| ================================ |
| Source Level Debugging with LLVM |
| ================================ |
| |
| .. contents:: |
| :local: |
| |
| Introduction |
| ============ |
| |
| This document is the central repository for all information pertaining to debug |
| information in LLVM. It describes the :ref:`actual format that the LLVM debug |
| information takes <format>`, which is useful for those interested in creating |
| front-ends or dealing directly with the information. Further, this document |
| provides specific examples of what debug information for C/C++ looks like. |
| |
| Philosophy behind LLVM debugging information |
| -------------------------------------------- |
| |
| The idea of the LLVM debugging information is to capture how the important |
| pieces of the source-language's Abstract Syntax Tree map onto LLVM code. |
| Several design aspects have shaped the solution that appears here. The |
| important ones are: |
| |
| * Debugging information should have very little impact on the rest of the |
| compiler. No transformations, analyses, or code generators should need to |
| be modified because of debugging information. |
| |
| * LLVM optimizations should interact in :ref:`well-defined and easily described |
| ways <intro_debugopt>` with the debugging information. |
| |
| * Because LLVM is designed to support arbitrary programming languages, |
| LLVM-to-LLVM tools should not need to know anything about the semantics of |
| the source-level-language. |
| |
| * Source-level languages are often **widely** different from one another. |
| LLVM should not put any restrictions of the flavor of the source-language, |
| and the debugging information should work with any language. |
| |
| * With code generator support, it should be possible to use an LLVM compiler |
| to compile a program to native machine code and standard debugging |
| formats. This allows compatibility with traditional machine-code level |
| debuggers, like GDB or DBX. |
| |
| The approach used by the LLVM implementation is to use a small set of |
| :ref:`intrinsic functions <format_common_intrinsics>` to define a mapping |
| between LLVM program objects and the source-level objects. The description of |
| the source-level program is maintained in LLVM metadata in an |
| :ref:`implementation-defined format <ccxx_frontend>` (the C/C++ front-end |
| currently uses working draft 7 of the `DWARF 3 standard |
| <http://www.eagercon.com/dwarf/dwarf3std.htm>`_). |
| |
| When a program is being debugged, a debugger interacts with the user and turns |
| the stored debug information into source-language specific information. As |
| such, a debugger must be aware of the source-language, and is thus tied to a |
| specific language or family of languages. |
| |
| Debug information consumers |
| --------------------------- |
| |
| The role of debug information is to provide meta information normally stripped |
| away during the compilation process. This meta information provides an LLVM |
| user a relationship between generated code and the original program source |
| code. |
| |
| Currently, debug information is consumed by DwarfDebug to produce dwarf |
| information used by the gdb debugger. Other targets could use the same |
| information to produce stabs or other debug forms. |
| |
| It would also be reasonable to use debug information to feed profiling tools |
| for analysis of generated code, or, tools for reconstructing the original |
| source from generated code. |
| |
| TODO - expound a bit more. |
| |
| .. _intro_debugopt: |
| |
| Debugging optimized code |
| ------------------------ |
| |
| An extremely high priority of LLVM debugging information is to make it interact |
| well with optimizations and analysis. In particular, the LLVM debug |
| information provides the following guarantees: |
| |
| * LLVM debug information **always provides information to accurately read |
| the source-level state of the program**, regardless of which LLVM |
| optimizations have been run, and without any modification to the |
| optimizations themselves. However, some optimizations may impact the |
| ability to modify the current state of the program with a debugger, such |
| as setting program variables, or calling functions that have been |
| deleted. |
| |
| * As desired, LLVM optimizations can be upgraded to be aware of the LLVM |
| debugging information, allowing them to update the debugging information |
| as they perform aggressive optimizations. This means that, with effort, |
| the LLVM optimizers could optimize debug code just as well as non-debug |
| code. |
| |
| * LLVM debug information does not prevent optimizations from |
| happening (for example inlining, basic block reordering/merging/cleanup, |
| tail duplication, etc). |
| |
| * LLVM debug information is automatically optimized along with the rest of |
| the program, using existing facilities. For example, duplicate |
| information is automatically merged by the linker, and unused information |
| is automatically removed. |
| |
| Basically, the debug information allows you to compile a program with |
| "``-O0 -g``" and get full debug information, allowing you to arbitrarily modify |
| the program as it executes from a debugger. Compiling a program with |
| "``-O3 -g``" gives you full debug information that is always available and |
| accurate for reading (e.g., you get accurate stack traces despite tail call |
| elimination and inlining), but you might lose the ability to modify the program |
| and call functions where were optimized out of the program, or inlined away |
| completely. |
| |
| :ref:`LLVM test suite <test-suite-quickstart>` provides a framework to test |
| optimizer's handling of debugging information. It can be run like this: |
| |
| .. code-block:: bash |
| |
| % cd llvm/projects/test-suite/MultiSource/Benchmarks # or some other level |
| % make TEST=dbgopt |
| |
| This will test impact of debugging information on optimization passes. If |
| debugging information influences optimization passes then it will be reported |
| as a failure. See :doc:`TestingGuide` for more information on LLVM test |
| infrastructure and how to run various tests. |
| |
| .. _format: |
| |
| Debugging information format |
| ============================ |
| |
| LLVM debugging information has been carefully designed to make it possible for |
| the optimizer to optimize the program and debugging information without |
| necessarily having to know anything about debugging information. In |
| particular, the use of metadata avoids duplicated debugging information from |
| the beginning, and the global dead code elimination pass automatically deletes |
| debugging information for a function if it decides to delete the function. |
| |
| To do this, most of the debugging information (descriptors for types, |
| variables, functions, source files, etc) is inserted by the language front-end |
| in the form of LLVM metadata. |
| |
| Debug information is designed to be agnostic about the target debugger and |
| debugging information representation (e.g. DWARF/Stabs/etc). It uses a generic |
| pass to decode the information that represents variables, types, functions, |
| namespaces, etc: this allows for arbitrary source-language semantics and |
| type-systems to be used, as long as there is a module written for the target |
| debugger to interpret the information. |
| |
| To provide basic functionality, the LLVM debugger does have to make some |
| assumptions about the source-level language being debugged, though it keeps |
| these to a minimum. The only common features that the LLVM debugger assumes |
| exist are :ref:`source files <format_files>`, and :ref:`program objects |
| <format_global_variables>`. These abstract objects are used by a debugger to |
| form stack traces, show information about local variables, etc. |
| |
| This section of the documentation first describes the representation aspects |
| common to any source-language. :ref:`ccxx_frontend` describes the data layout |
| conventions used by the C and C++ front-ends. |
| |
| Debug information descriptors |
| ----------------------------- |
| |
| In consideration of the complexity and volume of debug information, LLVM |
| provides a specification for well formed debug descriptors. |
| |
| Consumers of LLVM debug information expect the descriptors for program objects |
| to start in a canonical format, but the descriptors can include additional |
| information appended at the end that is source-language specific. All LLVM |
| debugging information is versioned, allowing backwards compatibility in the |
| case that the core structures need to change in some way. Also, all debugging |
| information objects start with a tag to indicate what type of object it is. |
| The source-language is allowed to define its own objects, by using unreserved |
| tag numbers. We recommend using with tags in the range 0x1000 through 0x2000 |
| (there is a defined ``enum DW_TAG_user_base = 0x1000``.) |
| |
| The fields of debug descriptors used internally by LLVM are restricted to only |
| the simple data types ``i32``, ``i1``, ``float``, ``double``, ``mdstring`` and |
| ``mdnode``. |
| |
| .. code-block:: llvm |
| |
| !1 = metadata !{ |
| i32, ;; A tag |
| ... |
| } |
| |
| <a name="LLVMDebugVersion">The first field of a descriptor is always an |
| ``i32`` containing a tag value identifying the content of the descriptor. |
| The remaining fields are specific to the descriptor. The values of tags are |
| loosely bound to the tag values of DWARF information entries. However, that |
| does not restrict the use of the information supplied to DWARF targets. To |
| facilitate versioning of debug information, the tag is augmented with the |
| current debug version (``LLVMDebugVersion = 8 << 16`` or 0x80000 or |
| 524288.) |
| |
| The details of the various descriptors follow. |
| |
| Compile unit descriptors |
| ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ |
| |
| .. code-block:: llvm |
| |
| !0 = metadata !{ |
| i32, ;; Tag = 17 + LLVMDebugVersion (DW_TAG_compile_unit) |
| i32, ;; Unused field. |
| i32, ;; DWARF language identifier (ex. DW_LANG_C89) |
| metadata, ;; Source file name |
| metadata, ;; Source file directory (includes trailing slash) |
| metadata ;; Producer (ex. "4.0.1 LLVM (LLVM research group)") |
| i1, ;; True if this is a main compile unit. |
| i1, ;; True if this is optimized. |
| metadata, ;; Flags |
