenkov8139ba32009-01-28 03:47:20 +0000330 - ``required`` - this option must be specified exactly once (or, in case of
331 the list options without the ``multi_val`` property, at least
332 once). Incompatible with ``zero_or_one`` and ``one_or_more``.
333
334 - ``one_or_more`` - the option must be specified at least one time. Useful
335 only for list options in conjunction with ``multi_val``; for ordinary lists
336 it is synonymous with ``required``. Incompatible with ``required`` and
337 ``zero_or_one``.
338
339 - ``zero_or_one`` - the option can be specified zero or one times. Useful
340 only for list options in conjunction with ``multi_val``. Incompatible with
341 ``required`` and ``one_or_more``.
Mikhail Glushenkov2e6a8442008-05-06 18:17:19 +0000342
Mikhail Glushenkov336ad702009-01-15 02:42:40 +0000343 - ``hidden`` - the description of this option will not appear in
344 the ``--help`` output (but will appear in the ``--help-hidden``
345 output).
Mikhail Glushenkovc9b650d2008-11-28 00:13:25 +0000346
Mikhail Glushenkov336ad702009-01-15 02:42:40 +0000347 - ``really_hidden`` - the option will not be mentioned in any help
Mikhail Glushenkovc9b650d2008-11-28 00:13:25 +0000348 output.
349
Mikhail Glushenkov8139ba32009-01-28 03:47:20 +0000350 - ``multi_val n`` - this option takes *n* arguments (can be useful in some
351 special cases). Usage example: ``(parameter_list_option "foo", (multi_val
352 3))``. Only list options can have this attribute; you can, however, use
353 the ``one_or_more`` and ``zero_or_one`` properties.
354
Mikhail Glushenkov89c18c42009-07-07 16:09:29 +0000355 - ``init`` - this option has a default value, either a string (if it is a
356 parameter), or a boolean (if it is a switch; boolean constants are called
357 ``true`` and ``false``). List options can't have this attribute. Usage
358 examples: ``(switch_option "foo", (init true))``; ``(prefix_option "bar",
359 (init "baz"))``.
360
Mikhail Glushenkov8fdb3172008-12-07 16:47:42 +0000361 - ``extern`` - this option is defined in some other plugin, see below.
Anton Korobeynikove9ffb5b2008-03-23 08:57:20 +0000362
Mikhail Glushenkov8fdb3172008-12-07 16:47:42 +0000363External options
364----------------
Mikhail Glushenkov75ade502008-05-30 06:28:00 +0000365
Mikhail Glushenkov8fdb3172008-12-07 16:47:42 +0000366Sometimes, when linking several plugins together, one plugin needs to
367access options defined in some other plugin. Because of the way
Mikhail Glushenkov336ad702009-01-15 02:42:40 +0000368options are implemented, such options must be marked as
Mikhail Glushenkov8fdb3172008-12-07 16:47:42 +0000369``extern``. This is what the ``extern`` option property is
370for. Example::
Mikhail Glushenkov75ade502008-05-30 06:28:00 +0000371
Mikhail Glushenkov8fdb3172008-12-07 16:47:42 +0000372 ...
373 (switch_option "E", (extern))
374 ...
Mikhail Glushenkov75ade502008-05-30 06:28:00 +0000375
Mikhail Glushenkov647fcbc2009-07-07 16:43:49 +0000376If an external option has additional attributes besides 'extern', they are
377ignored. See also the section on plugin `priorities`__.
Mikhail Glushenkov75ade502008-05-30 06:28:00 +0000378
Mikhail Glushenkov8fdb3172008-12-07 16:47:42 +0000379__ priorities_
Mikhail Glushenkov75ade502008-05-30 06:28:00 +0000380
Mikhail Glushenkov8fdb3172008-12-07 16:47:42 +0000381.. _case:
Mikhail Glushenkovbd51c232008-10-15 09:29:13 +0000382
Mikhail Glushenkov8fdb3172008-12-07 16:47:42 +0000383Conditional evaluation
384======================
Mikhail Glushenkov75ade502008-05-30 06:28:00 +0000385
Mikhail Glushenkov8fdb3172008-12-07 16:47:42 +0000386The 'case' construct is the main means by which programmability is
387achieved in LLVMC. It can be used to calculate edge weights, program
388actions and modify the shell commands to be executed. The 'case'
389expression is designed after the similarly-named construct in
390functional languages and takes the form ``(case (test_1), statement_1,
391(test_2), statement_2, ... (test_N), statement_N)``. The statements
392are evaluated only if the corresponding tests evaluate to true.
