518 lines
21 KiB
ReStructuredText
518 lines
21 KiB
ReStructuredText
===================================
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Stack maps and patch points in LLVM
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===================================
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.. contents::
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:local:
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:depth: 2
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Definitions
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===========
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In this document we refer to the "runtime" collectively as all
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components that serve as the LLVM client, including the LLVM IR
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generator, object code consumer, and code patcher.
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A stack map records the location of ``live values`` at a particular
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instruction address. These ``live values`` do not refer to all the
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LLVM values live across the stack map. Instead, they are only the
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values that the runtime requires to be live at this point. For
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example, they may be the values the runtime will need to resume
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program execution at that point independent of the compiled function
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containing the stack map.
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LLVM emits stack map data into the object code within a designated
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:ref:`stackmap-section`. This stack map data contains a record for
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each stack map. The record stores the stack map's instruction address
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and contains a entry for each mapped value. Each entry encodes a
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value's location as a register, stack offset, or constant.
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A patch point is an instruction address at which space is reserved for
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patching a new instruction sequence at run time. Patch points look
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much like calls to LLVM. They take arguments that follow a calling
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convention and may return a value. They also imply stack map
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generation, which allows the runtime to locate the patchpoint and
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find the location of ``live values`` at that point.
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Motivation
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==========
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This functionality is currently experimental but is potentially useful
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in a variety of settings, the most obvious being a runtime (JIT)
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compiler. Example applications of the patchpoint intrinsics are
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implementing an inline call cache for polymorphic method dispatch or
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optimizing the retrieval of properties in dynamically typed languages
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such as JavaScript.
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The intrinsics documented here are currently used by the JavaScript
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compiler within the open source WebKit project, see the `FTL JIT
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<https://trac.webkit.org/wiki/FTLJIT>`_, but they are designed to be
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used whenever stack maps or code patching are needed. Because the
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intrinsics have experimental status, compatibility across LLVM
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releases is not guaranteed.
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The stack map functionality described in this document is separate
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from the functionality described in
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:ref:`stack-map`. `GCFunctionMetadata` provides the location of
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pointers into a collected heap captured by the `GCRoot` intrinsic,
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which can also be considered a "stack map". Unlike the stack maps
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defined above, the `GCFunctionMetadata` stack map interface does not
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provide a way to associate live register values of arbitrary type with
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an instruction address, nor does it specify a format for the resulting
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stack map. The stack maps described here could potentially provide
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richer information to a garbage collecting runtime, but that usage
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will not be discussed in this document.
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Intrinsics
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==========
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The following two kinds of intrinsics can be used to implement stack
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maps and patch points: ``llvm.experimental.stackmap`` and
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``llvm.experimental.patchpoint``. Both kinds of intrinsics generate a
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stack map record, and they both allow some form of code patching. They
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can be used independently (i.e. ``llvm.experimental.patchpoint``
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implicitly generates a stack map without the need for an additional
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call to ``llvm.experimental.stackmap``). The choice of which to use
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depends on whether it is necessary to reserve space for code patching
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and whether any of the intrinsic arguments should be lowered according
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to calling conventions. ``llvm.experimental.stackmap`` does not
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reserve any space, nor does it expect any call arguments. If the
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runtime patches code at the stack map's address, it will destructively
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overwrite the program text. This is unlike
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``llvm.experimental.patchpoint``, which reserves space for in-place
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patching without overwriting surrounding code. The
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``llvm.experimental.patchpoint`` intrinsic also lowers a specified
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number of arguments according to its calling convention. This allows
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patched code to make in-place function calls without marshaling.
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Each instance of one of these intrinsics generates a stack map record
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in the :ref:`stackmap-section`. The record includes an ID, allowing
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the runtime to uniquely identify the stack map, and the offset within
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the code from the beginning of the enclosing function.
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'``llvm.experimental.stackmap``' Intrinsic
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^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
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Syntax:
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"""""""
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::
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declare void
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@llvm.experimental.stackmap(i64 <id>, i32 <numShadowBytes>, ...)
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Overview:
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"""""""""
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The '``llvm.experimental.stackmap``' intrinsic records the location of
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specified values in the stack map without generating any code.
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Operands:
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"""""""""
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The first operand is an ID to be encoded within the stack map. The
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second operand is the number of shadow bytes following the
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intrinsic. The variable number of operands that follow are the ``live
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values`` for which locations will be recorded in the stack map.
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To use this intrinsic as a bare-bones stack map, with no code patching
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support, the number of shadow bytes can be set to zero.