| i32 ;; Runtime version |
| metadata ;; List of enums types |
| metadata ;; List of retained types |
| metadata ;; List of subprograms |
| metadata ;; List of global variables |
| } |
| |
| These descriptors contain a source language ID for the file (we use the DWARF |
| 3.0 ID numbers, such as ``DW_LANG_C89``, ``DW_LANG_C_plus_plus``, |
| ``DW_LANG_Cobol74``, etc), three strings describing the filename, working |
| directory of the compiler, and an identifier string for the compiler that |
| produced it. |
| |
| Compile unit descriptors provide the root context for objects declared in a |
| specific compilation unit. File descriptors are defined using this context. |
| These descriptors are collected by a named metadata ``!llvm.dbg.cu``. They |
| keep track of subprograms, global variables and type information. |
| |
| .. _format_files: |
| |
| File descriptors |
| ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ |
| |
| .. code-block:: llvm |
| |
| !0 = metadata !{ |
| i32, ;; Tag = 41 + LLVMDebugVersion (DW_TAG_file_type) |
| metadata, ;; Source file name |
| metadata, ;; Source file directory (includes trailing slash) |
| metadata ;; Unused |
| } |
| |
| These descriptors contain information for a file. Global variables and top |
| level functions would be defined using this context. File descriptors also |
| provide context for source line correspondence. |
| |
| Each input file is encoded as a separate file descriptor in LLVM debugging |
| information output. |
| |
| .. _format_global_variables: |
| |
| Global variable descriptors |
| ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ |
| |
| .. code-block:: llvm |
| |
| !1 = metadata !{ |
| i32, ;; Tag = 52 + LLVMDebugVersion (DW_TAG_variable) |
| i32, ;; Unused field. |
| metadata, ;; Reference to context descriptor |
| metadata, ;; Name |
| metadata, ;; Display name (fully qualified C++ name) |
| metadata, ;; MIPS linkage name (for C++) |
| metadata, ;; Reference to file where defined |
| i32, ;; Line number where defined |
| metadata, ;; Reference to type descriptor |
| i1, ;; True if the global is local to compile unit (static) |
| i1, ;; True if the global is defined in the compile unit (not extern) |
| {}* ;; Reference to the global variable |
| } |
| |
| These descriptors provide debug information about globals variables. They |
| provide details such as name, type and where the variable is defined. All |
| global variables are collected inside the named metadata ``!llvm.dbg.cu``. |
| |
| .. _format_subprograms: |
| |
| Subprogram descriptors |
| ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ |
| |
| .. code-block:: llvm |
| |
| !2 = metadata !{ |
| i32, ;; Tag = 46 + LLVMDebugVersion (DW_TAG_subprogram) |
| i32, ;; Unused field. |
| metadata, ;; Reference to context descriptor |
| metadata, ;; Name |
| metadata, ;; Display name (fully qualified C++ name) |
| metadata, ;; MIPS linkage name (for C++) |
| metadata, ;; Reference to file where defined |
| i32, ;; Line number where defined |
| metadata, ;; Reference to type descriptor |
| i1, ;; True if the global is local to compile unit (static) |
| i1, ;; True if the global is defined in the compile unit (not extern) |
| i32, ;; Virtuality, e.g. dwarf::DW_VIRTUALITY__virtual |
| i32, ;; Index into a virtual function |
| metadata, ;; indicates which base type contains the vtable pointer for the |
| ;; derived class |
| i32, ;; Flags - Artifical, Private, Protected, Explicit, Prototyped. |
| i1, ;; isOptimized |
| Function * , ;; Pointer to LLVM function |
| metadata, ;; Lists function template parameters |
| metadata, ;; Function declaration descriptor |
| metadata, ;; List of function variables |
| i32 ;; Line number where the scope of the subprogram begins |
| } |
| |
| These descriptors provide debug information about functions, methods and |
| subprograms. They provide details such as name, return types and the source |
| location where the subprogram is defined. |
| |
| Block descriptors |
| ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ |
| |
| .. code-block:: llvm |
| |
| !3 = metadata !{ |
| i32, ;; Tag = 11 + LLVMDebugVersion (DW_TAG_lexical_block) |
| metadata,;; Reference to context descriptor |
| i32, ;; Line number |
| i32, ;; Column number |
| metadata,;; Reference to source file |
| i32 ;; Unique ID to identify blocks from a template function |
| } |
| |
| This descriptor provides debug information about nested blocks within a |
| subprogram. The line number and column numbers are used to dinstinguish two |
| lexical blocks at same depth. |
| |
| .. code-block:: llvm |
| |
| !3 = metadata !{ |
| i32, ;; Tag = 11 + LLVMDebugVersion (DW_TAG_lexical_block) |
| metadata ;; Reference to the scope we're annotating with a file change |
| metadata,;; Reference to the file the scope is enclosed in. |
| } |
| |
| This descriptor provides a wrapper around a lexical scope to handle file |
| changes in the middle of a lexical block. |
| |
| .. _format_basic_type: |
| |
| Basic type descriptors |
| ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ |
| |
| .. code-block:: llvm |
| |
| !4 = metadata !{ |
| i32, ;; Tag = 36 + LLVMDebugVersion (DW_TAG_base_type) |
| metadata, ;; Reference to context |
| metadata, ;; Name (may be "" for anonymous types) |
| metadata, ;; Reference to file where defined (may be NULL) |
| i32, ;; Line number where defined (may be 0) |
| i64, ;; Size in bits |
| i64, ;; Alignment in bits |
| i64, ;; Offset in bits |
| i32, ;; Flags |
| i32 ;; DWARF type encoding |
| } |
| |
| These descriptors define primitive types used in the code. Example ``int``, |
| ``bool`` and ``float``. The context provides the scope of the type, which is |
| usually the top level. Since basic types are not usually user defined the |
| context and line number can be left as NULL and 0. The size, alignment and |
| offset are expressed in bits and can be 64 bit values. The alignment is used |
| to round the offset when embedded in a :ref:`composite type |
| <format_composite_type>` (example to keep float doubles on 64 bit boundaries). |
| The offset is the bit offset if embedded in a :ref:`composite type |
| <format_composite_type>`. |
| |
| The type encoding provides the details of the type. The values are typically |
| one of the following: |
| |
| .. code-block:: llvm |
| |
| DW_ATE_address = 1 |
| DW_ATE_boolean = 2 |
| DW_ATE_float = 4 |
| DW_ATE_signed = 5 |
| DW_ATE_signed_char = 6 |
| DW_ATE_unsigned = 7 |
| DW_ATE_unsigned_char = 8 |
| |
| .. _format_derived_type: |
| |
| Derived type descriptors |
| ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ |
| |
| .. code-block:: llvm |
| |
| !5 = metadata !{ |
| i32, ;; Tag (see below) |
| metadata, ;; Reference to context |
| metadata, ;; Name (may be "" for anonymous types) |
| metadata, ;; Reference to file where defined (may be NULL) |
| i32, ;; Line number where defined (may be 0) |
| i64, ;; Size in bits |
| i64, ;; Alignment in bits |
| i64, ;; Offset in bits |
| i32, ;; Flags to encode attributes, e.g. private |
| metadata, ;; Reference to type derived from |
| metadata, ;; (optional) Name of the Objective C property associated with |
| ;; Objective-C an ivar, or the type of which this |
| ;; pointer-to-member is pointing to members of. |
| metadata, ;; (optional) Name of the Objective C property getter selector. |
| metadata, ;; (optional) Name of the Objective C property setter selector. |
| i32 ;; (optional) Objective C property attributes. |
| } |
| |
| These descriptors are used to define types derived from other types. The value |
| of the tag varies depending on the meaning. The following are possible tag |
| values: |
| |
| .. code-block:: llvm |
| |
| DW_TAG_formal_parameter = 5 |
| DW_TAG_member = 13 |
| DW_TAG_pointer_type = 15 |
| DW_TAG_reference_type = 16 |
| DW_TAG_typedef = 22 |
| DW_TAG_ptr_to_member_type = 31 |
| DW_TAG_const_type = 38 |
| DW_TAG_volatile_type = 53 |
| DW_TAG_restrict_type = 55 |
| |
| ``DW_TAG_member`` is used to define a member of a :ref:`composite type |
| <format_composite_type>` or :ref:`subprogram <format_subprograms>`. The type |
| of the member is the :ref:`derived type <format_derived_type>`. |
| ``DW_TAG_formal_parameter`` is used to define a member which is a formal |
| argument of a subprogram. |
| |
| ``DW_TAG_typedef`` is used to provide a name for the derived type. |
| |
| ``DW_TAG_pointer_type``, ``DW_TAG_reference_type``, ``DW_TAG_const_type``, |
| ``DW_TAG_volatile_type`` and ``DW_TAG_restrict_type`` are used to qualify the |
| :ref:`derived type <format_derived_type>`. |
| |
| :ref:`Derived type <format_derived_type>` location can be determined from the |
| context and line number. The size, alignment and offset are expressed in bits |
| and can be 64 bit values. The alignment is used to round the offset when |
| embedded in a :ref:`composite type <format_composite_type>` (example to keep |
| float doubles on 64 bit boundaries.) The offset is the bit offset if embedded |
| in a :ref:`composite type <format_composite_type>`. |
| |
| Note that the ``void *`` type is expressed as a type derived from NULL. |
| |
| .. _format_composite_type: |
| |
| Composite type descriptors |
| ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ |
| |
| .. code-block:: llvm |
| |
| !6 = metadata !{ |
| i32, ;; Tag (see below) |
| metadata, ;; Reference to context |
| metadata, ;; Name (may be "" for anonymous types) |
| metadata, ;; Reference to file where defined (may be NULL) |
| i32, ;; Line number where defined (may be 0) |
| i64, ;; Size in bits |
| i64, ;; Alignment in bits |
| i64, ;; Offset in bits |
| i32, ;; Flags |
| metadata, ;; Reference to type derived from |
| metadata, ;; Reference to array of member descriptors |
| i32 ;; Runtime languages |
| } |
| |
| These descriptors are used to define types that are composed of 0 or more |
| elements. The value of the tag varies depending on the meaning. The following |
| are possible tag values: |
| |
| .. code-block:: llvm |
| |
| DW_TAG_array_type = 1 |
| DW_TAG_enumeration_type = 4 |
| DW_TAG_structure_type = 19 |
| DW_TAG_union_type = 23 |
| DW_TAG_subroutine_type = 21 |
| DW_TAG_inheritance = 28 |
| |
| The vector flag indicates that an array type is a native packed vector. |
| |
| The members of array types (tag = ``DW_TAG_array_type``) are |
| :ref:`subrange descriptors <format_subrange>`, each |
| representing the range of subscripts at that level of indexing. |
| |