Mikhail Glushenkov772d9c92008-05-30 06:25:24 +0000393
394Examples::
395
Mikhail Glushenkov8fdb3172008-12-07 16:47:42 +0000396 // Edge weight calculation
397
Mikhail Glushenkov772d9c92008-05-30 06:25:24 +0000398 // Increases edge weight by 5 if "-A" is provided on the
399 // command-line, and by 5 more if "-B" is also provided.
400 (case
401 (switch_on "A"), (inc_weight 5),
402 (switch_on "B"), (inc_weight 5))
403
Mikhail Glushenkov8fdb3172008-12-07 16:47:42 +0000404
405 // Tool command line specification
406
407 // Evaluates to "cmdline1" if the option "-A" is provided on the
408 // command line; to "cmdline2" if "-B" is provided;
409 // otherwise to "cmdline3".
410
Mikhail Glushenkov772d9c92008-05-30 06:25:24 +0000411 (case
412 (switch_on "A"), "cmdline1",
413 (switch_on "B"), "cmdline2",
414 (default), "cmdline3")
415
416Note the slight difference in 'case' expression handling in contexts
417of edge weights and command line specification - in the second example
418the value of the ``"B"`` switch is never checked when switch ``"A"`` is
419enabled, and the whole expression always evaluates to ``"cmdline1"`` in
420that case.
421
422Case expressions can also be nested, i.e. the following is legal::
423
424 (case (switch_on "E"), (case (switch_on "o"), ..., (default), ...)
425 (default), ...)
426
427You should, however, try to avoid doing that because it hurts
428readability. It is usually better to split tool descriptions and/or
429use TableGen inheritance instead.
430
431* Possible tests are:
432
Mikhail Glushenkov817b2f42008-11-25 21:34:53 +0000433 - ``switch_on`` - Returns true if a given command-line switch is
Mikhail Glushenkov8fdb3172008-12-07 16:47:42 +0000434 provided by the user. Example: ``(switch_on "opt")``.
Mikhail Glushenkov772d9c92008-05-30 06:25:24 +0000435
436 - ``parameter_equals`` - Returns true if a command-line parameter equals
Mikhail Glushenkov8fdb3172008-12-07 16:47:42 +0000437 a given value.
438 Example: ``(parameter_equals "W", "all")``.
Mikhail Glushenkov772d9c92008-05-30 06:25:24 +0000439
Mikhail Glushenkov8fdb3172008-12-07 16:47:42 +0000440 - ``element_in_list`` - Returns true if a command-line parameter
441 list contains a given value.
442 Example: ``(parameter_in_list "l", "pthread")``.
Mikhail Glushenkov772d9c92008-05-30 06:25:24 +0000443
444 - ``input_languages_contain`` - Returns true if a given language
Mikhail Glushenkov8fdb3172008-12-07 16:47:42 +0000445 belongs to the current input language set.
446 Example: ``(input_languages_contain "c++")``.
Mikhail Glushenkov772d9c92008-05-30 06:25:24 +0000447
Mikhail Glushenkov8fdb3172008-12-07 16:47:42 +0000448 - ``in_language`` - Evaluates to true if the input file language
449 equals to the argument. At the moment works only with ``cmd_line``
450 and ``actions`` (on non-join nodes).
451 Example: ``(in_language "c++")``.
Mikhail Glushenkov772d9c92008-05-30 06:25:24 +0000452
453 - ``not_empty`` - Returns true if a given option (which should be
454 either a parameter or a parameter list) is set by the
Mikhail Glushenkov8fdb3172008-12-07 16:47:42 +0000455 user.
