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Dmitri Gribenko6ac1de42012-11-22 11:56:02 +00001================================
2Source Level Debugging with LLVM
3================================
4
Dmitri Gribenko6ac1de42012-11-22 11:56:02 +00005.. contents::
6 :local:
7
8Introduction
9============
10
11This document is the central repository for all information pertaining to debug
12information in LLVM. It describes the :ref:`actual format that the LLVM debug
13information takes <format>`, which is useful for those interested in creating
14front-ends or dealing directly with the information. Further, this document
15provides specific examples of what debug information for C/C++ looks like.
16
17Philosophy behind LLVM debugging information
18--------------------------------------------
19
20The idea of the LLVM debugging information is to capture how the important
21pieces of the source-language's Abstract Syntax Tree map onto LLVM code.
22Several design aspects have shaped the solution that appears here. The
23important ones are:
24
25* Debugging information should have very little impact on the rest of the
26 compiler. No transformations, analyses, or code generators should need to
27 be modified because of debugging information.
28
29* LLVM optimizations should interact in :ref:`well-defined and easily described
30 ways <intro_debugopt>` with the debugging information.
31
32* Because LLVM is designed to support arbitrary programming languages,
33 LLVM-to-LLVM tools should not need to know anything about the semantics of
34 the source-level-language.
35
36* Source-level languages are often **widely** different from one another.
37 LLVM should not put any restrictions of the flavor of the source-language,
38 and the debugging information should work with any language.
39
40* With code generator support, it should be possible to use an LLVM compiler
41 to compile a program to native machine code and standard debugging
42 formats. This allows compatibility with traditional machine-code level
43 debuggers, like GDB or DBX.
44
45The approach used by the LLVM implementation is to use a small set of
46:ref:`intrinsic functions <format_common_intrinsics>` to define a mapping
47between LLVM program objects and the source-level objects. The description of
48the source-level program is maintained in LLVM metadata in an
49:ref:`implementation-defined format <ccxx_frontend>` (the C/C++ front-end
50currently uses working draft 7 of the `DWARF 3 standard
51<http://www.eagercon.com/dwarf/dwarf3std.htm>`_).
52
53When a program is being debugged, a debugger interacts with the user and turns
54the stored debug information into source-language specific information. As
55such, a debugger must be aware of the source-language, and is thus tied to a
56specific language or family of languages.
57
58Debug information consumers
59---------------------------
60
61The role of debug information is to provide meta information normally stripped
62away during the compilation process. This meta information provides an LLVM
63user a relationship between generated code and the original program source
64code.
65
66Currently, debug information is consumed by DwarfDebug to produce dwarf
67information used by the gdb debugger. Other targets could use the same
68information to produce stabs or other debug forms.
69
70It would also be reasonable to use debug information to feed profiling tools
71for analysis of generated code, or, tools for reconstructing the original
72source from generated code.
73
74TODO - expound a bit more.
75
76.. _intro_debugopt:
77
78Debugging optimized code
79------------------------
80
81An extremely high priority of LLVM debugging information is to make it interact
82well with optimizations and analysis. In particular, the LLVM debug
83information provides the following guarantees:
84
85* LLVM debug information **always provides information to accurately read
86 the source-level state of the program**, regardless of which LLVM
87 optimizations have been run, and without any modification to the
88 optimizations themselves. However, some optimizations may impact the
89 ability to modify the current state of the program with a debugger, such
90 as setting program variables, or calling functions that have been
91 deleted.
92
93* As desired, LLVM optimizations can be upgraded to be aware of the LLVM
94 debugging information, allowing them to update the debugging information
95 as they perform aggressive optimizations. This means that, with effort,
96 the LLVM optimizers could optimize debug code just as well as non-debug
97 code.
98
99* LLVM debug information does not prevent optimizations from
100 happening (for example inlining, basic block reordering/merging/cleanup,
101 tail duplication, etc).
102
103* LLVM debug information is automatically optimized along with the rest of
104 the program, using existing facilities. For example, duplicate
105 information is automatically merged by the linker, and unused information
106 is automatically removed.
107
108Basically, the debug information allows you to compile a program with
109"``-O0 -g``" and get full debug information, allowing you to arbitrarily modify
110the program as it executes from a debugger. Compiling a program with
111"``-O3 -g``" gives you full debug information that is always available and
112accurate for reading (e.g., you get accurate stack traces despite tail call
113elimination and inlining), but you might lose the ability to modify the program
114and call functions where were optimized out of the program, or inlined away
115completely.
116
117:ref:`LLVM test suite <test-suite-quickstart>` provides a framework to test
118optimizer's handling of debugging information. It can be run like this:
119
120.. code-block:: bash
121
122 % cd llvm/projects/test-suite/MultiSource/Benchmarks # or some other level
123 % make TEST=dbgopt
124
125This will test impact of debugging information on optimization passes. If
126debugging information influences optimization passes then it will be reported
127as a failure. See :doc:`TestingGuide` for more information on LLVM test
128infrastructure and how to run various tests.
129
130.. _format:
131
132Debugging information format
133============================
134
135LLVM debugging information has been carefully designed to make it possible for
136the optimizer to optimize the program and debugging information without
137necessarily having to know anything about debugging information. In
138particular, the use of metadata avoids duplicated debugging information from
139the beginning, and the global dead code elimination pass automatically deletes
140debugging information for a function if it decides to delete the function.
141
142To do this, most of the debugging information (descriptors for types,
143variables, functions, source files, etc) is inserted by the language front-end
144in the form of LLVM metadata.
145
146Debug information is designed to be agnostic about the target debugger and
147debugging information representation (e.g. DWARF/Stabs/etc). It uses a generic
148pass to decode the information that represents variables, types, functions,
149namespaces, etc: this allows for arbitrary source-language semantics and
150type-systems to be used, as long as there is a module written for the target
151debugger to interpret the information.
152
153To provide basic functionality, the LLVM debugger does have to make some
154assumptions about the source-level language being debugged, though it keeps
155these to a minimum. The only common features that the LLVM debugger assumes
Michael Kuperstein605308a2015-05-14 10:58:59 +0000156exist are `source files <LangRef.html#difile>`_, and `program objects
157<LangRef.html#diglobalvariable>`_. These abstract objects are used by a
Duncan P. N. Exon Smithd937cd92015-03-17 23:41:05 +0000158debugger to form stack traces, show information about local variables, etc.
Dmitri Gribenko6ac1de42012-11-22 11:56:02 +0000159
160This section of the documentation first describes the representation aspects
161common to any source-language. :ref:`ccxx_frontend` describes the data layout
162conventions used by the C and C++ front-ends.
163
Duncan P. N. Exon Smithd937cd92015-03-17 23:41:05 +0000164Debug information descriptors are `specialized metadata nodes
165<LangRef.html#specialized-metadata>`_, first-class subclasses of ``Metadata``.
Adrian Prantlb1416832014-08-01 22:11:58 +0000166
Dmitri Gribenko6ac1de42012-11-22 11:56:02 +0000167.. _format_common_intrinsics:
168
169Debugger intrinsic functions
Duncan P. N. Exon Smithd937cd92015-03-17 23:41:05 +0000170----------------------------
Dmitri Gribenko6ac1de42012-11-22 11:56:02 +0000171
172LLVM uses several intrinsic functions (name prefixed with "``llvm.dbg``") to
173provide debug information at various points in generated code.
174
175``llvm.dbg.declare``
176^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
177
178.. code-block:: llvm
179
Michael Kuperstein605308a2015-05-14 10:58:59 +0000180 void @llvm.dbg.declare(metadata, metadata, metadata)
Dmitri Gribenko6ac1de42012-11-22 11:56:02 +0000181
182This intrinsic provides information about a local element (e.g., variable).
183The first argument is metadata holding the alloca for the variable. The second
Michael Kuperstein605308a2015-05-14 10:58:59 +0000184argument is a `local variable <LangRef.html#dilocalvariable>`_ containing a
Duncan P. N. Exon Smithd937cd92015-03-17 23:41:05 +0000185description of the variable. The third argument is a `complex expression
Michael Kuperstein605308a2015-05-14 10:58:59 +0000186<LangRef.html#diexpression>`_.
