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<title>Extending LLVM: Adding instructions, intrinsics, types, etc.</title> | |
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<h1> | |
Extending LLVM: Adding instructions, intrinsics, types, etc. | |
</h1> | |
<ol> | |
<li><a href="#introduction">Introduction and Warning</a></li> | |
<li><a href="#intrinsic">Adding a new intrinsic function</a></li> | |
<li><a href="#instruction">Adding a new instruction</a></li> | |
<li><a href="#sdnode">Adding a new SelectionDAG node</a></li> | |
<li><a href="#type">Adding a new type</a> | |
<ol> | |
<li><a href="#fund_type">Adding a new fundamental type</a></li> | |
<li><a href="#derived_type">Adding a new derived type</a></li> | |
</ol></li> | |
</ol> | |
<div class="doc_author"> | |
<p>Written by <a href="http://misha.brukman.net">Misha Brukman</a>, | |
Brad Jones, Nate Begeman, | |
and <a href="http://nondot.org/sabre">Chris Lattner</a></p> | |
</div> | |
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<h2> | |
<a name="introduction">Introduction and Warning</a> | |
</h2> | |
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<div> | |
<p>During the course of using LLVM, you may wish to customize it for your | |
research project or for experimentation. At this point, you may realize that | |
you need to add something to LLVM, whether it be a new fundamental type, a new | |
intrinsic function, or a whole new instruction.</p> | |
<p>When you come to this realization, stop and think. Do you really need to | |
extend LLVM? Is it a new fundamental capability that LLVM does not support at | |
its current incarnation or can it be synthesized from already pre-existing LLVM | |
elements? If you are not sure, ask on the <a | |
href="http://mail.cs.uiuc.edu/mailman/listinfo/llvmdev">LLVM-dev</a> list. The | |
reason is that extending LLVM will get involved as you need to update all the | |
different passes that you intend to use with your extension, and there are | |
<em>many</em> LLVM analyses and transformations, so it may be quite a bit of | |
work.</p> | |
<p>Adding an <a href="#intrinsic">intrinsic function</a> is far easier than | |
adding an instruction, and is transparent to optimization passes. If your added | |
functionality can be expressed as a | |
function call, an intrinsic function is the method of choice for LLVM | |
extension.</p> | |
<p>Before you invest a significant amount of effort into a non-trivial | |
extension, <span class="doc_warning">ask on the list</span> if what you are | |
looking to do can be done with already-existing infrastructure, or if maybe | |
someone else is already working on it. You will save yourself a lot of time and | |
effort by doing so.</p> | |
</div> | |
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<h2> | |
<a name="intrinsic">Adding a new intrinsic function</a> | |
</h2> | |
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<div> | |
<p>Adding a new intrinsic function to LLVM is much easier than adding a new | |
instruction. Almost all extensions to LLVM should start as an intrinsic | |
function and then be turned into an instruction if warranted.</p> | |
<ol> | |
<li><tt>llvm/docs/LangRef.html</tt>: | |
Document the intrinsic. Decide whether it is code generator specific and | |
what the restrictions are. Talk to other people about it so that you are | |
sure it's a good idea.</li> | |
<li><tt>llvm/include/llvm/Intrinsics*.td</tt>: | |
Add an entry for your intrinsic. Describe its memory access characteristics | |
for optimization (this controls whether it will be DCE'd, CSE'd, etc). Note | |
that any intrinsic using the <tt>llvm_int_ty</tt> type for an argument will | |
be deemed by <tt>tblgen</tt> as overloaded and the corresponding suffix | |
will be required on the intrinsic's name.</li> | |
<li><tt>llvm/lib/Analysis/ConstantFolding.cpp</tt>: If it is possible to | |