456 Example: ``(not_empty "o")``.
Mikhail Glushenkov772d9c92008-05-30 06:25:24 +0000457
Mikhail Glushenkov43dc4ca2008-12-17 02:47:01 +0000458 - ``empty`` - The opposite of ``not_empty``. Equivalent to ``(not (not_empty
459 X))``. Provided for convenience.
460
Mikhail Glushenkov772d9c92008-05-30 06:25:24 +0000461 - ``default`` - Always evaluates to true. Should always be the last
462 test in the ``case`` expression.
463
464 - ``and`` - A standard logical combinator that returns true iff all
465 of its arguments return true. Used like this: ``(and (test1),
466 (test2), ... (testN))``. Nesting of ``and`` and ``or`` is allowed,
467 but not encouraged.
468
469 - ``or`` - Another logical combinator that returns true only if any
470 one of its arguments returns true. Example: ``(or (test1),
471 (test2), ... (testN))``.
472
Mikhail Glushenkov1ce87222008-05-30 06:14:42 +0000473
Mikhail Glushenkov8fdb3172008-12-07 16:47:42 +0000474Writing a tool description
475==========================
476
477As was said earlier, nodes in the compilation graph represent tools,
478which are described separately. A tool definition looks like this
479(taken from the ``include/llvm/CompilerDriver/Tools.td`` file)::
480
481 def llvm_gcc_cpp : Tool<[
482 (in_language "c++"),
483 (out_language "llvm-assembler"),
484 (output_suffix "bc"),
485 (cmd_line "llvm-g++ -c $INFILE -o $OUTFILE -emit-llvm"),
486 (sink)
487 ]>;
488
489This defines a new tool called ``llvm_gcc_cpp``, which is an alias for
490``llvm-g++``. As you can see, a tool definition is just a list of
491properties; most of them should be self-explanatory. The ``sink``
492property means that this tool should be passed all command-line
493options that aren't mentioned in the option list.
494
495The complete list of all currently implemented tool properties follows.
496
497* Possible tool properties:
498
499 - ``in_language`` - input language name. Can be either a string or a
500 list, in case the tool supports multiple input languages.
501
502 - ``out_language`` - output language name. Tools are not allowed to
503 have multiple output languages.
504
505 - ``output_suffix`` - output file suffix. Can also be changed
506 dynamically, see documentation on actions.
507
508 - ``cmd_line`` - the actual command used to run the tool. You can
509 use ``$INFILE`` and ``$OUTFILE`` variables, output redirection
510 with ``>``, hook invocations (``$CALL``), environment variables
511 (via ``$ENV``) and the ``case`` construct.
512
513 - ``join`` - this tool is a "join node" in the graph, i.e. it gets a
514 list of input files and joins them together. Used for linkers.
515
516 - ``sink`` - all command-line options that are not handled by other
517 tools are passed to this tool.
518
519 - ``actions`` - A single big ``case`` expression that specifies how
520 this tool reacts on command-line options (described in more detail
521 below).
522
523Actions
524-------
525
526A tool often needs to react to command-line options, and this is
527precisely what the ``actions`` property is for. The next example
528illustrates this feature::
529
530 def llvm_gcc_linker : Tool<[
531 (in_language "object-code"),
532 (out_language "executable"),
533 (output_suffix "out"),
534 (cmd_line "llvm-gcc $INFILE -o $OUTFILE"),
535 (join),
536 (actions (case (not_empty "L"), (forward "L"),
537 (not_empty "l"), (forward "l"),
538 (not_empty "dummy"),
539 [(append_cmd "-dummy1"), (append_cmd "-dummy2")])
540 ]>;
541
542The ``actions`` tool property is implemented on top of the omnipresent
543``case`` expression. It associates one or more different *actions*
544with given conditions - in the example, the actions are ``forward``,
545which forwards a given option unchanged, and ``append_cmd``, which
546appends a given string to the tool execution command. Multiple actions
547can be associated with a single condition by using a list of actions
548(used in the example to append some dummy options). The same ``case``
549construct can also be used in the ``cmd_line`` property to modify the
550tool command line.
551
552The "join" property used in the example means that this tool behaves
553like a linker.
554
555The list of all possible actions follows.
556
557* Possible actions:
558
559 - ``append_cmd`` - append a string to the tool invocation
560 command.
Mikhail Glushenkov43dc4ca2008-12-17 02:47:01 +0000561 Example: ``(case (switch_on "pthread"), (append_cmd
562 "-lpthread"))``
563
564 - ``error` - exit with error.