Dmitri Gribenko6ac1de42012-11-22 11:56:02 +0000187
188``llvm.dbg.value``
189^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
190
191.. code-block:: llvm
192
Michael Kuperstein605308a2015-05-14 10:58:59 +0000193 void @llvm.dbg.value(metadata, i64, metadata, metadata)
Dmitri Gribenko6ac1de42012-11-22 11:56:02 +0000194
195This intrinsic provides information when a user source variable is set to a new
196value. The first argument is the new value (wrapped as metadata). The second
197argument is the offset in the user source variable where the new value is
Duncan P. N. Exon Smithd937cd92015-03-17 23:41:05 +0000198written. The third argument is a `local variable
Michael Kuperstein605308a2015-05-14 10:58:59 +0000199<LangRef.html#dilocalvariable>`_ containing a description of the variable. The
200third argument is a `complex expression <LangRef.html#diexpression>`_.
Dmitri Gribenko6ac1de42012-11-22 11:56:02 +0000201
202Object lifetimes and scoping
203============================
204
205In many languages, the local variables in functions can have their lifetimes or
206scopes limited to a subset of a function. In the C family of languages, for
207example, variables are only live (readable and writable) within the source
208block that they are defined in. In functional languages, values are only
209readable after they have been defined. Though this is a very obvious concept,
210it is non-trivial to model in LLVM, because it has no notion of scoping in this
211sense, and does not want to be tied to a language's scoping rules.
212
213In order to handle this, the LLVM debug format uses the metadata attached to
214llvm instructions to encode line number and scoping information. Consider the
215following C fragment, for example:
216
217.. code-block:: c
218
219 1. void foo() {
220 2. int X = 21;
221 3. int Y = 22;
222 4. {
223 5. int Z = 23;
224 6. Z = X;
225 7. }
226 8. X = Y;
227 9. }
228
229Compiled to LLVM, this function would be represented like this:
230
231.. code-block:: llvm
232
Duncan P. N. Exon Smithd937cd92015-03-17 23:41:05 +0000233 ; Function Attrs: nounwind ssp uwtable
Bill Wendlinge814a372013-10-27 04:50:34 +0000234 define void @foo() #0 {
Dmitri Gribenko6ac1de42012-11-22 11:56:02 +0000235 entry:
Duncan P. N. Exon Smithd937cd92015-03-17 23:41:05 +0000236 %X = alloca i32, align 4
Bill Wendlinge814a372013-10-27 04:50:34 +0000237 %Y = alloca i32, align 4
238 %Z = alloca i32, align 4
Duncan P. N. Exon Smithd937cd92015-03-17 23:41:05 +0000239 call void @llvm.dbg.declare(metadata i32* %X, metadata !11, metadata !13), !dbg !14
240 store i32 21, i32* %X, align 4, !dbg !14
241 call void @llvm.dbg.declare(metadata i32* %Y, metadata !15, metadata !13), !dbg !16
242 store i32 22, i32* %Y, align 4, !dbg !16
243 call void @llvm.dbg.declare(metadata i32* %Z, metadata !17, metadata !13), !dbg !19
244 store i32 23, i32* %Z, align 4, !dbg !19
245 %0 = load i32, i32* %X, align 4, !dbg !20
246 store i32 %0, i32* %Z, align 4, !dbg !21
247 %1 = load i32, i32* %Y, align 4, !dbg !22
248 store i32 %1, i32* %X, align 4, !dbg !23
249 ret void, !dbg !24
Dmitri Gribenko6ac1de42012-11-22 11:56:02 +0000250 }
251
David Blaikiec4fe5db2013-05-29 02:05:13 +0000252 ; Function Attrs: nounwind readnone
Duncan P. N. Exon Smithd937cd92015-03-17 23:41:05 +0000253 declare void @llvm.dbg.declare(metadata, metadata, metadata) #1
Dmitri Gribenko6ac1de42012-11-22 11:56:02 +0000254
Duncan P. N. Exon Smithd937cd92015-03-17 23:41:05 +0000255 attributes #0 = { nounwind ssp uwtable "less-precise-fpmad"="false" "no-frame-pointer-elim"="true" "no-frame-pointer-elim-non-leaf" "no-infs-fp-math"="false" "no-nans-fp-math"="false" "stack-protector-buffer-size"="8" "unsafe-fp-math"="false" "use-soft-float"="false" }
David Blaikiec4fe5db2013-05-29 02:05:13 +0000256 attributes #1 = { nounwind readnone }
257
258 !llvm.dbg.cu = !{!0}
Duncan P. N. Exon Smithd937cd92015-03-17 23:41:05 +0000259 !llvm.module.flags = !{!7, !8, !9}
260 !llvm.ident = !{!10}
Bill Wendlinge814a372013-10-27 04:50:34 +0000261
Duncan P. N. Exon Smitha9308c42015-04-29 16:38:44 +0000262 !0 = !DICompileUnit(language: DW_LANG_C99, file: !1, producer: "clang version 3.7.0 (trunk 231150) (llvm/trunk 231154)", isOptimized: false, runtimeVersion: 0, emissionKind: 1, enums: !2, retainedTypes: !2, subprograms: !3, globals: !2, imports: !2)
263 !1 = !DIFile(filename: "/dev/stdin", directory: "/Users/dexonsmith/data/llvm/debug-info")
Duncan P. N. Exon Smithd937cd92015-03-17 23:41:05 +0000264 !2 = !{}
265 !3 = !{!4}
Duncan P. N. Exon Smitha9308c42015-04-29 16:38:44 +0000266 !4 = !DISubprogram(name: "foo", scope: !1, file: !1, line: 1, type: !5, isLocal: false, isDefinition: true, scopeLine: 1, isOptimized: false, function: void ()* @foo, variables: !2)
267 !5 = !DISubroutineType(types: !6)
Duncan P. N. Exon Smithd937cd92015-03-17 23:41:05 +0000268 !6 = !{null}
269 !7 = !{i32 2, !"Dwarf Version", i32 2}
270 !8 = !{i32 2, !"Debug Info Version", i32 3}
271 !9 = !{i32 1, !"PIC Level", i32 2}
272 !10 = !{!"clang version 3.7.0 (trunk 231150) (llvm/trunk 231154)"}
Duncan P. N. Exon Smitha9308c42015-04-29 16:38:44 +0000273 !11 = !DILocalVariable(tag: DW_TAG_auto_variable, name: "X", scope: !4, file: !1, line: 2, type: !12)
274 !12 = !DIBasicType(name: "int", size: 32, align: 32, encoding: DW_ATE_signed)
275 !13 = !DIExpression()
276 !14 = !DILocation(line: 2, column: 9, scope: !4)
277 !15 = !DILocalVariable(tag: DW_TAG_auto_variable, name: "Y", scope: !4, file: !1, line: 3, type: !12)
278 !16 = !DILocation(line: 3, column: 9, scope: !4)
279 !17 = !DILocalVariable(tag: DW_TAG_auto_variable, name: "Z", scope: !18, file: !1, line: 5, type: !12)
280 !18 = distinct !DILexicalBlock(scope: !4, file: !1, line: 4, column: 5)
281 !19 = !DILocation(line: 5, column: 11, scope: !18)
282 !20 = !DILocation(line: 6, column: 11, scope: !18)
283 !21 = !DILocation(line: 6, column: 9, scope: !18)
284 !22 = !DILocation(line: 8, column: 9, scope: !4)
285 !23 = !DILocation(line: 8, column: 7, scope: !4)
286 !24 = !DILocation(line: 9, column: 3, scope: !4)
Duncan P. N. Exon Smithd937cd92015-03-17 23:41:05 +0000287
Dmitri Gribenko6ac1de42012-11-22 11:56:02 +0000288
289This example illustrates a few important details about LLVM debugging
290information. In particular, it shows how the ``llvm.dbg.declare`` intrinsic and
291location information, which are attached to an instruction, are applied
292together to allow a debugger to analyze the relationship between statements,
293variable definitions, and the code used to implement the function.