| The members of enumeration types (tag = ``DW_TAG_enumeration_type``) are |
| :ref:`enumerator descriptors <format_enumerator>`, each representing the |
| definition of enumeration value for the set. All enumeration type descriptors |
| are collected inside the named metadata ``!llvm.dbg.cu``. |
| |
| The members of structure (tag = ``DW_TAG_structure_type``) or union (tag = |
| ``DW_TAG_union_type``) types are any one of the :ref:`basic |
| <format_basic_type>`, :ref:`derived <format_derived_type>` or :ref:`composite |
| <format_composite_type>` type descriptors, each representing a field member of |
| the structure or union. |
| |
| For C++ classes (tag = ``DW_TAG_structure_type``), member descriptors provide |
| information about base classes, static members and member functions. If a |
| member is a :ref:`derived type descriptor <format_derived_type>` and has a tag |
| of ``DW_TAG_inheritance``, then the type represents a base class. If the member |
| of is a :ref:`global variable descriptor <format_global_variables>` then it |
| represents a static member. And, if the member is a :ref:`subprogram |
| descriptor <format_subprograms>` then it represents a member function. For |
| static members and member functions, ``getName()`` returns the members link or |
| the C++ mangled name. ``getDisplayName()`` the simplied version of the name. |
| |
| The first member of subroutine (tag = ``DW_TAG_subroutine_type``) type elements |
| is the return type for the subroutine. The remaining elements are the formal |
| arguments to the subroutine. |
| |
| :ref:`Composite type <format_composite_type>` location can be determined from |
| the context and line number. The size, alignment and offset are expressed in |
| bits and can be 64 bit values. The alignment is used to round the offset when |
| embedded in a :ref:`composite type <format_composite_type>` (as an example, to |
| keep float doubles on 64 bit boundaries). The offset is the bit offset if |
| embedded in a :ref:`composite type <format_composite_type>`. |
| |
| .. _format_subrange: |
| |
| Subrange descriptors |
| ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ |
| |
| .. code-block:: llvm |
| |
| !42 = metadata !{ |
| i32, ;; Tag = 33 + LLVMDebugVersion (DW_TAG_subrange_type) |
| i64, ;; Low value |
| i64 ;; High value |
| } |
| |
| These descriptors are used to define ranges of array subscripts for an array |
| :ref:`composite type <format_composite_type>`. The low value defines the lower |
| bounds typically zero for C/C++. The high value is the upper bounds. Values |
| are 64 bit. ``High - Low + 1`` is the size of the array. If ``Low > High`` |
| the array bounds are not included in generated debugging information. |
| |
| .. _format_enumerator: |
| |
| Enumerator descriptors |
| ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ |
| |
| .. code-block:: llvm |
| |
| !6 = metadata !{ |
| i32, ;; Tag = 40 + LLVMDebugVersion (DW_TAG_enumerator) |
| metadata, ;; Name |
| i64 ;; Value |
| } |
| |
| These descriptors are used to define members of an enumeration :ref:`composite |
| type <format_composite_type>`, it associates the name to the value. |
| |
| Local variables |
| ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ |
| |
| .. code-block:: llvm |
| |
| !7 = metadata !{ |
| i32, ;; Tag (see below) |
| metadata, ;; Context |
| metadata, ;; Name |
| metadata, ;; Reference to file where defined |
| i32, ;; 24 bit - Line number where defined |
| ;; 8 bit - Argument number. 1 indicates 1st argument. |
| metadata, ;; Type descriptor |
| i32, ;; flags |
| metadata ;; (optional) Reference to inline location |
| } |
| |
| These descriptors are used to define variables local to a sub program. The |
| value of the tag depends on the usage of the variable: |
| |
| .. code-block:: llvm |
| |
| DW_TAG_auto_variable = 256 |
| DW_TAG_arg_variable = 257 |
| |
| An auto variable is any variable declared in the body of the function. An |
| argument variable is any variable that appears as a formal argument to the |
| function. |
| |
| The context is either the subprogram or block where the variable is defined. |
| Name the source variable name. Context and line indicate where the variable |
| was defined. Type descriptor defines the declared type of the variable. |
| |
| .. _format_common_intrinsics: |
| |
| Debugger intrinsic functions |
| ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ |
| |
| LLVM uses several intrinsic functions (name prefixed with "``llvm.dbg``") to |
| provide debug information at various points in generated code. |
| |
| ``llvm.dbg.declare`` |
| ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ |
| |
| .. code-block:: llvm |
| |
| void %llvm.dbg.declare(metadata, metadata) |
| |
| This intrinsic provides information about a local element (e.g., variable). |
| The first argument is metadata holding the alloca for the variable. The second |
| argument is metadata containing a description of the variable. |
| |
| ``llvm.dbg.value`` |
| ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ |
| |
| .. code-block:: llvm |
| |
| void %llvm.dbg.value(metadata, i64, metadata) |
| |
| This intrinsic provides information when a user source variable is set to a new |
| value. The first argument is the new value (wrapped as metadata). The second |
| argument is the offset in the user source variable where the new value is |
| written. The third argument is metadata containing a description of the user |
| source variable. |
| |
| Object lifetimes and scoping |
| ============================ |
| |
| In many languages, the local variables in functions can have their lifetimes or |
| scopes limited to a subset of a function. In the C family of languages, for |
| example, variables are only live (readable and writable) within the source |
| block that they are defined in. In functional languages, values are only |
| readable after they have been defined. Though this is a very obvious concept, |
| it is non-trivial to model in LLVM, because it has no notion of scoping in this |
| sense, and does not want to be tied to a language's scoping rules. |
| |
| In order to handle this, the LLVM debug format uses the metadata attached to |
| llvm instructions to encode line number and scoping information. Consider the |
| following C fragment, for example: |
| |
| .. code-block:: c |
| |
| 1. void foo() { |
| 2. int X = 21; |
| 3. int Y = 22; |
| 4. { |
| 5. int Z = 23; |
| 6. Z = X; |
| 7. } |
| 8. X = Y; |
| 9. } |
| |
| Compiled to LLVM, this function would be represented like this: |
| |
| .. code-block:: llvm |
| |
| define void @foo() nounwind ssp { |
| entry: |
| %X = alloca i32, align 4 ; <i32*> [#uses=4] |
| %Y = alloca i32, align 4 ; <i32*> [#uses=4] |
| %Z = alloca i32, align 4 ; <i32*> [#uses=3] |
| %0 = bitcast i32* %X to {}* ; <{}*> [#uses=1] |
| call void @llvm.dbg.declare(metadata !{i32 * %X}, metadata !0), !dbg !7 |
| store i32 21, i32* %X, !dbg !8 |
| %1 = bitcast i32* %Y to {}* ; <{}*> [#uses=1] |
| call void @llvm.dbg.declare(metadata !{i32 * %Y}, metadata !9), !dbg !10 |
| store i32 22, i32* %Y, !dbg !11 |
| %2 = bitcast i32* %Z to {}* ; <{}*> [#uses=1] |
| call void @llvm.dbg.declare(metadata !{i32 * %Z}, metadata !12), !dbg !14 |
| store i32 23, i32* %Z, !dbg !15 |
| %tmp = load i32* %X, !dbg !16 ; <i32> [#uses=1] |
| %tmp1 = load i32* %Y, !dbg !16 ; <i32> [#uses=1] |
| %add = add nsw i32 %tmp, %tmp1, !dbg !16 ; <i32> [#uses=1] |
| store i32 %add, i32* %Z, !dbg !16 |
| %tmp2 = load i32* %Y, !dbg !17 ; <i32> [#uses=1] |
| store i32 %tmp2, i32* %X, !dbg !17 |
| ret void, !dbg !18 |
| } |
| |
| declare void @llvm.dbg.declare(metadata, metadata) nounwind readnone |
| |
| !0 = metadata !{i32 459008, metadata !1, metadata !"X", |
| metadata !3, i32 2, metadata !6}; [ DW_TAG_auto_variable ] |
| !1 = metadata !{i32 458763, metadata !2}; [DW_TAG_lexical_block ] |
| !2 = metadata !{i32 458798, i32 0, metadata !3, metadata !"foo", metadata !"foo", |
| metadata !"foo", metadata !3, i32 1, metadata !4, |
| i1 false, i1 true}; [DW_TAG_subprogram ] |
| !3 = metadata !{i32 458769, i32 0, i32 12, metadata !"foo.c", |
| metadata !"/private/tmp", metadata !"clang 1.1", i1 true, |
| i1 false, metadata !"", i32 0}; [DW_TAG_compile_unit ] |
| !4 = metadata !{i32 458773, metadata !3, metadata !"", null, i32 0, i64 0, i64 0, |
| i64 0, i32 0, null, metadata !5, i32 0}; [DW_TAG_subroutine_type ] |
| !5 = metadata !{null} |
| !6 = metadata !{i32 458788, metadata !3, metadata !"int", metadata !3, i32 0, |
| i64 32, i64 32, i64 0, i32 0, i32 5}; [DW_TAG_base_type ] |
| !7 = metadata !{i32 2, i32 7, metadata !1, null} |
| !8 = metadata !{i32 2, i32 3, metadata !1, null} |
| !9 = metadata !{i32 459008, metadata !1, metadata !"Y", metadata !3, i32 3, |
| metadata !6}; [ DW_TAG_auto_variable ] |
| !10 = metadata !{i32 3, i32 7, metadata !1, null} |
| !11 = metadata !{i32 3, i32 3, metadata !1, null} |
| !12 = metadata !{i32 459008, metadata !13, metadata !"Z", metadata !3, i32 5, |
| metadata !6}; [ DW_TAG_auto_variable ] |
| !13 = metadata !{i32 458763, metadata !1}; [DW_TAG_lexical_block ] |
| !14 = metadata !{i32 5, i32 9, metadata !13, null} |
| !15 = metadata !{i32 5, i32 5, metadata !13, null} |
| !16 = metadata !{i32 6, i32 5, metadata !13, null} |
| !17 = metadata !{i32 8, i32 3, metadata !1, null} |
| !18 = metadata !{i32 9, i32 1, metadata !2, null} |
| |
| This example illustrates a few important details about LLVM debugging |
| information. In particular, it shows how the ``llvm.dbg.declare`` intrinsic and |
| location information, which are attached to an instruction, are applied |
| together to allow a debugger to analyze the relationship between statements, |
| variable definitions, and the code used to implement the function. |
| |
| .. code-block:: llvm |
| |
| call void @llvm.dbg.declare(metadata, metadata !0), !dbg !7 |
| |
| The first intrinsic ``%llvm.dbg.declare`` encodes debugging information for the |
| variable ``X``. The metadata ``!dbg !7`` attached to the intrinsic provides |
| scope information for the variable ``X``. |
| |
| .. code-block:: llvm |
| |
| !7 = metadata !{i32 2, i32 7, metadata !1, null} |
| !1 = metadata !{i32 458763, metadata !2}; [DW_TAG_lexical_block ] |
| !2 = metadata !{i32 458798, i32 0, metadata !3, metadata !"foo", |
| metadata !"foo", metadata !"foo", metadata !3, i32 1, |
| metadata !4, i1 false, i1 true}; [DW_TAG_subprogram ] |
| |
| Here ``!7`` is metadata providing location information. It has four fields: |