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Semantics:
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""""""""""
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The stack map intrinsic generates no code in place, unless nops are
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needed to cover its shadow (see below). However, its offset from
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function entry is stored in the stack map. This is the relative
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instruction address immediately following the instructions that
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precede the stack map.
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The stack map ID allows a runtime to locate the desired stack map
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record. LLVM passes this ID through directly to the stack map
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record without checking uniqueness.
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LLVM guarantees a shadow of instructions following the stack map's
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instruction offset during which neither the end of the basic block nor
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another call to ``llvm.experimental.stackmap`` or
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``llvm.experimental.patchpoint`` may occur. This allows the runtime to
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patch the code at this point in response to an event triggered from
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outside the code. The code for instructions following the stack map
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may be emitted in the stack map's shadow, and these instructions may
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be overwritten by destructive patching. Without shadow bytes, this
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destructive patching could overwrite program text or data outside the
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current function. We disallow overlapping stack map shadows so that
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the runtime does not need to consider this corner case.
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For example, a stack map with 8 byte shadow:
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.. code-block:: llvm
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call void @runtime()
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call void (i64, i32, ...)* @llvm.experimental.stackmap(i64 77, i32 8,
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i64* %ptr)
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%val = load i64* %ptr
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%add = add i64 %val, 3
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ret i64 %add
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May require one byte of nop-padding:
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.. code-block:: none
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0x00 callq _runtime
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0x05 nop <--- stack map address
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0x06 movq (%rdi), %rax
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0x07 addq $3, %rax
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0x0a popq %rdx
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0x0b ret <---- end of 8-byte shadow
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Now, if the runtime needs to invalidate the compiled code, it may
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patch 8 bytes of code at the stack map's address at follows:
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.. code-block:: none
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0x00 callq _runtime
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0x05 movl $0xffff, %rax <--- patched code at stack map address
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0x0a callq *%rax <---- end of 8-byte shadow
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This way, after the normal call to the runtime returns, the code will
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execute a patched call to a special entry point that can rebuild a
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stack frame from the values located by the stack map.
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'``llvm.experimental.patchpoint.*``' Intrinsic
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^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
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Syntax:
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"""""""
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::
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declare void
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@llvm.experimental.patchpoint.void(i64 <id>, i32 <numBytes>,
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i8* <target>, i32 <numArgs>, ...)
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declare i64
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@llvm.experimental.patchpoint.i64(i64 <id>, i32 <numBytes>,
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i8* <target>, i32 <numArgs>, ...)
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Overview:
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"""""""""
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The '``llvm.experimental.patchpoint.*``' intrinsics creates a function
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call to the specified ``<target>`` and records the location of specified
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values in the stack map.
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Operands:
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"""""""""
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The first operand is an ID, the second operand is the number of bytes
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reserved for the patchable region, the third operand is the target
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address of a function (optionally null), and the fourth operand
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specifies how many of the following variable operands are considered
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function call arguments. The remaining variable number of operands are
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the ``live values`` for which locations will be recorded in the stack
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map.
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Semantics:
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""""""""""
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The patch point intrinsic generates a stack map. It also emits a
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function call to the address specified by ``<target>`` if the address
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is not a constant null. The function call and its arguments are
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lowered according to the calling convention specified at the
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intrinsic's callsite. Variants of the intrinsic with non-void return
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type also return a value according to calling convention.
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On PowerPC, note that ``<target>`` must be the ABI function pointer for the
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intended target of the indirect call. Specifically, when compiling for the
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ELF V1 ABI, ``<target>`` is the function-descriptor address normally used as
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the C/C++ function-pointer representation.
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Requesting zero patch point arguments is valid. In this case, all
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variable operands are handled just like
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``llvm.experimental.stackmap.*``. The difference is that space will
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still be reserved for patching, a call will be emitted, and a return
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value is allowed.
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The location of the arguments are not normally recorded in the stack
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map because they are already fixed by the calling convention. The
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remaining ``live values`` will have their location recorded, which
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could be a register, stack location, or constant. A special calling
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convention has been introduced for use with stack maps, anyregcc,
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which forces the arguments to be loaded into registers but allows
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those register to be dynamically allocated. These argument registers
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will have their register locations recorded in the stack map in
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addition to the remaining ``live values``.
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The patch point also emits nops to cover at least ``<numBytes>`` of
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instruction encoding space. Hence, the client must ensure that
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``<numBytes>`` is enough to encode a call to the target address on the
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supported targets. If the call target is constant null, then there is
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no minimum requirement. A zero-byte null target patchpoint is
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valid.