294
295.. code-block:: llvm
296
Duncan P. N. Exon Smithd937cd92015-03-17 23:41:05 +0000297 call void @llvm.dbg.declare(metadata i32* %X, metadata !11, metadata !13), !dbg !14
David Blaikiec4fe5db2013-05-29 02:05:13 +0000298 ; [debug line = 2:7] [debug variable = X]
Dmitri Gribenko6ac1de42012-11-22 11:56:02 +0000299
300The first intrinsic ``%llvm.dbg.declare`` encodes debugging information for the
Duncan P. N. Exon Smithd937cd92015-03-17 23:41:05 +0000301variable ``X``. The metadata ``!dbg !14`` attached to the intrinsic provides
Dmitri Gribenko6ac1de42012-11-22 11:56:02 +0000302scope information for the variable ``X``.
303
304.. code-block:: llvm
305
Duncan P. N. Exon Smitha9308c42015-04-29 16:38:44 +0000306 !14 = !DILocation(line: 2, column: 9, scope: !4)
307 !4 = !DISubprogram(name: "foo", scope: !1, file: !1, line: 1, type: !5,
Duncan P. N. Exon Smithd937cd92015-03-17 23:41:05 +0000308 isLocal: false, isDefinition: true, scopeLine: 1,
309 isOptimized: false, function: void ()* @foo,
310 variables: !2)
Dmitri Gribenko6ac1de42012-11-22 11:56:02 +0000311
Duncan P. N. Exon Smithd937cd92015-03-17 23:41:05 +0000312Here ``!14`` is metadata providing `location information
Michael Kuperstein605308a2015-05-14 10:58:59 +0000313<LangRef.html#dilocation>`_. In this example, scope is encoded by ``!4``, a
314`subprogram descriptor <LangRef.html#disubprogram>`_. This way the location
Dmitri Gribenko6ac1de42012-11-22 11:56:02 +0000315information attached to the intrinsics indicates that the variable ``X`` is
316declared at line number 2 at a function level scope in function ``foo``.
317
318Now lets take another example.
319
320.. code-block:: llvm
321
Duncan P. N. Exon Smithd937cd92015-03-17 23:41:05 +0000322 call void @llvm.dbg.declare(metadata i32* %Z, metadata !17, metadata !13), !dbg !19
David Blaikiec4fe5db2013-05-29 02:05:13 +0000323 ; [debug line = 5:9] [debug variable = Z]
Dmitri Gribenko6ac1de42012-11-22 11:56:02 +0000324
David Blaikiec4fe5db2013-05-29 02:05:13 +0000325The third intrinsic ``%llvm.dbg.declare`` encodes debugging information for
Duncan P. N. Exon Smithd937cd92015-03-17 23:41:05 +0000326variable ``Z``. The metadata ``!dbg !19`` attached to the intrinsic provides
Dmitri Gribenko6ac1de42012-11-22 11:56:02 +0000327scope information for the variable ``Z``.
328
329.. code-block:: llvm
330
Duncan P. N. Exon Smitha9308c42015-04-29 16:38:44 +0000331 !18 = distinct !DILexicalBlock(scope: !4, file: !1, line: 4, column: 5)
332 !19 = !DILocation(line: 5, column: 11, scope: !18)
Dmitri Gribenko6ac1de42012-11-22 11:56:02 +0000333
Duncan P. N. Exon Smithd937cd92015-03-17 23:41:05 +0000334Here ``!19`` indicates that ``Z`` is declared at line number 5 and column
335number 0 inside of lexical scope ``!18``. The lexical scope itself resides
336inside of subprogram ``!4`` described above.
Dmitri Gribenko6ac1de42012-11-22 11:56:02 +0000337
338The scope information attached with each instruction provides a straightforward
339way to find instructions covered by a scope.
340
341.. _ccxx_frontend:
342
343C/C++ front-end specific debug information
344==========================================
345
346The C and C++ front-ends represent information about the program in a format
347that is effectively identical to `DWARF 3.0
348<http://www.eagercon.com/dwarf/dwarf3std.htm>`_ in terms of information
349content. This allows code generators to trivially support native debuggers by
350generating standard dwarf information, and contains enough information for
351non-dwarf targets to translate it as needed.
352
353This section describes the forms used to represent C and C++ programs. Other
354languages could pattern themselves after this (which itself is tuned to
355representing programs in the same way that DWARF 3 does), or they could choose
356to provide completely different forms if they don't fit into the DWARF model.
357As support for debugging information gets added to the various LLVM
358source-language front-ends, the information used should be documented here.
359
Duncan P. N. Exon Smith936675e2014-10-04 14:56:56 +0000360The following sections provide examples of a few C/C++ constructs and the debug
361information that would best describe those constructs. The canonical
362references are the ``DIDescriptor`` classes defined in
363``include/llvm/IR/DebugInfo.h`` and the implementations of the helper functions
364in ``lib/IR/DIBuilder.cpp``.
Dmitri Gribenko6ac1de42012-11-22 11:56:02 +0000365
366C/C++ source file information
367-----------------------------
368
Dmitri Gribenko6ac1de42012-11-22 11:56:02 +0000369``llvm::Instruction`` provides easy access to metadata attached with an
370instruction. One can extract line number information encoded in LLVM IR using
371``Instruction::getMetadata()`` and ``DILocation::getLineNumber()``.
372
373.. code-block:: c++
374
375 if (MDNode *N = I->getMetadata("dbg")) { // Here I is an LLVM instruction
376 DILocation Loc(N); // DILocation is in DebugInfo.h
377 unsigned Line = Loc.getLineNumber();
378 StringRef File = Loc.getFilename();
379 StringRef Dir = Loc.getDirectory();
380 }
381
382C/C++ global variable information
383---------------------------------
384
385Given an integer global variable declared as follows:
386
387.. code-block:: c
388
389 int MyGlobal = 100;
390
391a C/C++ front-end would generate the following descriptors:
392
393.. code-block:: llvm
394
395 ;;
396 ;; Define the global itself.
397 ;;
Duncan P. N. Exon Smith985e1b92014-10-04 15:44:01 +0000398 @MyGlobal = global i32 100, align 4
Duncan P. N. Exon Smithd937cd92015-03-17 23:41:05 +0000399
Dmitri Gribenko6ac1de42012-11-22 11:56:02 +0000400 ;;
401 ;; List of debug info of globals
402 ;;
403 !llvm.dbg.cu = !{!0}
404
Duncan P. N. Exon Smithd937cd92015-03-17 23:41:05 +0000405 ;; Some unrelated metadata.
406 !llvm.module.flags = !{!6, !7}
407
Dmitri Gribenko6ac1de42012-11-22 11:56:02 +0000408 ;; Define the compile unit.
Duncan P. N. Exon Smitha9308c42015-04-29 16:38:44 +0000409 !0 = !DICompileUnit(language: DW_LANG_C99, file: !1,
Duncan P. N. Exon Smithd937cd92015-03-17 23:41:05 +0000410 producer:
411 "clang version 3.7.0 (trunk 231150) (llvm/trunk 231154)",
412 isOptimized: false, runtimeVersion: 0, emissionKind: 1,
413 enums: !2, retainedTypes: !2, subprograms: !2, globals:
414 !3, imports: !2)
Dmitri Gribenko6ac1de42012-11-22 11:56:02 +0000415
416 ;;
417 ;; Define the file
418 ;;
Duncan P. N. Exon Smitha9308c42015-04-29 16:38:44 +0000419 !1 = !DIFile(filename: "/dev/stdin",
Duncan P. N. Exon Smithd937cd92015-03-17 23:41:05 +0000420 directory: "/Users/dexonsmith/data/llvm/debug-info")
421
422 ;; An empty array.