565 Example: ``(error "Mixing -c and -S is not allowed!")``.
Mikhail Glushenkov8fdb3172008-12-07 16:47:42 +0000566
567 - ``forward`` - forward an option unchanged.
568 Example: ``(forward "Wall")``.
569
570 - ``forward_as`` - Change the name of an option, but forward the
571 argument unchanged.
Mikhail Glushenkov09699552009-05-06 01:41:19 +0000572 Example: ``(forward_as "O0", "--disable-optimization")``.
Mikhail Glushenkov8fdb3172008-12-07 16:47:42 +0000573
574 - ``output_suffix`` - modify the output suffix of this
575 tool.
576 Example: ``(output_suffix "i")``.
577
578 - ``stop_compilation`` - stop compilation after this tool processes
579 its input. Used without arguments.
580
581 - ``unpack_values`` - used for for splitting and forwarding
582 comma-separated lists of options, e.g. ``-Wa,-foo=bar,-baz`` is
583 converted to ``-foo=bar -baz`` and appended to the tool invocation
584 command.
585 Example: ``(unpack_values "Wa,")``.
586
Anton Korobeynikove9ffb5b2008-03-23 08:57:20 +0000587Language map
Mikhail Glushenkov772d9c92008-05-30 06:25:24 +0000588============
Anton Korobeynikove9ffb5b2008-03-23 08:57:20 +0000589
Mikhail Glushenkov8fdb3172008-12-07 16:47:42 +0000590If you are adding support for a new language to LLVMC, you'll need to
591modify the language map, which defines mappings from file extensions
592to language names. It is used to choose the proper toolchain(s) for a
593given input file set. Language map definition looks like this::
Anton Korobeynikove9ffb5b2008-03-23 08:57:20 +0000594
595 def LanguageMap : LanguageMap<
596 [LangToSuffixes<"c++", ["cc", "cp", "cxx", "cpp", "CPP", "c++", "C"]>,
597 LangToSuffixes<"c", ["c"]>,
598 ...
599 ]>;
600
Mikhail Glushenkov8fdb3172008-12-07 16:47:42 +0000601For example, without those definitions the following command wouldn't work::
602
603 $ llvmc hello.cpp
604 llvmc: Unknown suffix: cpp
605
606The language map entries should be added only for tools that are
607linked with the root node. Since tools are not allowed to have
608multiple output languages, for nodes "inside" the graph the input and
609output languages should match. This is enforced at compile-time.
610
611
612More advanced topics
613====================
614
615.. _hooks:
616
617Hooks and environment variables
618-------------------------------
619
620Normally, LLVMC executes programs from the system ``PATH``. Sometimes,
Mikhail Glushenkovab0f3cb2009-01-21 13:04:00 +0000621this is not sufficient: for example, we may want to specify tool paths
622or names in the configuration file. This can be easily achieved via
623the hooks mechanism. To write your own hooks, just add their
624definitions to the ``PluginMain.cpp`` or drop a ``.cpp`` file into the
625your plugin directory. Hooks should live in the ``hooks`` namespace
Mikhail Glushenkoved765fe2009-01-21 13:04:33 +0000626and have the signature ``std::string hooks::MyHookName ([const char*
Mikhail Glushenkovab0f3cb2009-01-21 13:04:00 +0000627Arg0 [ const char* Arg2 [, ...]]])``. They can be used from the
628``cmd_line`` tool property::
Mikhail Glushenkov8fdb3172008-12-07 16:47:42 +0000629
630 (cmd_line "$CALL(MyHook)/path/to/file -o $CALL(AnotherHook)")
631
Mikhail Glushenkovab0f3cb2009-01-21 13:04:00 +0000632To pass arguments to hooks, use the following syntax::
633
634 (cmd_line "$CALL(MyHook, 'Arg1', 'Arg2', 'Arg # 3')/path/to/file -o1 -o2")
635
Mikhail Glushenkov8fdb3172008-12-07 16:47:42 +0000636It is also possible to use environment variables in the same manner::
637
638 (cmd_line "$ENV(VAR1)/path/to/file -o $ENV(VAR2)")
639
640To change the command line string based on user-provided options use
641the ``case`` expression (documented `above`__)::
642
643 (cmd_line
644 (case
645 (switch_on "E"),
646 "llvm-g++ -E -x c $INFILE -o $OUTFILE",
647 (default),
648 "llvm-g++ -c -x c $INFILE -o $OUTFILE -emit-llvm"))
649
650__ case_
651
652.. _priorities:
653
654How plugins are loaded
655----------------------
656
657It is possible for LLVMC plugins to depend on each other. For example,
658one can create edges between nodes defined in some other plugin. To
659make this work, however, that plugin should be loaded first. To
660achieve this, the concept of plugin priority was introduced. By
661default, every plugin has priority zero; to specify the priority
662explicitly, put the following line in your plugin's TableGen file::
663
664 def Priority : PluginPriority<$PRIORITY_VALUE>;
665 # Where PRIORITY_VALUE is some integer > 0
666
667Plugins are loaded in order of their (increasing) priority, starting
668with 0. Therefore, the plugin with the highest priority value will be
669loaded last.
