Statistics
| Branch: | Revision:

root / tcg / README @ 06ea77bc

History | View | Annotate | Download (14.4 kB)

1
Tiny Code Generator - Fabrice Bellard.
2

    
3
1) Introduction
4

    
5
TCG (Tiny Code Generator) began as a generic backend for a C
6
compiler. It was simplified to be used in QEMU. It also has its roots
7
in the QOP code generator written by Paul Brook. 
8

    
9
2) Definitions
10

    
11
The TCG "target" is the architecture for which we generate the
12
code. It is of course not the same as the "target" of QEMU which is
13
the emulated architecture. As TCG started as a generic C backend used
14
for cross compiling, it is assumed that the TCG target is different
15
from the host, although it is never the case for QEMU.
16

    
17
A TCG "function" corresponds to a QEMU Translated Block (TB).
18

    
19
A TCG "temporary" is a variable only live in a basic
20
block. Temporaries are allocated explicitly in each function.
21

    
22
A TCG "local temporary" is a variable only live in a function. Local
23
temporaries are allocated explicitly in each function.
24

    
25
A TCG "global" is a variable which is live in all the functions
26
(equivalent of a C global variable). They are defined before the
27
functions defined. A TCG global can be a memory location (e.g. a QEMU
28
CPU register), a fixed host register (e.g. the QEMU CPU state pointer)
29
or a memory location which is stored in a register outside QEMU TBs
30
(not implemented yet).
31

    
32
A TCG "basic block" corresponds to a list of instructions terminated
33
by a branch instruction. 
34

    
35
3) Intermediate representation
36

    
37
3.1) Introduction
38

    
39
TCG instructions operate on variables which are temporaries, local
40
temporaries or globals. TCG instructions and variables are strongly
41
typed. Two types are supported: 32 bit integers and 64 bit
42
integers. Pointers are defined as an alias to 32 bit or 64 bit
43
integers depending on the TCG target word size.
44

    
45
Each instruction has a fixed number of output variable operands, input
46
variable operands and always constant operands.
47

    
48
The notable exception is the call instruction which has a variable
49
number of outputs and inputs.
50

    
51
In the textual form, output operands usually come first, followed by
52
input operands, followed by constant operands. The output type is
53
included in the instruction name. Constants are prefixed with a '$'.
54

    
55
add_i32 t0, t1, t2  (t0 <- t1 + t2)
56

    
57
3.2) Assumptions
58

    
59
* Basic blocks
60

    
61
- Basic blocks end after branches (e.g. brcond_i32 instruction),
62
  goto_tb and exit_tb instructions.
63
- Basic blocks start after the end of a previous basic block, or at a
64
  set_label instruction.
65

    
66
After the end of a basic block, the content of temporaries is
67
destroyed, but local temporaries and globals are preserved.
68

    
69
* Floating point types are not supported yet
70

    
71
* Pointers: depending on the TCG target, pointer size is 32 bit or 64
72
  bit. The type TCG_TYPE_PTR is an alias to TCG_TYPE_I32 or
73
  TCG_TYPE_I64.
74

    
75
* Helpers:
76

    
77
Using the tcg_gen_helper_x_y it is possible to call any function
78
taking i32, i64 or pointer types. By default, before calling a helper,
79
all globals are stored at their canonical location and it is assumed
80
that the function can modify them. This can be overridden by the
81
TCG_CALL_CONST function modifier. By default, the helper is allowed to
82
modify the CPU state or raise an exception. This can be overridden by
83
the TCG_CALL_PURE function modifier, in which case the call to the
84
function is removed if the return value is not used.
85

    
86
On some TCG targets (e.g. x86), several calling conventions are
87
supported.
88

    
89
* Branches:
90

    
91
Use the instruction 'br' to jump to a label. Use 'jmp' to jump to an
92
explicit address. Conditional branches can only jump to labels.
93