423 !2 = !{}
424
425 ;; The Array of Global Variables
426 !3 = !{!4}
427
428 ;;
429 ;; Define the global variable itself.
430 ;;
Duncan P. N. Exon Smitha9308c42015-04-29 16:38:44 +0000431 !4 = !DIGlobalVariable(name: "MyGlobal", scope: !0, file: !1, line: 1,
Duncan P. N. Exon Smithd937cd92015-03-17 23:41:05 +0000432 type: !5, isLocal: false, isDefinition: true,
433 variable: i32* @MyGlobal)
Dmitri Gribenko6ac1de42012-11-22 11:56:02 +0000434
435 ;;
436 ;; Define the type
437 ;;
Duncan P. N. Exon Smitha9308c42015-04-29 16:38:44 +0000438 !5 = !DIBasicType(name: "int", size: 32, align: 32, encoding: DW_ATE_signed)
Duncan P. N. Exon Smithd937cd92015-03-17 23:41:05 +0000439
440 ;; Dwarf version to output.
441 !6 = !{i32 2, !"Dwarf Version", i32 2}
442
443 ;; Debug info schema version.
444 !7 = !{i32 2, !"Debug Info Version", i32 3}
Dmitri Gribenko6ac1de42012-11-22 11:56:02 +0000445
446C/C++ function information
447--------------------------
448
449Given a function declared as follows:
450
451.. code-block:: c
452
453 int main(int argc, char *argv[]) {
454 return 0;
455 }
456
457a C/C++ front-end would generate the following descriptors:
458
459.. code-block:: llvm
460
461 ;;
David Blaikiec4fe5db2013-05-29 02:05:13 +0000462 ;; Define the anchor for subprograms.
Dmitri Gribenko6ac1de42012-11-22 11:56:02 +0000463 ;;
Duncan P. N. Exon Smitha9308c42015-04-29 16:38:44 +0000464 !4 = !DISubprogram(name: "main", scope: !1, file: !1, line: 1, type: !5,
Duncan P. N. Exon Smithd937cd92015-03-17 23:41:05 +0000465 isLocal: false, isDefinition: true, scopeLine: 1,
466 flags: DIFlagPrototyped, isOptimized: false,
467 function: i32 (i32, i8**)* @main, variables: !2)
Duncan P. N. Exon Smith936675e2014-10-04 14:56:56 +0000468
Dmitri Gribenko6ac1de42012-11-22 11:56:02 +0000469 ;;
470 ;; Define the subprogram itself.
471 ;;
472 define i32 @main(i32 %argc, i8** %argv) {
473 ...
474 }
475
Dmitri Gribenko6ac1de42012-11-22 11:56:02 +0000476Debugging information format
477============================
478
479Debugging Information Extension for Objective C Properties
480----------------------------------------------------------
481
482Introduction
483^^^^^^^^^^^^
484
485Objective C provides a simpler way to declare and define accessor methods using
486declared properties. The language provides features to declare a property and
487to let compiler synthesize accessor methods.
488
489The debugger lets developer inspect Objective C interfaces and their instance
490variables and class variables. However, the debugger does not know anything
491about the properties defined in Objective C interfaces. The debugger consumes
492information generated by compiler in DWARF format. The format does not support
493encoding of Objective C properties. This proposal describes DWARF extensions to
494encode Objective C properties, which the debugger can use to let developers
495inspect Objective C properties.
496
497Proposal
498^^^^^^^^
499
500Objective C properties exist separately from class members. A property can be
501defined only by "setter" and "getter" selectors, and be calculated anew on each
502access. Or a property can just be a direct access to some declared ivar.
503Finally it can have an ivar "automatically synthesized" for it by the compiler,
504in which case the property can be referred to in user code directly using the
505standard C dereference syntax as well as through the property "dot" syntax, but
506there is no entry in the ``@interface`` declaration corresponding to this ivar.
507
508To facilitate debugging, these properties we will add a new DWARF TAG into the
509``DW_TAG_structure_type`` definition for the class to hold the description of a
510given property, and a set of DWARF attributes that provide said description.
511The property tag will also contain the name and declared type of the property.
512
513If there is a related ivar, there will also be a DWARF property attribute placed
514in the ``DW_TAG_member`` DIE for that ivar referring back to the property TAG
515for that property. And in the case where the compiler synthesizes the ivar
516directly, the compiler is expected to generate a ``DW_TAG_member`` for that
517ivar (with the ``DW_AT_artificial`` set to 1), whose name will be the name used
518to access this ivar directly in code, and with the property attribute pointing
519back to the property it is backing.
520
521The following examples will serve as illustration for our discussion:
522
523.. code-block:: objc
524
525 @interface I1 {
526 int n2;
527 }
528
529 @property int p1;
530 @property int p2;
531 @end
532
533 @implementation I1
534 @synthesize p1;
535 @synthesize p2 = n2;
536 @end
537
538This produces the following DWARF (this is a "pseudo dwarfdump" output):
539
540.. code-block:: none
541
542 0x00000100: TAG_structure_type [7] *
543 AT_APPLE_runtime_class( 0x10 )
544 AT_name( "I1" )
545 AT_decl_file( "Objc_Property.m" )
546 AT_decl_line( 3 )
547
548 0x00000110 TAG_APPLE_property
549 AT_name ( "p1" )
550 AT_type ( {0x00000150} ( int ) )
551
552 0x00000120: TAG_APPLE_property
553 AT_name ( "p2" )
554 AT_type ( {0x00000150} ( int ) )
555
556 0x00000130: TAG_member [8]
557 AT_name( "_p1" )
558 AT_APPLE_property ( {0x00000110} "p1" )
559 AT_type( {0x00000150} ( int ) )
560 AT_artificial ( 0x1 )
561
562 0x00000140: TAG_member [8]
563 AT_name( "n2" )
564 AT_APPLE_property ( {0x00000120} "p2" )
565 AT_type( {0x00000150} ( int ) )
566
567 0x00000150: AT_type( ( int ) )
568
569Note, the current convention is that the name of the ivar for an
570auto-synthesized property is the name of the property from which it derives
571with an underscore prepended, as is shown in the example. But we actually
572don't need to know this convention, since we are given the name of the ivar
573directly.
574
575Also, it is common practice in ObjC to have different property declarations in
576the @interface and @implementation - e.g. to provide a read-only property in
577the interface,and a read-write interface in the implementation. In that case,
578the compiler should emit whichever property declaration will be in force in the
579current translation unit.
580
581Developers can decorate a property with attributes which are encoded using
582``DW_AT_APPLE_property_attribute``.
583
584.. code-block:: objc
585
586 @property (readonly, nonatomic) int pr;
587
588.. code-block:: none
589
590 TAG_APPLE_property [8]
591 AT_name( "pr" )
592 AT_type ( {0x00000147} (int) )
593 AT_APPLE_property_attribute (DW_APPLE_PROPERTY_readonly, DW_APPLE_PROPERTY_nonatomic)
594
595The setter and getter method names are attached to the property using
596``DW_AT_APPLE_property_setter`` and ``DW_AT_APPLE_property_getter`` attributes.