670
Mikhail Glushenkovf74495a2008-09-22 20:48:48 +0000671Debugging
Mikhail Glushenkov8fdb3172008-12-07 16:47:42 +0000672---------
Mikhail Glushenkovf74495a2008-09-22 20:48:48 +0000673
674When writing LLVMC plugins, it can be useful to get a visual view of
675the resulting compilation graph. This can be achieved via the command
Mikhail Glushenkov6d1e9282008-12-13 02:28:58 +0000676line option ``--view-graph``. This command assumes that Graphviz_ and
Mikhail Glushenkove68a0052009-03-27 12:58:29 +0000677Ghostview_ are installed. There is also a ``--write-graph`` option that
Mikhail Glushenkov6d1e9282008-12-13 02:28:58 +0000678creates a Graphviz source file (``compilation-graph.dot``) in the
Mikhail Glushenkovf74495a2008-09-22 20:48:48 +0000679current directory.
680
Mikhail Glushenkov336ad702009-01-15 02:42:40 +0000681Another useful ``llvmc`` option is ``--check-graph``. It checks the
682compilation graph for common errors like mismatched output/input
683language names, multiple default edges and cycles. These checks can't
684be performed at compile-time because the plugins can load code
685dynamically. When invoked with ``--check-graph``, ``llvmc`` doesn't
686perform any compilation tasks and returns the number of encountered
687errors as its status code.
Mikhail Glushenkovf300a822009-01-09 16:16:27 +0000688
Mikhail Glushenkov6d1e9282008-12-13 02:28:58 +0000689.. _Graphviz: http://www.graphviz.org/
690.. _Ghostview: http://pages.cs.wisc.edu/~ghost/
Mikhail Glushenkovac251f22008-12-11 23:24:40 +0000691
Mikhail Glushenkova80a3872009-06-30 00:16:00 +0000692Conditioning on the executable name
693-----------------------------------
694
695For now, the executable name (the value passed to the driver in ``argv[0]``) is
696accessible only in the C++ code (i.e. hooks). Use the following code::
697
698 namespace llvmc {
699 extern const char* ProgramName;
700 }
701
702 std::string MyHook() {
703 //...
704 if (strcmp(ProgramName, "mydriver") == 0) {
705 //...
706
707 }
708
709In general, you're encouraged not to make the behaviour dependent on the
710executable file name, and use command-line switches instead. See for example how
711the ``Base`` plugin behaves when it needs to choose the correct linker options
712(think ``g++`` vs. ``gcc``).
713
Mikhail Glushenkovac251f22008-12-11 23:24:40 +0000714.. raw:: html
Mikhail Glushenkov6d1e9282008-12-13 02:28:58 +0000715
716 <hr />
717 <address>
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723 alt="Valid XHTML 1.0 Transitional"/></a>
724
725 <a href="mailto:foldr@codedgers.com">Mikhail Glushenkov</a><br />
726 <a href="http://llvm.org">LLVM Compiler Infrastructure</a><br />
727
728 Last modified: $Date: 2008-12-11 11:34:48 -0600 (Thu, 11 Dec 2008) $
729 </address>