| line number, column number, scope, and original scope. The original scope |
| represents inline location if this instruction is inlined inside a caller, and |
| is null otherwise. In this example, scope is encoded by ``!1``. ``!1`` |
| represents a lexical block inside the scope ``!2``, where ``!2`` is a |
| :ref:`subprogram descriptor <format_subprograms>`. This way the location |
| information attached to the intrinsics indicates that the variable ``X`` is |
| declared at line number 2 at a function level scope in function ``foo``. |
| |
| Now lets take another example. |
| |
| .. code-block:: llvm |
| |
| call void @llvm.dbg.declare(metadata, metadata !12), !dbg !14 |
| |
| The second intrinsic ``%llvm.dbg.declare`` encodes debugging information for |
| variable ``Z``. The metadata ``!dbg !14`` attached to the intrinsic provides |
| scope information for the variable ``Z``. |
| |
| .. code-block:: llvm |
| |
| !13 = metadata !{i32 458763, metadata !1}; [DW_TAG_lexical_block ] |
| !14 = metadata !{i32 5, i32 9, metadata !13, null} |
| |
| Here ``!14`` indicates that ``Z`` is declared at line number 5 and |
| column number 9 inside of lexical scope ``!13``. The lexical scope itself |
| resides inside of lexical scope ``!1`` described above. |
| |
| The scope information attached with each instruction provides a straightforward |
| way to find instructions covered by a scope. |
| |
| .. _ccxx_frontend: |
| |
| C/C++ front-end specific debug information |
| ========================================== |
| |
| The C and C++ front-ends represent information about the program in a format |
| that is effectively identical to `DWARF 3.0 |
| <http://www.eagercon.com/dwarf/dwarf3std.htm>`_ in terms of information |
| content. This allows code generators to trivially support native debuggers by |
| generating standard dwarf information, and contains enough information for |
| non-dwarf targets to translate it as needed. |
| |
| This section describes the forms used to represent C and C++ programs. Other |
| languages could pattern themselves after this (which itself is tuned to |
| representing programs in the same way that DWARF 3 does), or they could choose |
| to provide completely different forms if they don't fit into the DWARF model. |
| As support for debugging information gets added to the various LLVM |
| source-language front-ends, the information used should be documented here. |
| |
| The following sections provide examples of various C/C++ constructs and the |
| debug information that would best describe those constructs. |
| |
| C/C++ source file information |
| ----------------------------- |
| |
| Given the source files ``MySource.cpp`` and ``MyHeader.h`` located in the |
| directory ``/Users/mine/sources``, the following code: |
| |
| .. code-block:: c |
| |
| #include "MyHeader.h" |
| |
| int main(int argc, char *argv[]) { |
| return 0; |
| } |
| |
| a C/C++ front-end would generate the following descriptors: |
| |
| .. code-block:: llvm |
| |
| ... |
| ;; |
| ;; Define the compile unit for the main source file "/Users/mine/sources/MySource.cpp". |
| ;; |
| !2 = metadata !{ |
| i32 524305, ;; Tag |
| i32 0, ;; Unused |
| i32 4, ;; Language Id |
| metadata !"MySource.cpp", |
| metadata !"/Users/mine/sources", |
| metadata !"4.2.1 (Based on Apple Inc. build 5649) (LLVM build 00)", |
| i1 true, ;; Main Compile Unit |
| i1 false, ;; Optimized compile unit |
| metadata !"", ;; Compiler flags |
| i32 0} ;; Runtime version |
| |
| ;; |
| ;; Define the file for the file "/Users/mine/sources/MySource.cpp". |
| ;; |
| !1 = metadata !{ |
| i32 524329, ;; Tag |
| metadata !"MySource.cpp", |
| metadata !"/Users/mine/sources", |
| metadata !2 ;; Compile unit |
| } |
| |
| ;; |
| ;; Define the file for the file "/Users/mine/sources/Myheader.h" |
| ;; |
| !3 = metadata !{ |
| i32 524329, ;; Tag |
| metadata !"Myheader.h" |
| metadata !"/Users/mine/sources", |
| metadata !2 ;; Compile unit |
| } |
| |
| ... |
| |
| ``llvm::Instruction`` provides easy access to metadata attached with an |
| instruction. One can extract line number information encoded in LLVM IR using |
| ``Instruction::getMetadata()`` and ``DILocation::getLineNumber()``. |
| |
| .. code-block:: c++ |
| |
| if (MDNode *N = I->getMetadata("dbg")) { // Here I is an LLVM instruction |
| DILocation Loc(N); // DILocation is in DebugInfo.h |
| unsigned Line = Loc.getLineNumber(); |
| StringRef File = Loc.getFilename(); |
| StringRef Dir = Loc.getDirectory(); |
| } |
| |
| C/C++ global variable information |
| --------------------------------- |
| |
| Given an integer global variable declared as follows: |
| |
| .. code-block:: c |
| |
| int MyGlobal = 100; |
| |
| a C/C++ front-end would generate the following descriptors: |
| |
| .. code-block:: llvm |
| |
| ;; |
| ;; Define the global itself. |
| ;; |
| %MyGlobal = global int 100 |
| ... |
| ;; |
| ;; List of debug info of globals |
| ;; |
| !llvm.dbg.cu = !{!0} |
| |
| ;; Define the compile unit. |
| !0 = metadata !{ |
| i32 786449, ;; Tag |
| i32 0, ;; Context |
| i32 4, ;; Language |
| metadata !"foo.cpp", ;; File |
| metadata !"/Volumes/Data/tmp", ;; Directory |
| metadata !"clang version 3.1 ", ;; Producer |
| i1 true, ;; Deprecated field |
| i1 false, ;; "isOptimized"? |
| metadata !"", ;; Flags |
| i32 0, ;; Runtime Version |
| metadata !1, ;; Enum Types |
| metadata !1, ;; Retained Types |
| metadata !1, ;; Subprograms |
| metadata !3 ;; Global Variables |
| } ; [ DW_TAG_compile_unit ] |
| |
| ;; The Array of Global Variables |
| !3 = metadata !{ |
| metadata !4 |
| } |
| |
| !4 = metadata !{ |
| metadata !5 |
| } |
| |
| ;; |
| ;; Define the global variable itself. |
| ;; |
| !5 = metadata !{ |
| i32 786484, ;; Tag |
| i32 0, ;; Unused |
| null, ;; Unused |
| metadata !"MyGlobal", ;; Name |
| metadata !"MyGlobal", ;; Display Name |
| metadata !"", ;; Linkage Name |
| metadata !6, ;; File |
| i32 1, ;; Line |
| metadata !7, ;; Type |
| i32 0, ;; IsLocalToUnit |
| i32 1, ;; IsDefinition |
| i32* @MyGlobal ;; LLVM-IR Value |
| } ; [ DW_TAG_variable ] |
| |
| ;; |
| ;; Define the file |
| ;; |
| !6 = metadata !{ |
| i32 786473, ;; Tag |
| metadata !"foo.cpp", ;; File |
| metadata !"/Volumes/Data/tmp", ;; Directory |
| null ;; Unused |
| } ; [ DW_TAG_file_type ] |
| |
| ;; |
| ;; Define the type |
| ;; |
| !7 = metadata !{ |
| i32 786468, ;; Tag |
| null, ;; Unused |
| metadata !"int", ;; Name |
| null, ;; Unused |
| i32 0, ;; Line |
| i64 32, ;; Size in Bits |
| i64 32, ;; Align in Bits |
| i64 0, ;; Offset |
| i32 0, ;; Flags |
| i32 5 ;; Encoding |
| } ; [ DW_TAG_base_type ] |
| |
| C/C++ function information |
| -------------------------- |
| |
| Given a function declared as follows: |
| |
| .. code-block:: c |
| |
| int main(int argc, char *argv[]) { |
| return 0; |
| } |
| |
| a C/C++ front-end would generate the following descriptors: |
| |
| .. code-block:: llvm |
| |
| ;; |
| ;; Define the anchor for subprograms. Note that the second field of the |
| ;; anchor is 46, which is the same as the tag for subprograms |
| ;; (46 = DW_TAG_subprogram.) |
| ;; |
| !6 = metadata !{ |
| i32 524334, ;; Tag |
| i32 0, ;; Unused |
| metadata !1, ;; Context |
| metadata !"main", ;; Name |
| metadata !"main", ;; Display name |
| metadata !"main", ;; Linkage name |
| metadata !1, ;; File |
| i32 1, ;; Line number |
| metadata !4, ;; Type |
| i1 false, ;; Is local |
| i1 true, ;; Is definition |
| i32 0, ;; Virtuality attribute, e.g. pure virtual function |
| i32 0, ;; Index into virtual table for C++ methods |
| i32 0, ;; Type that holds virtual table. |
| i32 0, ;; Flags |
| i1 false, ;; True if this function is optimized |
| Function *, ;; Pointer to llvm::Function |
| null ;; Function template parameters |
| } |
| ;; |
| ;; Define the subprogram itself. |
| ;; |
| define i32 @main(i32 %argc, i8** %argv) { |
| ... |
| } |
| |
| C/C++ basic types |
| ----------------- |
| |
| The following are the basic type descriptors for C/C++ core types: |
| |
| bool |
| ^^^^ |
| |
| .. code-block:: llvm |
| |
| !2 = metadata !{ |
| i32 524324, ;; Tag |
| metadata !1, ;; Context |
| metadata !"bool", ;; Name |
| metadata !1, ;; File |
| i32 0, ;; Line number |
| i64 8, ;; Size in Bits |
| i64 8, ;; Align in Bits |
| i64 0, ;; Offset in Bits |
| i32 0, ;; Flags |
| i32 2 ;; Encoding |
| } |
| |
| char |
| ^^^^ |
| |
| .. code-block:: llvm |
| |
| !2 = metadata !{ |
| i32 524324, ;; Tag |
| metadata !1, ;; Context |
| metadata !"char", ;; Name |
| metadata !1, ;; File |
| i32 0, ;; Line number |
| i64 8, ;; Size in Bits |
| i64 8, ;; Align in Bits |
| i64 0, ;; Offset in Bits |
| i32 0, ;; Flags |
| i32 6 ;; Encoding |
| } |
| |
| unsigned char |
| ^^^^^^^^^^^^^ |
| |
| .. code-block:: llvm |
| |
| !2 = metadata !{ |
| i32 524324, ;; Tag |
| metadata !1, ;; Context |
| metadata !"unsigned char", |
| metadata !1, ;; File |
| i32 0, ;; Line number |
| i64 8, ;; Size in Bits |
| i64 8, ;; Align in Bits |
| i64 0, ;; Offset in Bits |
| i32 0, ;; Flags |
| i32 8 ;; Encoding |
| } |
| |
| short |
| ^^^^^ |
| |
| .. code-block:: llvm |
| |
| !2 = metadata !{ |
| i32 524324, ;; Tag |
| metadata !1, ;; Context |
| metadata !"short int", |
| metadata !1, ;; File |
| i32 0, ;; Line number |
| i64 16, ;; Size in Bits |
| i64 16, ;; Align in Bits |
| i64 0, ;; Offset in Bits |
| i32 0, ;; Flags |
| i32 5 ;; Encoding |
| } |
| |
| unsigned short |
| ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ |
| |
| .. code-block:: llvm |
| |
| !2 = metadata !{ |
| i32 524324, ;; Tag |
| metadata !1, ;; Context |
| metadata !"short unsigned int", |
| metadata !1, ;; File |
| i32 0, ;; Line number |
| i64 16, ;; Size in Bits |
| i64 16, ;; Align in Bits |
| i64 0, ;; Offset in Bits |
| i32 0, ;; Flags |
| i32 7 ;; Encoding |
| } |
| |
| int |
| ^^^ |
| |
| .. code-block:: llvm |
| |
| !2 = metadata !{ |
| i32 524324, ;; Tag |
| metadata !1, ;; Context |
| metadata !"int", ;; Name |
| metadata !1, ;; File |
| i32 0, ;; Line number |
| i64 32, ;; Size in Bits |
| i64 32, ;; Align in Bits |
| i64 0, ;; Offset in Bits |
| i32 0, ;; Flags |
| i32 5 ;; Encoding |
| } |
| |
| unsigned int |
| ^^^^^^^^^^^^ |
| |
| .. code-block:: llvm |
| |
| !2 = metadata !{ |
| i32 524324, ;; Tag |
| metadata !1, ;; Context |
| metadata !"unsigned int", |
| metadata !1, ;; File |
| i32 0, ;; Line number |
| i64 32, ;; Size in Bits |
| i64 32, ;; Align in Bits |
| i64 0, ;; Offset in Bits |
| i32 0, ;; Flags |
| i32 7 ;; Encoding |
| } |