constant fold your intrinsic, add support to it in the | |
<tt>canConstantFoldCallTo</tt> and <tt>ConstantFoldCall</tt> functions.</li> | |
<li><tt>llvm/test/Regression/*</tt>: Add test cases for your test cases to the | |
test suite</li> | |
</ol> | |
<p>Once the intrinsic has been added to the system, you must add code generator | |
support for it. Generally you must do the following steps:</p> | |
<dl> | |
<dt>Add support to the C backend in <tt>lib/Target/CBackend/</tt></dt> | |
<dd>Depending on the intrinsic, there are a few ways to implement this. For | |
most intrinsics, it makes sense to add code to lower your intrinsic in | |
<tt>LowerIntrinsicCall</tt> in <tt>lib/CodeGen/IntrinsicLowering.cpp</tt>. | |
Second, if it makes sense to lower the intrinsic to an expanded sequence of | |
C code in all cases, just emit the expansion in <tt>visitCallInst</tt> in | |
<tt>Writer.cpp</tt>. If the intrinsic has some way to express it with GCC | |
(or any other compiler) extensions, it can be conditionally supported based | |
on the compiler compiling the CBE output (see <tt>llvm.prefetch</tt> for an | |
example). Third, if the intrinsic really has no way to be lowered, just | |
have the code generator emit code that prints an error message and calls | |
abort if executed.</dd> | |
<dt>Add support to the .td file for the target(s) of your choice in | |
<tt>lib/Target/*/*.td</tt>.</dt> | |
<dd>This is usually a matter of adding a pattern to the .td file that matches | |
the intrinsic, though it may obviously require adding the instructions you | |
want to generate as well. There are lots of examples in the PowerPC and X86 | |
backend to follow.</dd> | |
</dl> | |
</div> | |
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<h2> | |
<a name="sdnode">Adding a new SelectionDAG node</a> | |
</h2> | |
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<div> | |
<p>As with intrinsics, adding a new SelectionDAG node to LLVM is much easier | |
than adding a new instruction. New nodes are often added to help represent | |
instructions common to many targets. These nodes often map to an LLVM | |
instruction (add, sub) or intrinsic (byteswap, population count). In other | |
cases, new nodes have been added to allow many targets to perform a common task | |
(converting between floating point and integer representation) or capture more | |
complicated behavior in a single node (rotate).</p> | |
<ol> | |
<li><tt>include/llvm/CodeGen/ISDOpcodes.h</tt>: | |
Add an enum value for the new SelectionDAG node.</li> | |
<li><tt>lib/CodeGen/SelectionDAG/SelectionDAG.cpp</tt>: | |
Add code to print the node to <tt>getOperationName</tt>. If your new node | |
can be evaluated at compile time when given constant arguments (such as an | |
add of a constant with another constant), find the <tt>getNode</tt> method | |
that takes the appropriate number of arguments, and add a case for your node | |
to the switch statement that performs constant folding for nodes that take | |
the same number of arguments as your new node.</li> | |
<li><tt>lib/CodeGen/SelectionDAG/LegalizeDAG.cpp</tt>: | |
Add code to <a href="CodeGenerator.html#selectiondag_legalize">legalize, | |
promote, and expand</a> the node as necessary. At a minimum, you will need | |
to add a case statement for your node in <tt>LegalizeOp</tt> which calls | |
LegalizeOp on the node's operands, and returns a new node if any of the | |
operands changed as a result of being legalized. It is likely that not all | |
targets supported by the SelectionDAG framework will natively support the | |
new node. In this case, you must also add code in your node's case | |
statement in <tt>LegalizeOp</tt> to Expand your node into simpler, legal | |
operations. The case for <tt>ISD::UREM</tt> for expanding a remainder into | |
a divide, multiply, and a subtract is a good example.</li> | |