    
94
3.3) Code Optimizations
95

    
96
When generating instructions, you can count on at least the following
97
optimizations:
98

    
99
- Single instructions are simplified, e.g.
100

    
101
   and_i32 t0, t0, $0xffffffff
102
    
103
  is suppressed.
104

    
105
- A liveness analysis is done at the basic block level. The
106
  information is used to suppress moves from a dead variable to
107
  another one. It is also used to remove instructions which compute
108
  dead results. The later is especially useful for condition code
109
  optimization in QEMU.
110

    
111
  In the following example:
112

    
113
  add_i32 t0, t1, t2
114
  add_i32 t0, t0, $1
115
  mov_i32 t0, $1
116

    
117
  only the last instruction is kept.
118

    
119
3.4) Instruction Reference
120

    
121
********* Function call
122

    
123
* call <ret> <params> ptr
124

    
125
call function 'ptr' (pointer type)
126

    
127
<ret> optional 32 bit or 64 bit return value
128
<params> optional 32 bit or 64 bit parameters
129

    
130
********* Jumps/Labels
131

    
132
* jmp t0
133

    
134
Absolute jump to address t0 (pointer type).
135

    
136
* set_label $label
137

    
138
Define label 'label' at the current program point.
139

    
140
* br $label
141

    
142
Jump to label.
143

    
144
* brcond_i32/i64 cond, t0, t1, label
145

    
146
Conditional jump if t0 cond t1 is true. cond can be:
147
    TCG_COND_EQ
148
    TCG_COND_NE
149
    TCG_COND_LT /* signed */
150
    TCG_COND_GE /* signed */
151
    TCG_COND_LE /* signed */
152
    TCG_COND_GT /* signed */
153
    TCG_COND_LTU /* unsigned */
154
    TCG_COND_GEU /* unsigned */
155
    TCG_COND_LEU /* unsigned */
156
    TCG_COND_GTU /* unsigned */
157

    
158
********* Arithmetic
159

    
160
* add_i32/i64 t0, t1, t2
161

    
162
t0=t1+t2
163

    
164
* sub_i32/i64 t0, t1, t2
165

    
166
t0=t1-t2
167

    
168
* neg_i32/i64 t0, t1
169

    
170
t0=-t1 (two's complement)
171

    
172
* mul_i32/i64 t0, t1, t2
173

    
174
t0=t1*t2
175

    
176
* div_i32/i64 t0, t1, t2
177

    
178
t0=t1/t2 (signed). Undefined behavior if division by zero or overflow.
179

    
180
* divu_i32/i64 t0, t1, t2
181

    
182
t0=t1/t2 (unsigned). Undefined behavior if division by zero.
183

    
184
* rem_i32/i64 t0, t1, t2
185

    
186
t0=t1%t2 (signed). Undefined behavior if division by zero or overflow.
187

    
188
* remu_i32/i64 t0, t1, t2
189

    
190
t0=t1%t2 (unsigned). Undefined behavior if division by zero.
191

    
192
********* Logical
193

    
194
* and_i32/i64 t0, t1, t2
195

    
196
t0=t1&t2
197

    
198
* or_i32/i64 t0, t1, t2
199

    
200
t0=t1|t2
201

    
202
* xor_i32/i64 t0, t1, t2
203

    
204
t0=t1^t2
205

    
206
* not_i32/i64 t0, t1
207

    
208
t0=~t1
209

    
210
* andc_i32/i64 t0, t1, t2
211

    
212
t0=t1&~t2
213

    
214
* eqv_i32/i64 t0, t1, t2
215

    
216
t0=~(t1^t2), or equivalently, t0=t1^~t2
217

    
218
* nand_i32/i64 t0, t1, t2
219

    
220
t0=~(t1&t2)
221

    
222
* nor_i32/i64 t0, t1, t2
223

    
224
t0=~(t1|t2)
225

    
226
* orc_i32/i64 t0, t1, t2
227

    
228
t0=t1|~t2
229

    
230
********* Shifts/Rotates
231

    
232
* shl_i32/i64 t0, t1, t2
233

    
234
t0=t1 << t2. Undefined behavior if t2 < 0 or t2 >= 32 (resp 64)
235

    
236
* shr_i32/i64 t0, t1, t2
237

    
238
t0=t1 >> t2 (unsigned). Undefined behavior if t2 < 0 or t2 >= 32 (resp 64)
239