597
598.. code-block:: objc
599
600 @interface I1
601 @property (setter=myOwnP3Setter:) int p3;
602 -(void)myOwnP3Setter:(int)a;
603 @end
604
605 @implementation I1
606 @synthesize p3;
607 -(void)myOwnP3Setter:(int)a{ }
608 @end
609
610The DWARF for this would be:
611
612.. code-block:: none
613
614 0x000003bd: TAG_structure_type [7] *
615 AT_APPLE_runtime_class( 0x10 )
616 AT_name( "I1" )
617 AT_decl_file( "Objc_Property.m" )
618 AT_decl_line( 3 )
619
620 0x000003cd TAG_APPLE_property
621 AT_name ( "p3" )
622 AT_APPLE_property_setter ( "myOwnP3Setter:" )
623 AT_type( {0x00000147} ( int ) )
624
625 0x000003f3: TAG_member [8]
626 AT_name( "_p3" )
627 AT_type ( {0x00000147} ( int ) )
628 AT_APPLE_property ( {0x000003cd} )
629 AT_artificial ( 0x1 )
630
631New DWARF Tags
632^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
633
634+-----------------------+--------+
635| TAG | Value |
636+=======================+========+
637| DW_TAG_APPLE_property | 0x4200 |
638+-----------------------+--------+
639
640New DWARF Attributes
641^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
642
643+--------------------------------+--------+-----------+
644| Attribute | Value | Classes |
645+================================+========+===========+
646| DW_AT_APPLE_property | 0x3fed | Reference |
647+--------------------------------+--------+-----------+
648| DW_AT_APPLE_property_getter | 0x3fe9 | String |
649+--------------------------------+--------+-----------+
650| DW_AT_APPLE_property_setter | 0x3fea | String |
651+--------------------------------+--------+-----------+
652| DW_AT_APPLE_property_attribute | 0x3feb | Constant |
653+--------------------------------+--------+-----------+
654
655New DWARF Constants
656^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
657
Frederic Risseea4f882014-10-08 14:59:44 +0000658+--------------------------------------+-------+
659| Name | Value |
660+======================================+=======+
661| DW_APPLE_PROPERTY_readonly | 0x01 |
662+--------------------------------------+-------+
663| DW_APPLE_PROPERTY_getter | 0x02 |
664+--------------------------------------+-------+
665| DW_APPLE_PROPERTY_assign | 0x04 |
666+--------------------------------------+-------+
667| DW_APPLE_PROPERTY_readwrite | 0x08 |
668+--------------------------------------+-------+
669| DW_APPLE_PROPERTY_retain | 0x10 |
670+--------------------------------------+-------+
671| DW_APPLE_PROPERTY_copy | 0x20 |
672+--------------------------------------+-------+
673| DW_APPLE_PROPERTY_nonatomic | 0x40 |
674+--------------------------------------+-------+
675| DW_APPLE_PROPERTY_setter | 0x80 |
676+--------------------------------------+-------+
677| DW_APPLE_PROPERTY_atomic | 0x100 |
678+--------------------------------------+-------+
679| DW_APPLE_PROPERTY_weak | 0x200 |
680+--------------------------------------+-------+
681| DW_APPLE_PROPERTY_strong | 0x400 |
682+--------------------------------------+-------+
683| DW_APPLE_PROPERTY_unsafe_unretained | 0x800 |
684+--------------------------------+-----+-------+
Dmitri Gribenko6ac1de42012-11-22 11:56:02 +0000685
686Name Accelerator Tables
687-----------------------
688
689Introduction
690^^^^^^^^^^^^
691
692The "``.debug_pubnames``" and "``.debug_pubtypes``" formats are not what a
693debugger needs. The "``pub``" in the section name indicates that the entries
694in the table are publicly visible names only. This means no static or hidden
695functions show up in the "``.debug_pubnames``". No static variables or private
696class variables are in the "``.debug_pubtypes``". Many compilers add different
697things to these tables, so we can't rely upon the contents between gcc, icc, or
698clang.
699
700The typical query given by users tends not to match up with the contents of
701these tables. For example, the DWARF spec states that "In the case of the name
702of a function member or static data member of a C++ structure, class or union,
703the name presented in the "``.debug_pubnames``" section is not the simple name
704given by the ``DW_AT_name attribute`` of the referenced debugging information
705entry, but rather the fully qualified name of the data or function member."
706So the only names in these tables for complex C++ entries is a fully
707qualified name. Debugger users tend not to enter their search strings as
708"``a::b::c(int,const Foo&) const``", but rather as "``c``", "``b::c``" , or
709"``a::b::c``". So the name entered in the name table must be demangled in
710order to chop it up appropriately and additional names must be manually entered
711into the table to make it effective as a name lookup table for debuggers to
712se.
713
714All debuggers currently ignore the "``.debug_pubnames``" table as a result of
715its inconsistent and useless public-only name content making it a waste of
716space in the object file. These tables, when they are written to disk, are not
717sorted in any way, leaving every debugger to do its own parsing and sorting.
718These tables also include an inlined copy of the string values in the table
719itself making the tables much larger than they need to be on disk, especially
720for large C++ programs.
721
722Can't we just fix the sections by adding all of the names we need to this
723table? No, because that is not what the tables are defined to contain and we
724won't know the difference between the old bad tables and the new good tables.
725At best we could make our own renamed sections that contain all of the data we
726need.
727
728These tables are also insufficient for what a debugger like LLDB needs. LLDB
729uses clang for its expression parsing where LLDB acts as a PCH. LLDB is then
730often asked to look for type "``foo``" or namespace "``bar``", or list items in
731namespace "``baz``". Namespaces are not included in the pubnames or pubtypes
732tables. Since clang asks a lot of questions when it is parsing an expression,
733we need to be very fast when looking up names, as it happens a lot. Having new
734accelerator tables that are optimized for very quick lookups will benefit this
735type of debugging experience greatly.
736
737We would like to generate name lookup tables that can be mapped into memory
738from disk, and used as is, with little or no up-front parsing. We would also
739be able to control the exact content of these different tables so they contain
740exactly what we need. The Name Accelerator Tables were designed to fix these
741issues. In order to solve these issues we need to:
742
743* Have a format that can be mapped into memory from disk and used as is
744* Lookups should be very fast
745* Extensible table format so these tables can be made by many producers
746* Contain all of the names needed for typical lookups out of the box
747* Strict rules for the contents of tables
748
749Table size is important and the accelerator table format should allow the reuse
750of strings from common string tables so the strings for the names are not
751duplicated. We also want to make sure the table is ready to be used as-is by
752simply mapping the table into memory with minimal header parsing.
753
754The name lookups need to be fast and optimized for the kinds of lookups that
755debuggers tend to do. Optimally we would like to touch as few parts of the
756mapped table as possible when doing a name lookup and be able to quickly find
757the name entry we are looking for, or discover there are no matches. In the
758case of debuggers we optimized for lookups that fail most of the time.
759
760Each table that is defined should have strict rules on exactly what is in the
761accelerator tables and documented so clients can rely on the content.
762
763Hash Tables
764^^^^^^^^^^^
765
766Standard Hash Tables
767""""""""""""""""""""
768
769Typical hash tables have a header, buckets, and each bucket points to the
770bucket contents:
771
772.. code-block:: none
773
774 .------------.
775 | HEADER |
776 |------------|
777 | BUCKETS |
778 |------------|
779 | DATA |
780 `------------'
781
782The BUCKETS are an array of offsets to DATA for each hash:
783
784.. code-block:: none
785
786 .------------.
787 | 0x00001000 | BUCKETS[0]
788 | 0x00002000 | BUCKETS[1]
789 | 0x00002200 | BUCKETS[2]
790 | 0x000034f0 | BUCKETS[3]
791 | | ...
792 | 0xXXXXXXXX | BUCKETS[n_buckets]
793 '------------'
794
795So for ``bucket[3]`` in the example above, we have an offset into the table
7960x000034f0 which points to a chain of entries for the bucket. Each bucket must
797contain a next pointer, full 32 bit hash value, the string itself, and the data
798for the current string value.
799
800.. code-block:: none
801
802 .------------.
803 0x000034f0: | 0x00003500 | next pointer
804 | 0x12345678 | 32 bit hash
805 | "erase" | string value
806 | data[n] | HashData for this bucket
807 |------------|
808 0x00003500: | 0x00003550 | next pointer
809 | 0x29273623 | 32 bit hash
810 | "dump" | string value
811 | data[n] | HashData for this bucket
812 |------------|
813 0x00003550: | 0x00000000 | next pointer
814 | 0x82638293 | 32 bit hash
815 | "main" | string value
816 | data[n] | HashData for this bucket
817 `------------'
818
819The problem with this layout for debuggers is that we need to optimize for the
820negative lookup case where the symbol we're searching for is not present. So
821if we were to lookup "``printf``" in the table above, we would make a 32 hash
822for "``printf``", it might match ``bucket[3]``. We would need to go to the
823offset 0x000034f0 and start looking to see if our 32 bit hash matches. To do
824so, we need to read the next pointer, then read the hash, compare it, and skip
825to the next bucket. Each time we are skipping many bytes in memory and
826touching new cache pages just to do the compare on the full 32 bit hash. All
827of these accesses then tell us that we didn't have a match.