| |
| long long |
| ^^^^^^^^^ |
| |
| .. code-block:: llvm |
| |
| !2 = metadata !{ |
| i32 524324, ;; Tag |
| metadata !1, ;; Context |
| metadata !"long long int", |
| metadata !1, ;; File |
| i32 0, ;; Line number |
| i64 64, ;; Size in Bits |
| i64 64, ;; Align in Bits |
| i64 0, ;; Offset in Bits |
| i32 0, ;; Flags |
| i32 5 ;; Encoding |
| } |
| |
| unsigned long long |
| ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ |
| |
| .. code-block:: llvm |
| |
| !2 = metadata !{ |
| i32 524324, ;; Tag |
| metadata !1, ;; Context |
| metadata !"long long unsigned int", |
| metadata !1, ;; File |
| i32 0, ;; Line number |
| i64 64, ;; Size in Bits |
| i64 64, ;; Align in Bits |
| i64 0, ;; Offset in Bits |
| i32 0, ;; Flags |
| i32 7 ;; Encoding |
| } |
| |
| float |
| ^^^^^ |
| |
| .. code-block:: llvm |
| |
| !2 = metadata !{ |
| i32 524324, ;; Tag |
| metadata !1, ;; Context |
| metadata !"float", |
| metadata !1, ;; File |
| i32 0, ;; Line number |
| i64 32, ;; Size in Bits |
| i64 32, ;; Align in Bits |
| i64 0, ;; Offset in Bits |
| i32 0, ;; Flags |
| i32 4 ;; Encoding |
| } |
| |
| double |
| ^^^^^^ |
| |
| .. code-block:: llvm |
| |
| !2 = metadata !{ |
| i32 524324, ;; Tag |
| metadata !1, ;; Context |
| metadata !"double",;; Name |
| metadata !1, ;; File |
| i32 0, ;; Line number |
| i64 64, ;; Size in Bits |
| i64 64, ;; Align in Bits |
| i64 0, ;; Offset in Bits |
| i32 0, ;; Flags |
| i32 4 ;; Encoding |
| } |
| |
| C/C++ derived types |
| ------------------- |
| |
| Given the following as an example of C/C++ derived type: |
| |
| .. code-block:: c |
| |
| typedef const int *IntPtr; |
| |
| a C/C++ front-end would generate the following descriptors: |
| |
| .. code-block:: llvm |
| |
| ;; |
| ;; Define the typedef "IntPtr". |
| ;; |
| !2 = metadata !{ |
| i32 524310, ;; Tag |
| metadata !1, ;; Context |
| metadata !"IntPtr", ;; Name |
| metadata !3, ;; File |
| i32 0, ;; Line number |
| i64 0, ;; Size in bits |
| i64 0, ;; Align in bits |
| i64 0, ;; Offset in bits |
| i32 0, ;; Flags |
| metadata !4 ;; Derived From type |
| } |
| ;; |
| ;; Define the pointer type. |
| ;; |
| !4 = metadata !{ |
| i32 524303, ;; Tag |
| metadata !1, ;; Context |
| metadata !"", ;; Name |
| metadata !1, ;; File |
| i32 0, ;; Line number |
| i64 64, ;; Size in bits |
| i64 64, ;; Align in bits |
| i64 0, ;; Offset in bits |
| i32 0, ;; Flags |
| metadata !5 ;; Derived From type |
| } |
| ;; |
| ;; Define the const type. |
| ;; |
| !5 = metadata !{ |
| i32 524326, ;; Tag |
| metadata !1, ;; Context |
| metadata !"", ;; Name |
| metadata !1, ;; File |
| i32 0, ;; Line number |
| i64 32, ;; Size in bits |
| i64 32, ;; Align in bits |
| i64 0, ;; Offset in bits |
| i32 0, ;; Flags |
| metadata !6 ;; Derived From type |
| } |
| ;; |
| ;; Define the int type. |
| ;; |
| !6 = metadata !{ |
| i32 524324, ;; Tag |
| metadata !1, ;; Context |
| metadata !"int", ;; Name |
| metadata !1, ;; File |
| i32 0, ;; Line number |
| i64 32, ;; Size in bits |
| i64 32, ;; Align in bits |
| i64 0, ;; Offset in bits |
| i32 0, ;; Flags |
| 5 ;; Encoding |
| } |
| |
| C/C++ struct/union types |
| ------------------------ |
| |
| Given the following as an example of C/C++ struct type: |
| |
| .. code-block:: c |
| |
| struct Color { |
| unsigned Red; |
| unsigned Green; |
| unsigned Blue; |
| }; |
| |
| a C/C++ front-end would generate the following descriptors: |
| |
| .. code-block:: llvm |
| |
| ;; |
| ;; Define basic type for unsigned int. |
| ;; |
| !5 = metadata !{ |
| i32 524324, ;; Tag |
| metadata !1, ;; Context |
| metadata !"unsigned int", |
| metadata !1, ;; File |
| i32 0, ;; Line number |
| i64 32, ;; Size in Bits |
| i64 32, ;; Align in Bits |
| i64 0, ;; Offset in Bits |
| i32 0, ;; Flags |
| i32 7 ;; Encoding |
| } |
| ;; |
| ;; Define composite type for struct Color. |
| ;; |
| !2 = metadata !{ |
| i32 524307, ;; Tag |
| metadata !1, ;; Context |
| metadata !"Color", ;; Name |
| metadata !1, ;; Compile unit |
| i32 1, ;; Line number |
| i64 96, ;; Size in bits |
| i64 32, ;; Align in bits |
| i64 0, ;; Offset in bits |
| i32 0, ;; Flags |
| null, ;; Derived From |
| metadata !3, ;; Elements |
| i32 0 ;; Runtime Language |
| } |
| |
| ;; |
| ;; Define the Red field. |
| ;; |
| !4 = metadata !{ |
| i32 524301, ;; Tag |
| metadata !1, ;; Context |
| metadata !"Red", ;; Name |
| metadata !1, ;; File |
| i32 2, ;; Line number |
| i64 32, ;; Size in bits |
| i64 32, ;; Align in bits |
| i64 0, ;; Offset in bits |
| i32 0, ;; Flags |
| metadata !5 ;; Derived From type |
| } |
| |
| ;; |
| ;; Define the Green field. |
| ;; |
| !6 = metadata !{ |
| i32 524301, ;; Tag |
| metadata !1, ;; Context |
| metadata !"Green", ;; Name |
| metadata !1, ;; File |
| i32 3, ;; Line number |
| i64 32, ;; Size in bits |
| i64 32, ;; Align in bits |
| i64 32, ;; Offset in bits |
| i32 0, ;; Flags |
| metadata !5 ;; Derived From type |
| } |
| |
| ;; |
| ;; Define the Blue field. |
| ;; |
| !7 = metadata !{ |
| i32 524301, ;; Tag |
| metadata !1, ;; Context |
| metadata !"Blue", ;; Name |
| metadata !1, ;; File |
| i32 4, ;; Line number |
| i64 32, ;; Size in bits |
| i64 32, ;; Align in bits |
| i64 64, ;; Offset in bits |
| i32 0, ;; Flags |
| metadata !5 ;; Derived From type |
| } |
| |
| ;; |
| ;; Define the array of fields used by the composite type Color. |
| ;; |
| !3 = metadata !{metadata !4, metadata !6, metadata !7} |
| |
| C/C++ enumeration types |
| ----------------------- |
| |
| Given the following as an example of C/C++ enumeration type: |
| |
| .. code-block:: c |
| |
| enum Trees { |
| Spruce = 100, |
| Oak = 200, |
| Maple = 300 |
| }; |
| |
| a C/C++ front-end would generate the following descriptors: |
| |
| .. code-block:: llvm |
| |
| ;; |
| ;; Define composite type for enum Trees |
| ;; |
| !2 = metadata !{ |
| i32 524292, ;; Tag |
| metadata !1, ;; Context |
| metadata !"Trees", ;; Name |
| metadata !1, ;; File |
| i32 1, ;; Line number |
| i64 32, ;; Size in bits |
| i64 32, ;; Align in bits |
| i64 0, ;; Offset in bits |
| i32 0, ;; Flags |
| null, ;; Derived From type |
| metadata !3, ;; Elements |
| i32 0 ;; Runtime language |
| } |
| |
| ;; |
| ;; Define the array of enumerators used by composite type Trees. |
| ;; |
| !3 = metadata !{metadata !4, metadata !5, metadata !6} |
| |
| ;; |
| ;; Define Spruce enumerator. |
| ;; |
| !4 = metadata !{i32 524328, metadata !"Spruce", i64 100} |
| |
| ;; |
| ;; Define Oak enumerator. |
| ;; |
| !5 = metadata !{i32 524328, metadata !"Oak", i64 200} |
| |
| ;; |
| ;; Define Maple enumerator. |
| ;; |
| !6 = metadata !{i32 524328, metadata !"Maple", i64 300} |
| |
| Debugging information format |
| ============================ |
| |
| Debugging Information Extension for Objective C Properties |
| ---------------------------------------------------------- |
| |
| Introduction |
| ^^^^^^^^^^^^ |
| |
| Objective C provides a simpler way to declare and define accessor methods using |
| declared properties. The language provides features to declare a property and |
| to let compiler synthesize accessor methods. |
| |
| The debugger lets developer inspect Objective C interfaces and their instance |
| variables and class variables. However, the debugger does not know anything |
| about the properties defined in Objective C interfaces. The debugger consumes |
| information generated by compiler in DWARF format. The format does not support |
| encoding of Objective C properties. This proposal describes DWARF extensions to |
| encode Objective C properties, which the debugger can use to let developers |
| inspect Objective C properties. |
| |
| Proposal |
| ^^^^^^^^ |
| |
| Objective C properties exist separately from class members. A property can be |
| defined only by "setter" and "getter" selectors, and be calculated anew on each |
| access. Or a property can just be a direct access to some declared ivar. |
| Finally it can have an ivar "automatically synthesized" for it by the compiler, |
| in which case the property can be referred to in user code directly using the |
| standard C dereference syntax as well as through the property "dot" syntax, but |
| there is no entry in the ``@interface`` declaration corresponding to this ivar. |
| |
| To facilitate debugging, these properties we will add a new DWARF TAG into the |
| ``DW_TAG_structure_type`` definition for the class to hold the description of a |
| given property, and a set of DWARF attributes that provide said description. |
| The property tag will also contain the name and declared type of the property. |
| |
| If there is a related ivar, there will also be a DWARF property attribute placed |
| in the ``DW_TAG_member`` DIE for that ivar referring back to the property TAG |
| for that property. And in the case where the compiler synthesizes the ivar |
| directly, the compiler is expected to generate a ``DW_TAG_member`` for that |
| ivar (with the ``DW_AT_artificial`` set to 1), whose name will be the name used |
| to access this ivar directly in code, and with the property attribute pointing |
| back to the property it is backing. |
| |
| The following examples will serve as illustration for our discussion: |
| |
| .. code-block:: objc |
| |
| @interface I1 { |
| int n2; |
| } |
| |
| @property int p1; |
| @property int p2; |
| @end |
| |
| @implementation I1 |
| @synthesize p1; |
| @synthesize p2 = n2; |
| @end |
| |
| This produces the following DWARF (this is a "pseudo dwarfdump" output): |
| |
| .. code-block:: none |
| |
| 0x00000100: TAG_structure_type [7] * |
| AT_APPLE_runtime_class( 0x10 ) |
| AT_name( "I1" ) |
| AT_decl_file( "Objc_Property.m" ) |
| AT_decl_line( 3 ) |
| |
| 0x00000110 TAG_APPLE_property |
| AT_name ( "p1" ) |
| AT_type ( {0x00000150} ( int ) ) |
| |
| 0x00000120: TAG_APPLE_property |
| AT_name ( "p2" ) |
| AT_type ( {0x00000150} ( int ) ) |
| |
| 0x00000130: TAG_member [8] |
| AT_name( "_p1" ) |
| AT_APPLE_property ( {0x00000110} "p1" ) |
| AT_type( {0x00000150} ( int ) ) |
| AT_artificial ( 0x1 ) |
| |
| 0x00000140: TAG_member [8] |
| AT_name( "n2" ) |
| AT_APPLE_property ( {0x00000120} "p2" ) |
| AT_type( {0x00000150} ( int ) ) |
| |
| 0x00000150: AT_type( ( int ) ) |
| |
| Note, the current convention is that the name of the ivar for an |
| auto-synthesized property is the name of the property from which it derives |
| with an underscore prepended, as is shown in the example. But we actually |
| don't need to know this convention, since we are given the name of the ivar |