    
240
* sar_i32/i64 t0, t1, t2
241

    
242
t0=t1 >> t2 (signed). Undefined behavior if t2 < 0 or t2 >= 32 (resp 64)
243

    
244
* rotl_i32/i64 t0, t1, t2
245

    
246
Rotation of t2 bits to the left. Undefined behavior if t2 < 0 or t2 >= 32 (resp 64)
247

    
248
* rotr_i32/i64 t0, t1, t2
249

    
250
Rotation of t2 bits to the right. Undefined behavior if t2 < 0 or t2 >= 32 (resp 64)
251

    
252
********* Misc
253

    
254
* mov_i32/i64 t0, t1
255

    
256
t0 = t1
257

    
258
Move t1 to t0 (both operands must have the same type).
259

    
260
* ext8s_i32/i64 t0, t1
261
ext8u_i32/i64 t0, t1
262
ext16s_i32/i64 t0, t1
263
ext16u_i32/i64 t0, t1
264
ext32s_i64 t0, t1
265
ext32u_i64 t0, t1
266

    
267
8, 16 or 32 bit sign/zero extension (both operands must have the same type)
268

    
269
* bswap16_i32/i64 t0, t1
270

    
271
16 bit byte swap on a 32/64 bit value. It assumes that the two/six high order
272
bytes are set to zero.
273

    
274
* bswap32_i32/i64 t0, t1
275

    
276
32 bit byte swap on a 32/64 bit value. With a 64 bit value, it assumes that
277
the four high order bytes are set to zero.
278

    
279
* bswap64_i64 t0, t1
280

    
281
64 bit byte swap
282

    
283
* discard_i32/i64 t0
284

    
285
Indicate that the value of t0 won't be used later. It is useful to
286
force dead code elimination.
287

    
288
* deposit_i32/i64 dest, t1, t2, pos, len
289

    
290
Deposit T2 as a bitfield into T1, placing the result in DEST.
291
The bitfield is described by POS/LEN, which are immediate values:
292

    
293
  LEN - the length of the bitfield
294
  POS - the position of the first bit, counting from the LSB
295

    
296
For example, pos=8, len=4 indicates a 4-bit field at bit 8.
297
This operation would be equivalent to
298

    
299
  dest = (t1 & ~0x0f00) | ((t2 << 8) & 0x0f00)
300

    
301

    
302
********* Conditional moves
303

    
304
* setcond_i32/i64 cond, dest, t1, t2
305

    
306
dest = (t1 cond t2)
307

    
308
Set DEST to 1 if (T1 cond T2) is true, otherwise set to 0.
309

    
310
********* Type conversions
311

    
312
* ext_i32_i64 t0, t1
313
Convert t1 (32 bit) to t0 (64 bit) and does sign extension
314

    
315
* extu_i32_i64 t0, t1
316
Convert t1 (32 bit) to t0 (64 bit) and does zero extension
317

    
318
* trunc_i64_i32 t0, t1
319
Truncate t1 (64 bit) to t0 (32 bit)
320

    
321
* concat_i32_i64 t0, t1, t2
322
Construct t0 (64-bit) taking the low half from t1 (32 bit) and the high half
323
from t2 (32 bit).
324

    
325
* concat32_i64 t0, t1, t2
326
Construct t0 (64-bit) taking the low half from t1 (64 bit) and the high half
327
from t2 (64 bit).
328