<li><tt>lib/CodeGen/SelectionDAG/LegalizeDAG.cpp</tt>: | |
If targets may support the new node being added only at certain sizes, you | |
will also need to add code to your node's case statement in | |
<tt>LegalizeOp</tt> to Promote your node's operands to a larger size, and | |
perform the correct operation. You will also need to add code to | |
<tt>PromoteOp</tt> to do this as well. For a good example, see | |
<tt>ISD::BSWAP</tt>, | |
which promotes its operand to a wider size, performs the byteswap, and then | |
shifts the correct bytes right to emulate the narrower byteswap in the | |
wider type.</li> | |
<li><tt>lib/CodeGen/SelectionDAG/LegalizeDAG.cpp</tt>: | |
Add a case for your node in <tt>ExpandOp</tt> to teach the legalizer how to | |
perform the action represented by the new node on a value that has been | |
split into high and low halves. This case will be used to support your | |
node with a 64 bit operand on a 32 bit target.</li> | |
<li><tt>lib/CodeGen/SelectionDAG/DAGCombiner.cpp</tt>: | |
If your node can be combined with itself, or other existing nodes in a | |
peephole-like fashion, add a visit function for it, and call that function | |
from <tt></tt>. There are several good examples for simple combines you | |
can do; <tt>visitFABS</tt> and <tt>visitSRL</tt> are good starting places. | |
</li> | |
<li><tt>lib/Target/PowerPC/PPCISelLowering.cpp</tt>: | |
Each target has an implementation of the <tt>TargetLowering</tt> class, | |
usually in its own file (although some targets include it in the same | |
file as the DAGToDAGISel). The default behavior for a target is to | |
assume that your new node is legal for all types that are legal for | |
that target. If this target does not natively support your node, then | |
tell the target to either Promote it (if it is supported at a larger | |
type) or Expand it. This will cause the code you wrote in | |
<tt>LegalizeOp</tt> above to decompose your new node into other legal | |
nodes for this target.</li> | |
<li><tt>lib/Target/TargetSelectionDAG.td</tt>: | |
Most current targets supported by LLVM generate code using the DAGToDAG | |
method, where SelectionDAG nodes are pattern matched to target-specific | |
nodes, which represent individual instructions. In order for the targets | |
to match an instruction to your new node, you must add a def for that node | |
to the list in this file, with the appropriate type constraints. Look at | |
<tt>add</tt>, <tt>bswap</tt>, and <tt>fadd</tt> for examples.</li> | |
<li><tt>lib/Target/PowerPC/PPCInstrInfo.td</tt>: | |
Each target has a tablegen file that describes the target's instruction | |
set. For targets that use the DAGToDAG instruction selection framework, | |
add a pattern for your new node that uses one or more target nodes. | |
Documentation for this is a bit sparse right now, but there are several | |
decent examples. See the patterns for <tt>rotl</tt> in | |
<tt>PPCInstrInfo.td</tt>.</li> | |
<li>TODO: document complex patterns.</li> | |
<li><tt>llvm/test/Regression/CodeGen/*</tt>: Add test cases for your new node | |
to the test suite. <tt>llvm/test/Regression/CodeGen/X86/bswap.ll</tt> is | |
a good example.</li> | |
</ol> | |
</div> | |
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<h2> | |
<a name="instruction">Adding a new instruction</a> | |
</h2> | |
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<div> | |
<p><span class="doc_warning">WARNING: adding instructions changes the bitcode | |
format, and it will take some effort to maintain compatibility with | |
the previous version.</span> Only add an instruction if it is absolutely | |
necessary.</p> | |
<ol> | |
<li><tt>llvm/include/llvm/Instruction.def</tt>: | |
add a number for your instruction and an enum name</li> | |
<li><tt>llvm/include/llvm/Instructions.h</tt>: | |
add a definition for the class that will represent your instruction</li> | |