| directly. |
| |
| Also, it is common practice in ObjC to have different property declarations in |
| the @interface and @implementation - e.g. to provide a read-only property in |
| the interface,and a read-write interface in the implementation. In that case, |
| the compiler should emit whichever property declaration will be in force in the |
| current translation unit. |
| |
| Developers can decorate a property with attributes which are encoded using |
| ``DW_AT_APPLE_property_attribute``. |
| |
| .. code-block:: objc |
| |
| @property (readonly, nonatomic) int pr; |
| |
| .. code-block:: none |
| |
| TAG_APPLE_property [8] |
| AT_name( "pr" ) |
| AT_type ( {0x00000147} (int) ) |
| AT_APPLE_property_attribute (DW_APPLE_PROPERTY_readonly, DW_APPLE_PROPERTY_nonatomic) |
| |
| The setter and getter method names are attached to the property using |
| ``DW_AT_APPLE_property_setter`` and ``DW_AT_APPLE_property_getter`` attributes. |
| |
| .. code-block:: objc |
| |
| @interface I1 |
| @property (setter=myOwnP3Setter:) int p3; |
| -(void)myOwnP3Setter:(int)a; |
| @end |
| |
| @implementation I1 |
| @synthesize p3; |
| -(void)myOwnP3Setter:(int)a{ } |
| @end |
| |
| The DWARF for this would be: |
| |
| .. code-block:: none |
| |
| 0x000003bd: TAG_structure_type [7] * |
| AT_APPLE_runtime_class( 0x10 ) |
| AT_name( "I1" ) |
| AT_decl_file( "Objc_Property.m" ) |
| AT_decl_line( 3 ) |
| |
| 0x000003cd TAG_APPLE_property |
| AT_name ( "p3" ) |
| AT_APPLE_property_setter ( "myOwnP3Setter:" ) |
| AT_type( {0x00000147} ( int ) ) |
| |
| 0x000003f3: TAG_member [8] |
| AT_name( "_p3" ) |
| AT_type ( {0x00000147} ( int ) ) |
| AT_APPLE_property ( {0x000003cd} ) |
| AT_artificial ( 0x1 ) |
| |
| New DWARF Tags |
| ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ |
| |
| +-----------------------+--------+ |
| | TAG | Value | |
| +=======================+========+ |
| | DW_TAG_APPLE_property | 0x4200 | |
| +-----------------------+--------+ |
| |
| New DWARF Attributes |
| ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ |
| |
| +--------------------------------+--------+-----------+ |
| | Attribute | Value | Classes | |
| +================================+========+===========+ |
| | DW_AT_APPLE_property | 0x3fed | Reference | |
| +--------------------------------+--------+-----------+ |
| | DW_AT_APPLE_property_getter | 0x3fe9 | String | |
| +--------------------------------+--------+-----------+ |
| | DW_AT_APPLE_property_setter | 0x3fea | String | |
| +--------------------------------+--------+-----------+ |
| | DW_AT_APPLE_property_attribute | 0x3feb | Constant | |
| +--------------------------------+--------+-----------+ |
| |
| New DWARF Constants |
| ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ |
| |
| +--------------------------------+-------+ |
| | Name | Value | |
| +================================+=======+ |
| | DW_AT_APPLE_PROPERTY_readonly | 0x1 | |
| +--------------------------------+-------+ |
| | DW_AT_APPLE_PROPERTY_readwrite | 0x2 | |
| +--------------------------------+-------+ |
| | DW_AT_APPLE_PROPERTY_assign | 0x4 | |
| +--------------------------------+-------+ |
| | DW_AT_APPLE_PROPERTY_retain | 0x8 | |
| +--------------------------------+-------+ |
| | DW_AT_APPLE_PROPERTY_copy | 0x10 | |
| +--------------------------------+-------+ |
| | DW_AT_APPLE_PROPERTY_nonatomic | 0x20 | |
| +--------------------------------+-------+ |
| |
| Name Accelerator Tables |
| ----------------------- |
| |
| Introduction |
| ^^^^^^^^^^^^ |
| |
| The "``.debug_pubnames``" and "``.debug_pubtypes``" formats are not what a |
| debugger needs. The "``pub``" in the section name indicates that the entries |
| in the table are publicly visible names only. This means no static or hidden |
| functions show up in the "``.debug_pubnames``". No static variables or private |
| class variables are in the "``.debug_pubtypes``". Many compilers add different |
| things to these tables, so we can't rely upon the contents between gcc, icc, or |
| clang. |
| |
| The typical query given by users tends not to match up with the contents of |
| these tables. For example, the DWARF spec states that "In the case of the name |
| of a function member or static data member of a C++ structure, class or union, |
| the name presented in the "``.debug_pubnames``" section is not the simple name |
| given by the ``DW_AT_name attribute`` of the referenced debugging information |
| entry, but rather the fully qualified name of the data or function member." |
| So the only names in these tables for complex C++ entries is a fully |
| qualified name. Debugger users tend not to enter their search strings as |
| "``a::b::c(int,const Foo&) const``", but rather as "``c``", "``b::c``" , or |
| "``a::b::c``". So the name entered in the name table must be demangled in |
| order to chop it up appropriately and additional names must be manually entered |
| into the table to make it effective as a name lookup table for debuggers to |
| se. |
| |
| All debuggers currently ignore the "``.debug_pubnames``" table as a result of |
| its inconsistent and useless public-only name content making it a waste of |
| space in the object file. These tables, when they are written to disk, are not |
| sorted in any way, leaving every debugger to do its own parsing and sorting. |
| These tables also include an inlined copy of the string values in the table |
| itself making the tables much larger than they need to be on disk, especially |
| for large C++ programs. |
| |
| Can't we just fix the sections by adding all of the names we need to this |
| table? No, because that is not what the tables are defined to contain and we |
| won't know the difference between the old bad tables and the new good tables. |
| At best we could make our own renamed sections that contain all of the data we |
| need. |
| |
| These tables are also insufficient for what a debugger like LLDB needs. LLDB |
| uses clang for its expression parsing where LLDB acts as a PCH. LLDB is then |
| often asked to look for type "``foo``" or namespace "``bar``", or list items in |
| namespace "``baz``". Namespaces are not included in the pubnames or pubtypes |
| tables. Since clang asks a lot of questions when it is parsing an expression, |
| we need to be very fast when looking up names, as it happens a lot. Having new |
| accelerator tables that are optimized for very quick lookups will benefit this |
| type of debugging experience greatly. |
| |
| We would like to generate name lookup tables that can be mapped into memory |
| from disk, and used as is, with little or no up-front parsing. We would also |
| be able to control the exact content of these different tables so they contain |
| exactly what we need. The Name Accelerator Tables were designed to fix these |
| issues. In order to solve these issues we need to: |
| |
| * Have a format that can be mapped into memory from disk and used as is |
| * Lookups should be very fast |
| * Extensible table format so these tables can be made by many producers |
| * Contain all of the names needed for typical lookups out of the box |
| * Strict rules for the contents of tables |
| |
| Table size is important and the accelerator table format should allow the reuse |
| of strings from common string tables so the strings for the names are not |
| duplicated. We also want to make sure the table is ready to be used as-is by |
| simply mapping the table into memory with minimal header parsing. |
| |
| The name lookups need to be fast and optimized for the kinds of lookups that |
| debuggers tend to do. Optimally we would like to touch as few parts of the |
| mapped table as possible when doing a name lookup and be able to quickly find |
| the name entry we are looking for, or discover there are no matches. In the |
| case of debuggers we optimized for lookups that fail most of the time. |
| |
| Each table that is defined should have strict rules on exactly what is in the |
| accelerator tables and documented so clients can rely on the content. |
| |
| Hash Tables |
| ^^^^^^^^^^^ |
| |
| Standard Hash Tables |
| """""""""""""""""""" |
| |
| Typical hash tables have a header, buckets, and each bucket points to the |
| bucket contents: |
| |
| .. code-block:: none |
| |
| .------------. |
| | HEADER | |
| |------------| |
| | BUCKETS | |
| |------------| |
| | DATA | |
| `------------' |
| |
| The BUCKETS are an array of offsets to DATA for each hash: |
| |
| .. code-block:: none |
| |
| .------------. |
| | 0x00001000 | BUCKETS[0] |
| | 0x00002000 | BUCKETS[1] |
| | 0x00002200 | BUCKETS[2] |
| | 0x000034f0 | BUCKETS[3] |
| | | ... |
| | 0xXXXXXXXX | BUCKETS[n_buckets] |
| '------------' |
| |
| So for ``bucket[3]`` in the example above, we have an offset into the table |
| 0x000034f0 which points to a chain of entries for the bucket. Each bucket must |
| contain a next pointer, full 32 bit hash value, the string itself, and the data |
| for the current string value. |
| |
| .. code-block:: none |
| |
| .------------. |
| 0x000034f0: | 0x00003500 | next pointer |
| | 0x12345678 | 32 bit hash |
| | "erase" | string value |
| | data[n] | HashData for this bucket |
| |------------| |
| 0x00003500: | 0x00003550 | next pointer |
| | 0x29273623 | 32 bit hash |
| | "dump" | string value |
| | data[n] | HashData for this bucket |
| |------------| |
| 0x00003550: | 0x00000000 | next pointer |
| | 0x82638293 | 32 bit hash |
| | "main" | string value |
| | data[n] | HashData for this bucket |
| `------------' |
| |
| The problem with this layout for debuggers is that we need to optimize for the |
| negative lookup case where the symbol we're searching for is not present. So |
| if we were to lookup "``printf``" in the table above, we would make a 32 hash |
| for "``printf``", it might match ``bucket[3]``. We would need to go to the |
| offset 0x000034f0 and start looking to see if our 32 bit hash matches. To do |
| so, we need to read the next pointer, then read the hash, compare it, and skip |
| to the next bucket. Each time we are skipping many bytes in memory and |
| touching new cache pages just to do the compare on the full 32 bit hash. All |
| of these accesses then tell us that we didn't have a match. |
| |
| Name Hash Tables |
| """""""""""""""" |
| |
| To solve the issues mentioned above we have structured the hash tables a bit |
| differently: a header, buckets, an array of all unique 32 bit hash values, |