    
329
********* Load/Store
330

    
331
* ld_i32/i64 t0, t1, offset
332
ld8s_i32/i64 t0, t1, offset
333
ld8u_i32/i64 t0, t1, offset
334
ld16s_i32/i64 t0, t1, offset
335
ld16u_i32/i64 t0, t1, offset
336
ld32s_i64 t0, t1, offset
337
ld32u_i64 t0, t1, offset
338

    
339
t0 = read(t1 + offset)
340
Load 8, 16, 32 or 64 bits with or without sign extension from host memory. 
341
offset must be a constant.
342

    
343
* st_i32/i64 t0, t1, offset
344
st8_i32/i64 t0, t1, offset
345
st16_i32/i64 t0, t1, offset
346
st32_i64 t0, t1, offset
347

    
348
write(t0, t1 + offset)
349
Write 8, 16, 32 or 64 bits to host memory.
350

    
351
********* 64-bit target on 32-bit host support
352

    
353
The following opcodes are internal to TCG.  Thus they are to be implemented by
354
32-bit host code generators, but are not to be emitted by guest translators.
355
They are emitted as needed by inline functions within "tcg-op.h".
356

    
357
* brcond2_i32 cond, t0_low, t0_high, t1_low, t1_high, label
358

    
359
Similar to brcond, except that the 64-bit values T0 and T1
360
are formed from two 32-bit arguments.
361

    
362
* add2_i32 t0_low, t0_high, t1_low, t1_high, t2_low, t2_high
363
* sub2_i32 t0_low, t0_high, t1_low, t1_high, t2_low, t2_high
364

    
365
Similar to add/sub, except that the 64-bit inputs T1 and T2 are
366
formed from two 32-bit arguments, and the 64-bit output T0
367
is returned in two 32-bit outputs.
368

    
369
* mulu2_i32 t0_low, t0_high, t1, t2
370

    
371
Similar to mul, except two 32-bit (unsigned) inputs T1 and T2 yielding
372
the full 64-bit product T0.  The later is returned in two 32-bit outputs.
373

    
374
* setcond2_i32 cond, dest, t1_low, t1_high, t2_low, t2_high
375

    
376
Similar to setcond, except that the 64-bit values T1 and T2 are
377
formed from two 32-bit arguments.  The result is a 32-bit value.
378

    
379
********* QEMU specific operations
380

    
381
* exit_tb t0
382

    
383
Exit the current TB and return the value t0 (word type).
384

    
385
* goto_tb index
386

    
387
Exit the current TB and jump to the TB index 'index' (constant) if the
388
current TB was linked to this TB. Otherwise execute the next
389
instructions.
390

    
391
* qemu_ld8u t0, t1, flags
392
qemu_ld8s t0, t1, flags
393
qemu_ld16u t0, t1, flags
394
qemu_ld16s t0, t1, flags
395
qemu_ld32 t0, t1, flags
396
qemu_ld32u t0, t1, flags
397
qemu_ld32s t0, t1, flags
398
qemu_ld64 t0, t1, flags
399

    
400
Load data at the QEMU CPU address t1 into t0. t1 has the QEMU CPU address
401
type. 'flags' contains the QEMU memory index (selects user or kernel access)
402
for example.
403

    
404
Note that "qemu_ld32" implies a 32-bit result, while "qemu_ld32u" and
405
"qemu_ld32s" imply a 64-bit result appropriately extended from 32 bits.
406

    
407
* qemu_st8 t0, t1, flags
408
qemu_st16 t0, t1, flags
409
qemu_st32 t0, t1, flags
410
qemu_st64 t0, t1, flags
411

    
412
Store the data t0 at the QEMU CPU Address t1. t1 has the QEMU CPU
413
address type. 'flags' contains the QEMU memory index (selects user or
414
kernel access) for example.
415

    
416
Note 1: Some shortcuts are defined when the last operand is known to be
417
a constant (e.g. addi for add, movi for mov).
418