<li><tt>llvm/include/llvm/Support/InstVisitor.h</tt>: | |
add a prototype for a visitor to your new instruction type</li> | |
<li><tt>llvm/lib/AsmParser/Lexer.l</tt>: | |
add a new token to parse your instruction from assembly text file</li> | |
<li><tt>llvm/lib/AsmParser/llvmAsmParser.y</tt>: | |
add the grammar on how your instruction can be read and what it will | |
construct as a result</li> | |
<li><tt>llvm/lib/Bitcode/Reader/Reader.cpp</tt>: | |
add a case for your instruction and how it will be parsed from bitcode</li> | |
<li><tt>llvm/lib/VMCore/Instruction.cpp</tt>: | |
add a case for how your instruction will be printed out to assembly</li> | |
<li><tt>llvm/lib/VMCore/Instructions.cpp</tt>: | |
implement the class you defined in | |
<tt>llvm/include/llvm/Instructions.h</tt></li> | |
<li>Test your instruction</li> | |
<li><tt>llvm/lib/Target/*</tt>: | |
Add support for your instruction to code generators, or add a lowering | |
pass.</li> | |
<li><tt>llvm/test/Regression/*</tt>: add your test cases to the test suite.</li> | |
</ol> | |
<p>Also, you need to implement (or modify) any analyses or passes that you want | |
to understand this new instruction.</p> | |
</div> | |
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<h2> | |
<a name="type">Adding a new type</a> | |
</h2> | |
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<div> | |
<p><span class="doc_warning">WARNING: adding new types changes the bitcode | |
format, and will break compatibility with currently-existing LLVM | |
installations.</span> Only add new types if it is absolutely necessary.</p> | |
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<h3> | |
<a name="fund_type">Adding a fundamental type</a> | |
</h3> | |
<div> | |
<ol> | |
<li><tt>llvm/include/llvm/Type.h</tt>: | |
add enum for the new type; add static <tt>Type*</tt> for this type</li> | |
<li><tt>llvm/lib/VMCore/Type.cpp</tt>: | |
add mapping from <tt>TypeID</tt> => <tt>Type*</tt>; | |
initialize the static <tt>Type*</tt></li> | |
<li><tt>llvm/lib/AsmReader/Lexer.l</tt>: | |
add ability to parse in the type from text assembly</li> | |
<li><tt>llvm/lib/AsmReader/llvmAsmParser.y</tt>: | |
add a token for that type</li> | |
</ol> | |
</div> | |
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<h3> | |
<a name="derived_type">Adding a derived type</a> | |
</h3> | |
<div> | |
<ol> | |
<li><tt>llvm/include/llvm/Type.h</tt>: | |
add enum for the new type; add a forward declaration of the type | |
also</li> | |
<li><tt>llvm/include/llvm/DerivedTypes.h</tt>: | |
add new class to represent new class in the hierarchy; add forward | |
declaration to the TypeMap value type</li> | |
<li><tt>llvm/lib/VMCore/Type.cpp</tt>: | |
add support for derived type to: | |
<div class="doc_code"> | |
<pre> | |
std::string getTypeDescription(const Type &Ty, | |
std::vector<const Type*> &TypeStack) | |
bool TypesEqual(const Type *Ty, const Type *Ty2, | |
std::map<const Type*, const Type*> & EqTypes) | |
</pre> | |
</div> | |
add necessary member functions for type, and factory methods</li> | |
<li><tt>llvm/lib/AsmReader/Lexer.l</tt>: | |
add ability to parse in the type from text assembly</li> | |
<li><tt>llvm/lib/BitCode/Writer/Writer.cpp</tt>: | |
modify <tt>void BitcodeWriter::outputType(const Type *T)</tt> to serialize | |
your type</li> | |
<li><tt>llvm/lib/BitCode/Reader/Reader.cpp</tt>: | |
modify <tt>const Type *BitcodeReader::ParseType()</tt> to read your data | |
type</li> | |
<li><tt>llvm/lib/VMCore/AsmWriter.cpp</tt>: | |
modify | |
<div class="doc_code"> | |
<pre> | |
void calcTypeName(const Type *Ty, | |
std::vector<const Type*> &TypeStack, | |
std::map<const Type*,std::string> &TypeNames, | |
std::string & Result) | |
</pre> | |
</div> | |
to output the new derived type | |
</li> | |
</ol> | |
</div> | |
</div> | |
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