| followed by an array of hash value data offsets, one for each hash value, then |
| the data for all hash values: |
| |
| .. code-block:: none |
| |
| .-------------. |
| | HEADER | |
| |-------------| |
| | BUCKETS | |
| |-------------| |
| | HASHES | |
| |-------------| |
| | OFFSETS | |
| |-------------| |
| | DATA | |
| `-------------' |
| |
| The ``BUCKETS`` in the name tables are an index into the ``HASHES`` array. By |
| making all of the full 32 bit hash values contiguous in memory, we allow |
| ourselves to efficiently check for a match while touching as little memory as |
| possible. Most often checking the 32 bit hash values is as far as the lookup |
| goes. If it does match, it usually is a match with no collisions. So for a |
| table with "``n_buckets``" buckets, and "``n_hashes``" unique 32 bit hash |
| values, we can clarify the contents of the ``BUCKETS``, ``HASHES`` and |
| ``OFFSETS`` as: |
| |
| .. code-block:: none |
| |
| .-------------------------. |
| | HEADER.magic | uint32_t |
| | HEADER.version | uint16_t |
| | HEADER.hash_function | uint16_t |
| | HEADER.bucket_count | uint32_t |
| | HEADER.hashes_count | uint32_t |
| | HEADER.header_data_len | uint32_t |
| | HEADER_DATA | HeaderData |
| |-------------------------| |
| | BUCKETS | uint32_t[bucket_count] // 32 bit hash indexes |
| |-------------------------| |
| | HASHES | uint32_t[hashes_count] // 32 bit hash values |
| |-------------------------| |
| | OFFSETS | uint32_t[hashes_count] // 32 bit offsets to hash value data |
| |-------------------------| |
| | ALL HASH DATA | |
| `-------------------------' |
| |
| So taking the exact same data from the standard hash example above we end up |
| with: |
| |
| .. code-block:: none |
| |
| .------------. |
| | HEADER | |
| |------------| |
| | 0 | BUCKETS[0] |
| | 2 | BUCKETS[1] |
| | 5 | BUCKETS[2] |
| | 6 | BUCKETS[3] |
| | | ... |
| | ... | BUCKETS[n_buckets] |
| |------------| |
| | 0x........ | HASHES[0] |
| | 0x........ | HASHES[1] |
| | 0x........ | HASHES[2] |
| | 0x........ | HASHES[3] |
| | 0x........ | HASHES[4] |
| | 0x........ | HASHES[5] |
| | 0x12345678 | HASHES[6] hash for BUCKETS[3] |
| | 0x29273623 | HASHES[7] hash for BUCKETS[3] |
| | 0x82638293 | HASHES[8] hash for BUCKETS[3] |
| | 0x........ | HASHES[9] |
| | 0x........ | HASHES[10] |
| | 0x........ | HASHES[11] |
| | 0x........ | HASHES[12] |
| | 0x........ | HASHES[13] |
| | 0x........ | HASHES[n_hashes] |
| |------------| |
| | 0x........ | OFFSETS[0] |
| | 0x........ | OFFSETS[1] |
| | 0x........ | OFFSETS[2] |
| | 0x........ | OFFSETS[3] |
| | 0x........ | OFFSETS[4] |
| | 0x........ | OFFSETS[5] |
| | 0x000034f0 | OFFSETS[6] offset for BUCKETS[3] |
| | 0x00003500 | OFFSETS[7] offset for BUCKETS[3] |
| | 0x00003550 | OFFSETS[8] offset for BUCKETS[3] |
| | 0x........ | OFFSETS[9] |
| | 0x........ | OFFSETS[10] |
| | 0x........ | OFFSETS[11] |
| | 0x........ | OFFSETS[12] |
| | 0x........ | OFFSETS[13] |
| | 0x........ | OFFSETS[n_hashes] |
| |------------| |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| |------------| |
| 0x000034f0: | 0x00001203 | .debug_str ("erase") |
| | 0x00000004 | A 32 bit array count - number of HashData with name "erase" |
| | 0x........ | HashData[0] |
| | 0x........ | HashData[1] |
| | 0x........ | HashData[2] |
| | 0x........ | HashData[3] |
| | 0x00000000 | String offset into .debug_str (terminate data for hash) |
| |------------| |
| 0x00003500: | 0x00001203 | String offset into .debug_str ("collision") |
| | 0x00000002 | A 32 bit array count - number of HashData with name "collision" |
| | 0x........ | HashData[0] |
| | 0x........ | HashData[1] |
| | 0x00001203 | String offset into .debug_str ("dump") |
| | 0x00000003 | A 32 bit array count - number of HashData with name "dump" |
| | 0x........ | HashData[0] |
| | 0x........ | HashData[1] |
| | 0x........ | HashData[2] |
| | 0x00000000 | String offset into .debug_str (terminate data for hash) |
| |------------| |
| 0x00003550: | 0x00001203 | String offset into .debug_str ("main") |
| | 0x00000009 | A 32 bit array count - number of HashData with name "main" |
| | 0x........ | HashData[0] |
| | 0x........ | HashData[1] |
| | 0x........ | HashData[2] |
| | 0x........ | HashData[3] |
| | 0x........ | HashData[4] |
| | 0x........ | HashData[5] |
| | 0x........ | HashData[6] |
| | 0x........ | HashData[7] |
| | 0x........ | HashData[8] |
| | 0x00000000 | String offset into .debug_str (terminate data for hash) |
| `------------' |
| |
| So we still have all of the same data, we just organize it more efficiently for |
| debugger lookup. If we repeat the same "``printf``" lookup from above, we |
| would hash "``printf``" and find it matches ``BUCKETS[3]`` by taking the 32 bit |
| hash value and modulo it by ``n_buckets``. ``BUCKETS[3]`` contains "6" which |
| is the index into the ``HASHES`` table. We would then compare any consecutive |
| 32 bit hashes values in the ``HASHES`` array as long as the hashes would be in |
| ``BUCKETS[3]``. We do this by verifying that each subsequent hash value modulo |
| ``n_buckets`` is still 3. In the case of a failed lookup we would access the |
| memory for ``BUCKETS[3]``, and then compare a few consecutive 32 bit hashes |
| before we know that we have no match. We don't end up marching through |
| multiple words of memory and we really keep the number of processor data cache |
| lines being accessed as small as possible. |
| |
| The string hash that is used for these lookup tables is the Daniel J. |
| Bernstein hash which is also used in the ELF ``GNU_HASH`` sections. It is a |
| very good hash for all kinds of names in programs with very few hash |
| collisions. |
| |
| Empty buckets are designated by using an invalid hash index of ``UINT32_MAX``. |
| |
| Details |
| ^^^^^^^ |
| |
| These name hash tables are designed to be generic where specializations of the |
| table get to define additional data that goes into the header ("``HeaderData``"), |
| how the string value is stored ("``KeyType``") and the content of the data for each |
| hash value. |
| |
| Header Layout |
| """"""""""""" |
| |
| The header has a fixed part, and the specialized part. The exact format of the |
| header is: |
| |
| .. code-block:: c |
| |
| struct Header |
| { |
| uint32_t magic; // 'HASH' magic value to allow endian detection |
| uint16_t version; // Version number |
| uint16_t hash_function; // The hash function enumeration that was used |
| uint32_t bucket_count; // The number of buckets in this hash table |
| uint32_t hashes_count; // The total number of unique hash values and hash data offsets in this table |
| uint32_t header_data_len; // The bytes to skip to get to the hash indexes (buckets) for correct alignment |
| // Specifically the length of the following HeaderData field - this does not |
| // include the size of the preceding fields |
| HeaderData header_data; // Implementation specific header data |
| }; |
| |
| The header starts with a 32 bit "``magic``" value which must be ``'HASH'`` |
| encoded as an ASCII integer. This allows the detection of the start of the |
| hash table and also allows the table's byte order to be determined so the table |
| can be correctly extracted. The "``magic``" value is followed by a 16 bit |
| ``version`` number which allows the table to be revised and modified in the |
| future. The current version number is 1. ``hash_function`` is a ``uint16_t`` |
| enumeration that specifies which hash function was used to produce this table. |
| The current values for the hash function enumerations include: |
| |
| .. code-block:: c |
| |
| enum HashFunctionType |
| { |
| eHashFunctionDJB = 0u, // Daniel J Bernstein hash function |
| }; |
| |
| ``bucket_count`` is a 32 bit unsigned integer that represents how many buckets |
| are in the ``BUCKETS`` array. ``hashes_count`` is the number of unique 32 bit |
| hash values that are in the ``HASHES`` array, and is the same number of offsets |
| are contained in the ``OFFSETS`` array. ``header_data_len`` specifies the size |
| in bytes of the ``HeaderData`` that is filled in by specialized versions of |
| this table. |
| |
| Fixed Lookup |
| """""""""""" |
| |
| The header is followed by the buckets, hashes, offsets, and hash value data. |
| |
| .. code-block:: c |
| |
| struct FixedTable |
| { |
| uint32_t buckets[Header.bucket_count]; // An array of hash indexes into the "hashes[]" array below |
| uint32_t hashes [Header.hashes_count]; // Every unique 32 bit hash for the entire table is in this table |
| uint32_t offsets[Header.hashes_count]; // An offset that corresponds to each item in the "hashes[]" array above |
| }; |
| |
| ``buckets`` is an array of 32 bit indexes into the ``hashes`` array. The |
| ``hashes`` array contains all of the 32 bit hash values for all names in the |
| hash table. Each hash in the ``hashes`` table has an offset in the ``offsets`` |
| array that points to the data for the hash value. |
| |
| This table setup makes it very easy to repurpose these tables to contain |
| different data, while keeping the lookup mechanism the same for all tables. |
| This layout also makes it possible to save the table to disk and map it in |
| later and do very efficient name lookups with little or no parsing. |
| |
| DWARF lookup tables can be implemented in a variety of ways and can store a lot |
| of information for each name. We want to make the DWARF tables extensible and |
| able to store the data efficiently so we have used some of the DWARF features |
| that enable efficient data storage to define exactly what kind of data we store |
| for each name. |
| |
| The ``HeaderData`` contains a definition of the contents of each HashData chunk. |
| We might want to store an offset to all of the debug information entries (DIEs) |
| for each name. To keep things extensible, we create a list of items, or |
| Atoms, that are contained in the data for each name. First comes the type of |
| the data in each atom: |
| |
| .. code-block:: c |
| |
| enum AtomType |
| { |
| eAtomTypeNULL = 0u, |
| eAtomTypeDIEOffset = 1u, // DIE offset, check form for encoding |
| eAtomTypeCUOffset = 2u, // DIE offset of the compiler unit header that contains the item in question |
| eAtomTypeTag = 3u, // DW_TAG_xxx value, should be encoded as DW_FORM_data1 (if no tags exceed 255) or DW_FORM_data2 |
| eAtomTypeNameFlags = 4u, // Flags from enum NameFlags |
| eAtomTypeTypeFlags = 5u, // Flags from enum TypeFlags |
| }; |
| |
| The enumeration values and their meanings are: |