    
419
Note 2: When using TCG, the opcodes must never be generated directly
420
as some of them may not be available as "real" opcodes. Always use the
421
function tcg_gen_xxx(args).
422

    
423
4) Backend
424

    
425
tcg-target.h contains the target specific definitions. tcg-target.c
426
contains the target specific code.
427

    
428
4.1) Assumptions
429

    
430
The target word size (TCG_TARGET_REG_BITS) is expected to be 32 bit or
431
64 bit. It is expected that the pointer has the same size as the word.
432

    
433
On a 32 bit target, all 64 bit operations are converted to 32 bits. A
434
few specific operations must be implemented to allow it (see add2_i32,
435
sub2_i32, brcond2_i32).
436

    
437
Floating point operations are not supported in this version. A
438
previous incarnation of the code generator had full support of them,
439
but it is better to concentrate on integer operations first.
440

    
441
On a 64 bit target, no assumption is made in TCG about the storage of
442
the 32 bit values in 64 bit registers.
443

    
444
4.2) Constraints
445

    
446
GCC like constraints are used to define the constraints of every
447
instruction. Memory constraints are not supported in this
448
version. Aliases are specified in the input operands as for GCC.
449

    
450
The same register may be used for both an input and an output, even when
451
they are not explicitly aliased.  If an op expands to multiple target
452
instructions then care must be taken to avoid clobbering input values.
453
GCC style "early clobber" outputs are not currently supported.
454

    
455
A target can define specific register or constant constraints. If an
456
operation uses a constant input constraint which does not allow all
457
constants, it must also accept registers in order to have a fallback.
458

    
459
The movi_i32 and movi_i64 operations must accept any constants.
460

    
461
The mov_i32 and mov_i64 operations must accept any registers of the
462
same type.
463

    
464
The ld/st instructions must accept signed 32 bit constant offsets. It
465
can be implemented by reserving a specific register to compute the
466
address if the offset is too big.
467

    
468
The ld/st instructions must accept any destination (ld) or source (st)
469
register.
470

    
471
4.3) Function call assumptions
472

    
473
- The only supported types for parameters and return value are: 32 and
474
  64 bit integers and pointer.
475
- The stack grows downwards.
476
- The first N parameters are passed in registers.
477
- The next parameters are passed on the stack by storing them as words.
478
- Some registers are clobbered during the call. 
479
- The function can return 0 or 1 value in registers. On a 32 bit
480
  target, functions must be able to return 2 values in registers for
481
  64 bit return type.
482

    
483
5) Recommended coding rules for best performance
484

    
485
- Use globals to represent the parts of the QEMU CPU state which are
486
  often modified, e.g. the integer registers and the condition
487
  codes. TCG will be able to use host registers to store them.
488

    
489
- Avoid globals stored in fixed registers. They must be used only to
490
  store the pointer to the CPU state and possibly to store a pointer
491
  to a register window.
492

    
493
- Use temporaries. Use local temporaries only when really needed,
494
  e.g. when you need to use a value after a jump. Local temporaries
495
  introduce a performance hit in the current TCG implementation: their
496
  content is saved to memory at end of each basic block.
497

    
498
- Free temporaries and local temporaries when they are no longer used
499
  (tcg_temp_free). Since tcg_const_x() also creates a temporary, you
500
  should free it after it is used. Freeing temporaries does not yield
501
  a better generated code, but it reduces the memory usage of TCG and
502
  the speed of the translation.
503

    
504
- Don't hesitate to use helpers for complicated or seldom used target
505
  instructions. There is little performance advantage in using TCG to
506
  implement target instructions taking more than about twenty TCG
507
  instructions.
508

    
509
- Use the 'discard' instruction if you know that TCG won't be able to
510
  prove that a given global is "dead" at a given program point. The
511
  x86 target uses it to improve the condition codes optimisation.