828
829Name Hash Tables
830""""""""""""""""
831
832To solve the issues mentioned above we have structured the hash tables a bit
833differently: a header, buckets, an array of all unique 32 bit hash values,
834followed by an array of hash value data offsets, one for each hash value, then
835the data for all hash values:
836
837.. code-block:: none
838
839 .-------------.
840 | HEADER |
841 |-------------|
842 | BUCKETS |
843 |-------------|
844 | HASHES |
845 |-------------|
846 | OFFSETS |
847 |-------------|
848 | DATA |
849 `-------------'
850
851The ``BUCKETS`` in the name tables are an index into the ``HASHES`` array. By
852making all of the full 32 bit hash values contiguous in memory, we allow
853ourselves to efficiently check for a match while touching as little memory as
854possible. Most often checking the 32 bit hash values is as far as the lookup
855goes. If it does match, it usually is a match with no collisions. So for a
856table with "``n_buckets``" buckets, and "``n_hashes``" unique 32 bit hash
857values, we can clarify the contents of the ``BUCKETS``, ``HASHES`` and
858``OFFSETS`` as:
859
860.. code-block:: none
861
862 .-------------------------.
863 | HEADER.magic | uint32_t
864 | HEADER.version | uint16_t
865 | HEADER.hash_function | uint16_t
866 | HEADER.bucket_count | uint32_t
867 | HEADER.hashes_count | uint32_t
868 | HEADER.header_data_len | uint32_t
869 | HEADER_DATA | HeaderData
870 |-------------------------|
Eric Christopher7e66bd32013-03-18 20:21:47 +0000871 | BUCKETS | uint32_t[n_buckets] // 32 bit hash indexes
Dmitri Gribenko6ac1de42012-11-22 11:56:02 +0000872 |-------------------------|
Eric Christopher7e66bd32013-03-18 20:21:47 +0000873 | HASHES | uint32_t[n_hashes] // 32 bit hash values
Dmitri Gribenko6ac1de42012-11-22 11:56:02 +0000874 |-------------------------|
Eric Christopher7e66bd32013-03-18 20:21:47 +0000875 | OFFSETS | uint32_t[n_hashes] // 32 bit offsets to hash value data
Dmitri Gribenko6ac1de42012-11-22 11:56:02 +0000876 |-------------------------|
877 | ALL HASH DATA |
878 `-------------------------'
879
880So taking the exact same data from the standard hash example above we end up
881with:
882
883.. code-block:: none
884
885 .------------.
886 | HEADER |
887 |------------|
888 | 0 | BUCKETS[0]
889 | 2 | BUCKETS[1]
890 | 5 | BUCKETS[2]
891 | 6 | BUCKETS[3]
892 | | ...
893 | ... | BUCKETS[n_buckets]
894 |------------|
895 | 0x........ | HASHES[0]
896 | 0x........ | HASHES[1]
897 | 0x........ | HASHES[2]
898 | 0x........ | HASHES[3]
899 | 0x........ | HASHES[4]
900 | 0x........ | HASHES[5]
901 | 0x12345678 | HASHES[6] hash for BUCKETS[3]
902 | 0x29273623 | HASHES[7] hash for BUCKETS[3]
903 | 0x82638293 | HASHES[8] hash for BUCKETS[3]
904 | 0x........ | HASHES[9]
905 | 0x........ | HASHES[10]
906 | 0x........ | HASHES[11]
907 | 0x........ | HASHES[12]
908 | 0x........ | HASHES[13]
909 | 0x........ | HASHES[n_hashes]
910 |------------|
911 | 0x........ | OFFSETS[0]
912 | 0x........ | OFFSETS[1]
913 | 0x........ | OFFSETS[2]
914 | 0x........ | OFFSETS[3]
915 | 0x........ | OFFSETS[4]
916 | 0x........ | OFFSETS[5]
917 | 0x000034f0 | OFFSETS[6] offset for BUCKETS[3]
918 | 0x00003500 | OFFSETS[7] offset for BUCKETS[3]
919 | 0x00003550 | OFFSETS[8] offset for BUCKETS[3]
920 | 0x........ | OFFSETS[9]
921 | 0x........ | OFFSETS[10]
922 | 0x........ | OFFSETS[11]
923 | 0x........ | OFFSETS[12]
924 | 0x........ | OFFSETS[13]
925 | 0x........ | OFFSETS[n_hashes]
926 |------------|
927 | |
928 | |
929 | |
930 | |
931 | |
932 |------------|
933 0x000034f0: | 0x00001203 | .debug_str ("erase")
934 | 0x00000004 | A 32 bit array count - number of HashData with name "erase"
935 | 0x........ | HashData[0]
936 | 0x........ | HashData[1]
937 | 0x........ | HashData[2]
938 | 0x........ | HashData[3]
939 | 0x00000000 | String offset into .debug_str (terminate data for hash)
940 |------------|
941 0x00003500: | 0x00001203 | String offset into .debug_str ("collision")
942 | 0x00000002 | A 32 bit array count - number of HashData with name "collision"
943 | 0x........ | HashData[0]
944 | 0x........ | HashData[1]
945 | 0x00001203 | String offset into .debug_str ("dump")
946 | 0x00000003 | A 32 bit array count - number of HashData with name "dump"
947 | 0x........ | HashData[0]
948 | 0x........ | HashData[1]
949 | 0x........ | HashData[2]
950 | 0x00000000 | String offset into .debug_str (terminate data for hash)
951 |------------|
952 0x00003550: | 0x00001203 | String offset into .debug_str ("main")
953 | 0x00000009 | A 32 bit array count - number of HashData with name "main"
954 | 0x........ | HashData[0]
955 | 0x........ | HashData[1]
956 | 0x........ | HashData[2]
957 | 0x........ | HashData[3]
958 | 0x........ | HashData[4]
959 | 0x........ | HashData[5]
960 | 0x........ | HashData[6]
961 | 0x........ | HashData[7]
962 | 0x........ | HashData[8]
963 | 0x00000000 | String offset into .debug_str (terminate data for hash)
964 `------------'
965
966So we still have all of the same data, we just organize it more efficiently for
967debugger lookup. If we repeat the same "``printf``" lookup from above, we
968would hash "``printf``" and find it matches ``BUCKETS[3]`` by taking the 32 bit
969hash value and modulo it by ``n_buckets``. ``BUCKETS[3]`` contains "6" which
970is the index into the ``HASHES`` table. We would then compare any consecutive
97132 bit hashes values in the ``HASHES`` array as long as the hashes would be in
972``BUCKETS[3]``. We do this by verifying that each subsequent hash value modulo
973``n_buckets`` is still 3. In the case of a failed lookup we would access the
974memory for ``BUCKETS[3]``, and then compare a few consecutive 32 bit hashes
975before we know that we have no match. We don't end up marching through
976multiple words of memory and we really keep the number of processor data cache
977lines being accessed as small as possible.
978
979The string hash that is used for these lookup tables is the Daniel J.
980Bernstein hash which is also used in the ELF ``GNU_HASH`` sections. It is a
981very good hash for all kinds of names in programs with very few hash
982collisions.
983
984Empty buckets are designated by using an invalid hash index of ``UINT32_MAX``.
985
986Details
987^^^^^^^
988
989These name hash tables are designed to be generic where specializations of the
990table get to define additional data that goes into the header ("``HeaderData``"),
991how the string value is stored ("``KeyType``") and the content of the data for each
992hash value.