| |
| .. code-block:: none |
| |
| eAtomTypeNULL - a termination atom that specifies the end of the atom list |
| eAtomTypeDIEOffset - an offset into the .debug_info section for the DWARF DIE for this name |
| eAtomTypeCUOffset - an offset into the .debug_info section for the CU that contains the DIE |
| eAtomTypeDIETag - The DW_TAG_XXX enumeration value so you don't have to parse the DWARF to see what it is |
| eAtomTypeNameFlags - Flags for functions and global variables (isFunction, isInlined, isExternal...) |
| eAtomTypeTypeFlags - Flags for types (isCXXClass, isObjCClass, ...) |
| |
| Then we allow each atom type to define the atom type and how the data for each |
| atom type data is encoded: |
| |
| .. code-block:: c |
| |
| struct Atom |
| { |
| uint16_t type; // AtomType enum value |
| uint16_t form; // DWARF DW_FORM_XXX defines |
| }; |
| |
| The ``form`` type above is from the DWARF specification and defines the exact |
| encoding of the data for the Atom type. See the DWARF specification for the |
| ``DW_FORM_`` definitions. |
| |
| .. code-block:: c |
| |
| struct HeaderData |
| { |
| uint32_t die_offset_base; |
| uint32_t atom_count; |
| Atoms atoms[atom_count0]; |
| }; |
| |
| ``HeaderData`` defines the base DIE offset that should be added to any atoms |
| that are encoded using the ``DW_FORM_ref1``, ``DW_FORM_ref2``, |
| ``DW_FORM_ref4``, ``DW_FORM_ref8`` or ``DW_FORM_ref_udata``. It also defines |
| what is contained in each ``HashData`` object -- ``Atom.form`` tells us how large |
| each field will be in the ``HashData`` and the ``Atom.type`` tells us how this data |
| should be interpreted. |
| |
| For the current implementations of the "``.apple_names``" (all functions + |
| globals), the "``.apple_types``" (names of all types that are defined), and |
| the "``.apple_namespaces``" (all namespaces), we currently set the ``Atom`` |
| array to be: |
| |
| .. code-block:: c |
| |
| HeaderData.atom_count = 1; |
| HeaderData.atoms[0].type = eAtomTypeDIEOffset; |
| HeaderData.atoms[0].form = DW_FORM_data4; |
| |
| This defines the contents to be the DIE offset (eAtomTypeDIEOffset) that is |
| encoded as a 32 bit value (DW_FORM_data4). This allows a single name to have |
| multiple matching DIEs in a single file, which could come up with an inlined |
| function for instance. Future tables could include more information about the |
| DIE such as flags indicating if the DIE is a function, method, block, |
| or inlined. |
| |
| The KeyType for the DWARF table is a 32 bit string table offset into the |
| ".debug_str" table. The ".debug_str" is the string table for the DWARF which |
| may already contain copies of all of the strings. This helps make sure, with |
| help from the compiler, that we reuse the strings between all of the DWARF |
| sections and keeps the hash table size down. Another benefit to having the |
| compiler generate all strings as DW_FORM_strp in the debug info, is that |
| DWARF parsing can be made much faster. |
| |
| After a lookup is made, we get an offset into the hash data. The hash data |
| needs to be able to deal with 32 bit hash collisions, so the chunk of data |
| at the offset in the hash data consists of a triple: |
| |
| .. code-block:: c |
| |
| uint32_t str_offset |
| uint32_t hash_data_count |
| HashData[hash_data_count] |
| |
| If "str_offset" is zero, then the bucket contents are done. 99.9% of the |
| hash data chunks contain a single item (no 32 bit hash collision): |
| |
| .. code-block:: none |
| |
| .------------. |
| | 0x00001023 | uint32_t KeyType (.debug_str[0x0001023] => "main") |
| | 0x00000004 | uint32_t HashData count |
| | 0x........ | uint32_t HashData[0] DIE offset |
| | 0x........ | uint32_t HashData[1] DIE offset |
| | 0x........ | uint32_t HashData[2] DIE offset |
| | 0x........ | uint32_t HashData[3] DIE offset |
| | 0x00000000 | uint32_t KeyType (end of hash chain) |
| `------------' |
| |
| If there are collisions, you will have multiple valid string offsets: |
| |
| .. code-block:: none |
| |
| .------------. |
| | 0x00001023 | uint32_t KeyType (.debug_str[0x0001023] => "main") |
| | 0x00000004 | uint32_t HashData count |
| | 0x........ | uint32_t HashData[0] DIE offset |
| | 0x........ | uint32_t HashData[1] DIE offset |
| | 0x........ | uint32_t HashData[2] DIE offset |
| | 0x........ | uint32_t HashData[3] DIE offset |
| | 0x00002023 | uint32_t KeyType (.debug_str[0x0002023] => "print") |
| | 0x00000002 | uint32_t HashData count |
| | 0x........ | uint32_t HashData[0] DIE offset |
| | 0x........ | uint32_t HashData[1] DIE offset |
| | 0x00000000 | uint32_t KeyType (end of hash chain) |
| `------------' |
| |
| Current testing with real world C++ binaries has shown that there is around 1 |
| 32 bit hash collision per 100,000 name entries. |
| |
| Contents |
| ^^^^^^^^ |
| |
| As we said, we want to strictly define exactly what is included in the |
| different tables. For DWARF, we have 3 tables: "``.apple_names``", |
| "``.apple_types``", and "``.apple_namespaces``". |
| |
| "``.apple_names``" sections should contain an entry for each DWARF DIE whose |
| ``DW_TAG`` is a ``DW_TAG_label``, ``DW_TAG_inlined_subroutine``, or |
| ``DW_TAG_subprogram`` that has address attributes: ``DW_AT_low_pc``, |
| ``DW_AT_high_pc``, ``DW_AT_ranges`` or ``DW_AT_entry_pc``. It also contains |
| ``DW_TAG_variable`` DIEs that have a ``DW_OP_addr`` in the location (global and |
| static variables). All global and static variables should be included, |
| including those scoped within functions and classes. For example using the |
| following code: |
| |
| .. code-block:: c |
| |
| static int var = 0; |
| |
| void f () |
| { |
| static int var = 0; |
| } |
| |
| Both of the static ``var`` variables would be included in the table. All |
| functions should emit both their full names and their basenames. For C or C++, |
| the full name is the mangled name (if available) which is usually in the |
| ``DW_AT_MIPS_linkage_name`` attribute, and the ``DW_AT_name`` contains the |
| function basename. If global or static variables have a mangled name in a |
| ``DW_AT_MIPS_linkage_name`` attribute, this should be emitted along with the |
| simple name found in the ``DW_AT_name`` attribute. |
| |
| "``.apple_types``" sections should contain an entry for each DWARF DIE whose |
| tag is one of: |
| |
| * DW_TAG_array_type |
| * DW_TAG_class_type |
| * DW_TAG_enumeration_type |
| * DW_TAG_pointer_type |
| * DW_TAG_reference_type |
| * DW_TAG_string_type |
| * DW_TAG_structure_type |
| * DW_TAG_subroutine_type |
| * DW_TAG_typedef |
| * DW_TAG_union_type |
| * DW_TAG_ptr_to_member_type |
| * DW_TAG_set_type |
| * DW_TAG_subrange_type |
| * DW_TAG_base_type |
| * DW_TAG_const_type |
| * DW_TAG_constant |
| * DW_TAG_file_type |
| * DW_TAG_namelist |
| * DW_TAG_packed_type |
| * DW_TAG_volatile_type |
| * DW_TAG_restrict_type |
| * DW_TAG_interface_type |
| * DW_TAG_unspecified_type |
| * DW_TAG_shared_type |
| |
| Only entries with a ``DW_AT_name`` attribute are included, and the entry must |
| not be a forward declaration (``DW_AT_declaration`` attribute with a non-zero |
| value). For example, using the following code: |
| |
| .. code-block:: c |
| |
| int main () |
| { |
| int *b = 0; |
| return *b; |
| } |
| |
| We get a few type DIEs: |
| |
| .. code-block:: none |
| |
| 0x00000067: TAG_base_type [5] |
| AT_encoding( DW_ATE_signed ) |
| AT_name( "int" ) |
| AT_byte_size( 0x04 ) |
| |
| 0x0000006e: TAG_pointer_type [6] |
| AT_type( {0x00000067} ( int ) ) |
| AT_byte_size( 0x08 ) |
| |
| The DW_TAG_pointer_type is not included because it does not have a ``DW_AT_name``. |
| |
| "``.apple_namespaces``" section should contain all ``DW_TAG_namespace`` DIEs. |
| If we run into a namespace that has no name this is an anonymous namespace, and |
| the name should be output as "``(anonymous namespace)``" (without the quotes). |
| Why? This matches the output of the ``abi::cxa_demangle()`` that is in the |
| standard C++ library that demangles mangled names. |
| |
| |
| Language Extensions and File Format Changes |
| ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ |
| |
| Objective-C Extensions |
| """""""""""""""""""""" |
| |
| "``.apple_objc``" section should contain all ``DW_TAG_subprogram`` DIEs for an |
| Objective-C class. The name used in the hash table is the name of the |
| Objective-C class itself. If the Objective-C class has a category, then an |
| entry is made for both the class name without the category, and for the class |
| name with the category. So if we have a DIE at offset 0x1234 with a name of |
| method "``-[NSString(my_additions) stringWithSpecialString:]``", we would add |
| an entry for "``NSString``" that points to DIE 0x1234, and an entry for |
| "``NSString(my_additions)``" that points to 0x1234. This allows us to quickly |
| track down all Objective-C methods for an Objective-C class when doing |
| expressions. It is needed because of the dynamic nature of Objective-C where |
| anyone can add methods to a class. The DWARF for Objective-C methods is also |
| emitted differently from C++ classes where the methods are not usually |
| contained in the class definition, they are scattered about across one or more |
| compile units. Categories can also be defined in different shared libraries. |
| So we need to be able to quickly find all of the methods and class functions |
| given the Objective-C class name, or quickly find all methods and class |
| functions for a class + category name. This table does not contain any |
| selector names, it just maps Objective-C class names (or class names + |
| category) to all of the methods and class functions. The selectors are added |
| as function basenames in the "``.debug_names``" section. |
| |
| In the "``.apple_names``" section for Objective-C functions, the full name is |
| the entire function name with the brackets ("``-[NSString |
| stringWithCString:]``") and the basename is the selector only |
| ("``stringWithCString:``"). |
| |
| Mach-O Changes |
| """""""""""""" |
| |
| The sections names for the apple hash tables are for non mach-o files. For |
| mach-o files, the sections should be contained in the ``__DWARF`` segment with |
| names as follows: |
| |
| * "``.apple_names``" -> "``__apple_names``" |
| * "``.apple_types``" -> "``__apple_types``" |
| * "``.apple_namespaces``" -> "``__apple_namespac``" (16 character limit) |
| * "``.apple_objc``" -> "``__apple_objc``" |
| |