993
994Header Layout
995"""""""""""""
996
997The header has a fixed part, and the specialized part. The exact format of the
998header is:
999
1000.. code-block:: c
1001
1002 struct Header
1003 {
1004 uint32_t magic; // 'HASH' magic value to allow endian detection
1005 uint16_t version; // Version number
1006 uint16_t hash_function; // The hash function enumeration that was used
1007 uint32_t bucket_count; // The number of buckets in this hash table
1008 uint32_t hashes_count; // The total number of unique hash values and hash data offsets in this table
1009 uint32_t header_data_len; // The bytes to skip to get to the hash indexes (buckets) for correct alignment
1010 // Specifically the length of the following HeaderData field - this does not
1011 // include the size of the preceding fields
1012 HeaderData header_data; // Implementation specific header data
1013 };
1014
1015The header starts with a 32 bit "``magic``" value which must be ``'HASH'``
1016encoded as an ASCII integer. This allows the detection of the start of the
1017hash table and also allows the table's byte order to be determined so the table
1018can be correctly extracted. The "``magic``" value is followed by a 16 bit
1019``version`` number which allows the table to be revised and modified in the
1020future. The current version number is 1. ``hash_function`` is a ``uint16_t``
1021enumeration that specifies which hash function was used to produce this table.
1022The current values for the hash function enumerations include:
1023
1024.. code-block:: c
1025
1026 enum HashFunctionType
1027 {
1028 eHashFunctionDJB = 0u, // Daniel J Bernstein hash function
1029 };
1030
1031``bucket_count`` is a 32 bit unsigned integer that represents how many buckets
1032are in the ``BUCKETS`` array. ``hashes_count`` is the number of unique 32 bit
1033hash values that are in the ``HASHES`` array, and is the same number of offsets
1034are contained in the ``OFFSETS`` array. ``header_data_len`` specifies the size
1035in bytes of the ``HeaderData`` that is filled in by specialized versions of
1036this table.
1037
1038Fixed Lookup
1039""""""""""""
1040
1041The header is followed by the buckets, hashes, offsets, and hash value data.
1042
1043.. code-block:: c
1044
1045 struct FixedTable
1046 {
1047 uint32_t buckets[Header.bucket_count]; // An array of hash indexes into the "hashes[]" array below
1048 uint32_t hashes [Header.hashes_count]; // Every unique 32 bit hash for the entire table is in this table
1049 uint32_t offsets[Header.hashes_count]; // An offset that corresponds to each item in the "hashes[]" array above
1050 };
1051
1052``buckets`` is an array of 32 bit indexes into the ``hashes`` array. The
1053``hashes`` array contains all of the 32 bit hash values for all names in the
1054hash table. Each hash in the ``hashes`` table has an offset in the ``offsets``
1055array that points to the data for the hash value.
1056
1057This table setup makes it very easy to repurpose these tables to contain
1058different data, while keeping the lookup mechanism the same for all tables.
1059This layout also makes it possible to save the table to disk and map it in
1060later and do very efficient name lookups with little or no parsing.
1061
1062DWARF lookup tables can be implemented in a variety of ways and can store a lot
1063of information for each name. We want to make the DWARF tables extensible and
1064able to store the data efficiently so we have used some of the DWARF features
1065that enable efficient data storage to define exactly what kind of data we store
1066for each name.
1067
1068The ``HeaderData`` contains a definition of the contents of each HashData chunk.
1069We might want to store an offset to all of the debug information entries (DIEs)
1070for each name. To keep things extensible, we create a list of items, or
1071Atoms, that are contained in the data for each name. First comes the type of
1072the data in each atom:
1073
1074.. code-block:: c
1075
1076 enum AtomType
1077 {
1078 eAtomTypeNULL = 0u,
1079 eAtomTypeDIEOffset = 1u, // DIE offset, check form for encoding
1080 eAtomTypeCUOffset = 2u, // DIE offset of the compiler unit header that contains the item in question
1081 eAtomTypeTag = 3u, // DW_TAG_xxx value, should be encoded as DW_FORM_data1 (if no tags exceed 255) or DW_FORM_data2
1082 eAtomTypeNameFlags = 4u, // Flags from enum NameFlags
1083 eAtomTypeTypeFlags = 5u, // Flags from enum TypeFlags
1084 };
1085
1086The enumeration values and their meanings are:
1087
1088.. code-block:: none
1089
1090 eAtomTypeNULL - a termination atom that specifies the end of the atom list
1091 eAtomTypeDIEOffset - an offset into the .debug_info section for the DWARF DIE for this name
1092 eAtomTypeCUOffset - an offset into the .debug_info section for the CU that contains the DIE
1093 eAtomTypeDIETag - The DW_TAG_XXX enumeration value so you don't have to parse the DWARF to see what it is
1094 eAtomTypeNameFlags - Flags for functions and global variables (isFunction, isInlined, isExternal...)
1095 eAtomTypeTypeFlags - Flags for types (isCXXClass, isObjCClass, ...)
1096
1097Then we allow each atom type to define the atom type and how the data for each
1098atom type data is encoded:
1099
1100.. code-block:: c
1101
1102 struct Atom
1103 {
1104 uint16_t type; // AtomType enum value
1105 uint16_t form; // DWARF DW_FORM_XXX defines
1106 };
1107
1108The ``form`` type above is from the DWARF specification and defines the exact
1109encoding of the data for the Atom type. See the DWARF specification for the
1110``DW_FORM_`` definitions.
1111
1112.. code-block:: c
1113
1114 struct HeaderData
1115 {
1116 uint32_t die_offset_base;
1117 uint32_t atom_count;
1118 Atoms atoms[atom_count0];
1119 };
1120
1121``HeaderData`` defines the base DIE offset that should be added to any atoms
1122that are encoded using the ``DW_FORM_ref1``, ``DW_FORM_ref2``,
1123``DW_FORM_ref4``, ``DW_FORM_ref8`` or ``DW_FORM_ref_udata``. It also defines
1124what is contained in each ``HashData`` object -- ``Atom.form`` tells us how large
1125each field will be in the ``HashData`` and the ``Atom.type`` tells us how this data
1126should be interpreted.
1127
1128For the current implementations of the "``.apple_names``" (all functions +
1129globals), the "``.apple_types``" (names of all types that are defined), and
1130the "``.apple_namespaces``" (all namespaces), we currently set the ``Atom``
1131array to be:
1132
1133.. code-block:: c
1134
1135 HeaderData.atom_count = 1;
1136 HeaderData.atoms[0].type = eAtomTypeDIEOffset;
1137 HeaderData.atoms[0].form = DW_FORM_data4;
1138
1139This defines the contents to be the DIE offset (eAtomTypeDIEOffset) that is
Eric Christopher911f1d32013-03-19 23:10:26 +00001140encoded as a 32 bit value (DW_FORM_data4). This allows a single name to have
1141multiple matching DIEs in a single file, which could come up with an inlined
1142function for instance. Future tables could include more information about the
1143DIE such as flags indicating if the DIE is a function, method, block,
1144or inlined.
Dmitri Gribenko6ac1de42012-11-22 11:56:02 +00001145
1146The KeyType for the DWARF table is a 32 bit string table offset into the
Eric Christopher911f1d32013-03-19 23:10:26 +00001147".debug_str" table. The ".debug_str" is the string table for the DWARF which
1148may already contain copies of all of the strings. This helps make sure, with
1149help from the compiler, that we reuse the strings between all of the DWARF
1150sections and keeps the hash table size down. Another benefit to having the
1151compiler generate all strings as DW_FORM_strp in the debug info, is that
1152DWARF parsing can be made much faster.
Dmitri Gribenko6ac1de42012-11-22 11:56:02 +00001153
1154After a lookup is made, we get an offset into the hash data. The hash data
Eric Christopher911f1d32013-03-19 23:10:26 +00001155needs to be able to deal with 32 bit hash collisions, so the chunk of data
1156at the offset in the hash data consists of a triple:
Dmitri Gribenko6ac1de42012-11-22 11:56:02 +00001157
1158.. code-block:: c
1159
1160 uint32_t str_offset
1161 uint32_t hash_data_count
1162 HashData[hash_data_count]
1163
1164If "str_offset" is zero, then the bucket contents are done. 99.9% of the
Eric Christopher911f1d32013-03-19 23:10:26 +00001165hash data chunks contain a single item (no 32 bit hash collision):
Dmitri Gribenko6ac1de42012-11-22 11:56:02 +00001166
1167.. code-block:: none
1168
1169 .------------.
1170 | 0x00001023 | uint32_t KeyType (.debug_str[0x0001023] => "main")
1171 | 0x00000004 | uint32_t HashData count
1172 | 0x........ | uint32_t HashData[0] DIE offset
1173 | 0x........ | uint32_t HashData[1] DIE offset
1174 | 0x........ | uint32_t HashData[2] DIE offset
1175 | 0x........ | uint32_t HashData[3] DIE offset
1176 | 0x00000000 | uint32_t KeyType (end of hash chain)
1177 `------------'
1178
1179If there are collisions, you will have multiple valid string offsets:
1180
1181.. code-block:: none
1182
1183 .------------.
1184 | 0x00001023 | uint32_t KeyType (.debug_str[0x0001023] => "main")
1185 | 0x00000004 | uint32_t HashData count
1186 | 0x........ | uint32_t HashData[0] DIE offset
1187 | 0x........ | uint32_t HashData[1] DIE offset
1188 | 0x........ | uint32_t HashData[2] DIE offset
1189 | 0x........ | uint32_t HashData[3] DIE offset
1190 | 0x00002023 | uint32_t KeyType (.debug_str[0x0002023] => "print")
1191 | 0x00000002 | uint32_t HashData count
1192 | 0x........ | uint32_t HashData[0] DIE offset
1193 | 0x........ | uint32_t HashData[1] DIE offset
1194 | 0x00000000 | uint32_t KeyType (end of hash chain)
1195 `------------'
1196
1197Current testing with real world C++ binaries has shown that there is around 1
119832 bit hash collision per 100,000 name entries.
1199
1200Contents
1201^^^^^^^^
1202
1203As we said, we want to strictly define exactly what is included in the
1204different tables. For DWARF, we have 3 tables: "``.apple_names``",
1205"``.apple_types``", and "``.apple_namespaces``".
1206
1207"``.apple_names``" sections should contain an entry for each DWARF DIE whose
1208``DW_TAG`` is a ``DW_TAG_label``, ``DW_TAG_inlined_subroutine``, or
1209``DW_TAG_subprogram`` that has address attributes: ``DW_AT_low_pc``,
1210``DW_AT_high_pc``, ``DW_AT_ranges`` or ``DW_AT_entry_pc``. It also contains
1211``DW_TAG_variable`` DIEs that have a ``DW_OP_addr`` in the location (global and
1212static variables). All global and static variables should be included,
1213including those scoped within functions and classes. For example using the
1214following code:
1215
1216.. code-block:: c
1217
1218 static int var = 0;
1219
1220 void f ()
1221 {
1222 static int var = 0;
1223 }
1224
1225Both of the static ``var`` variables would be included in the table. All
1226functions should emit both their full names and their basenames. For C or C++,
1227the full name is the mangled name (if available) which is usually in the
1228``DW_AT_MIPS_linkage_name`` attribute, and the ``DW_AT_name`` contains the
1229function basename. If global or static variables have a mangled name in a
1230``DW_AT_MIPS_linkage_name`` attribute, this should be emitted along with the
1231simple name found in the ``DW_AT_name`` attribute.
1232
1233"``.apple_types``" sections should contain an entry for each DWARF DIE whose
1234tag is one of:
1235
1236* DW_TAG_array_type
1237* DW_TAG_class_type
1238* DW_TAG_enumeration_type
1239* DW_TAG_pointer_type
1240* DW_TAG_reference_type
1241* DW_TAG_string_type
1242* DW_TAG_structure_type
1243* DW_TAG_subroutine_type
1244* DW_TAG_typedef
1245* DW_TAG_union_type
1246* DW_TAG_ptr_to_member_type
1247* DW_TAG_set_type
1248* DW_TAG_subrange_type
1249* DW_TAG_base_type
1250* DW_TAG_const_type
Dmitri Gribenko6ac1de42012-11-22 11:56:02 +00001251* DW_TAG_file_type
1252* DW_TAG_namelist
1253* DW_TAG_packed_type
1254* DW_TAG_volatile_type
1255* DW_TAG_restrict_type
1256* DW_TAG_interface_type
1257* DW_TAG_unspecified_type
1258* DW_TAG_shared_type
1259
1260Only entries with a ``DW_AT_name`` attribute are included, and the entry must
1261not be a forward declaration (``DW_AT_declaration`` attribute with a non-zero
1262value). For example, using the following code:
1263
1264.. code-block:: c
1265
1266 int main ()
1267 {
1268 int *b = 0;
1269 return *b;
1270 }
1271
1272We get a few type DIEs:
1273
1274.. code-block:: none
1275
1276 0x00000067: TAG_base_type [5]
1277 AT_encoding( DW_ATE_signed )
1278 AT_name( "int" )
1279 AT_byte_size( 0x04 )
1280
1281 0x0000006e: TAG_pointer_type [6]
1282 AT_type( {0x00000067} ( int ) )
1283 AT_byte_size( 0x08 )
1284
1285The DW_TAG_pointer_type is not included because it does not have a ``DW_AT_name``.
1286
1287"``.apple_namespaces``" section should contain all ``DW_TAG_namespace`` DIEs.
1288If we run into a namespace that has no name this is an anonymous namespace, and
1289the name should be output as "``(anonymous namespace)``" (without the quotes).
1290Why? This matches the output of the ``abi::cxa_demangle()`` that is in the
1291standard C++ library that demangles mangled names.
1292
1293
1294Language Extensions and File Format Changes
1295^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
1296
1297Objective-C Extensions
1298""""""""""""""""""""""
1299
1300"``.apple_objc``" section should contain all ``DW_TAG_subprogram`` DIEs for an
1301Objective-C class. The name used in the hash table is the name of the
1302Objective-C class itself. If the Objective-C class has a category, then an
1303entry is made for both the class name without the category, and for the class
1304name with the category. So if we have a DIE at offset 0x1234 with a name of
1305method "``-[NSString(my_additions) stringWithSpecialString:]``", we would add
1306an entry for "``NSString``" that points to DIE 0x1234, and an entry for
1307"``NSString(my_additions)``" that points to 0x1234. This allows us to quickly
1308track down all Objective-C methods for an Objective-C class when doing
1309expressions. It is needed because of the dynamic nature of Objective-C where
1310anyone can add methods to a class. The DWARF for Objective-C methods is also
1311emitted differently from C++ classes where the methods are not usually
1312contained in the class definition, they are scattered about across one or more
1313compile units. Categories can also be defined in different shared libraries.
1314So we need to be able to quickly find all of the methods and class functions
1315given the Objective-C class name, or quickly find all methods and class
1316functions for a class + category name. This table does not contain any
1317selector names, it just maps Objective-C class names (or class names +
1318category) to all of the methods and class functions. The selectors are added
1319as function basenames in the "``.debug_names``" section.
1320
1321In the "``.apple_names``" section for Objective-C functions, the full name is
1322the entire function name with the brackets ("``-[NSString
1323stringWithCString:]``") and the basename is the selector only
1324("``stringWithCString:``").
1325
1326Mach-O Changes
1327""""""""""""""
1328
Alp Tokerf907b892013-12-05 05:44:44 +00001329The sections names for the apple hash tables are for non-mach-o files. For
Dmitri Gribenko6ac1de42012-11-22 11:56:02 +00001330mach-o files, the sections should be contained in the ``__DWARF`` segment with
1331names as follows:
1332
1333* "``.apple_names``" -> "``__apple_names``"
1334* "``.apple_types``" -> "``__apple_types``"
1335* "``.apple_namespaces``" -> "``__apple_namespac``" (16 character limit)
1336* "``.apple_objc``" -> "``__apple_objc``"
1337