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The runtime may patch the code emitted for the patch point, including
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the call sequence and nops. However, the runtime may not assume
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anything about the code LLVM emits within the reserved space. Partial
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patching is not allowed. The runtime must patch all reserved bytes,
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padding with nops if necessary.
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This example shows a patch point reserving 15 bytes, with one argument
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in $rdi, and a return value in $rax per native calling convention:
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.. code-block:: llvm
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%target = inttoptr i64 -281474976710654 to i8*
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%val = call i64 (i64, i32, ...)*
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@llvm.experimental.patchpoint.i64(i64 78, i32 15,
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i8* %target, i32 1, i64* %ptr)
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%add = add i64 %val, 3
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ret i64 %add
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May generate:
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.. code-block:: none
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0x00 movabsq $0xffff000000000002, %r11 <--- patch point address
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0x0a callq *%r11
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0x0d nop
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0x0e nop <--- end of reserved 15-bytes
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0x0f addq $0x3, %rax
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0x10 movl %rax, 8(%rsp)
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Note that no stack map locations will be recorded. If the patched code
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sequence does not need arguments fixed to specific calling convention
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registers, then the ``anyregcc`` convention may be used:
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.. code-block:: none
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%val = call anyregcc @llvm.experimental.patchpoint(i64 78, i32 15,
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i8* %target, i32 1,
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i64* %ptr)
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The stack map now indicates the location of the %ptr argument and
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return value:
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.. code-block:: none
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Stack Map: ID=78, Loc0=%r9 Loc1=%r8
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The patch code sequence may now use the argument that happened to be
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allocated in %r8 and return a value allocated in %r9:
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.. code-block:: none
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0x00 movslq 4(%r8) %r9 <--- patched code at patch point address
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0x03 nop
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...
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0x0e nop <--- end of reserved 15-bytes
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0x0f addq $0x3, %r9
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0x10 movl %r9, 8(%rsp)
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.. _stackmap-format:
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Stack Map Format
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================
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The existence of a stack map or patch point intrinsic within an LLVM
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Module forces code emission to create a :ref:`stackmap-section`. The
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format of this section follows:
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.. code-block:: none
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Header {
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uint8 : Stack Map Version (current version is 3)
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uint8 : Reserved (expected to be 0)
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uint16 : Reserved (expected to be 0)
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}
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uint32 : NumFunctions
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uint32 : NumConstants
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uint32 : NumRecords
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StkSizeRecord[NumFunctions] {
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uint64 : Function Address
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uint64 : Stack Size
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uint64 : Record Count
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}
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Constants[NumConstants] {
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uint64 : LargeConstant
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}
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StkMapRecord[NumRecords] {
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uint64 : PatchPoint ID
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uint32 : Instruction Offset
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uint16 : Reserved (record flags)
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uint16 : NumLocations
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Location[NumLocations] {
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uint8 : Register | Direct | Indirect | Constant | ConstantIndex
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uint8 : Reserved (expected to be 0)
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uint16 : Location Size
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uint16 : Dwarf RegNum
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uint16 : Reserved (expected to be 0)
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int32 : Offset or SmallConstant
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}
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uint32 : Padding (only if required to align to 8 byte)
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uint16 : Padding
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uint16 : NumLiveOuts
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LiveOuts[NumLiveOuts]
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uint16 : Dwarf RegNum
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uint8 : Reserved
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uint8 : Size in Bytes
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}
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uint32 : Padding (only if required to align to 8 byte)
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}
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The first byte of each location encodes a type that indicates how to
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interpret the ``RegNum`` and ``Offset`` fields as follows:
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======== ========== =================== ===========================
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Encoding Type Value Description
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-------- ---------- ------------------- ---------------------------
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0x1 Register Reg Value in a register
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0x2 Direct Reg + Offset Frame index value
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0x3 Indirect [Reg + Offset] Spilled value
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0x4 Constant Offset Small constant
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0x5 ConstIndex Constants[Offset] Large constant
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======== ========== =================== ===========================
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In the common case, a value is available in a register, and the
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``Offset`` field will be zero. Values spilled to the stack are encoded
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as ``Indirect`` locations. The runtime must load those values from a
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stack address, typically in the form ``[BP + Offset]``. If an
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``alloca`` value is passed directly to a stack map intrinsic, then
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LLVM may fold the frame index into the stack map as an optimization to
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avoid allocating a register or stack slot. These frame indices will be
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encoded as ``Direct`` locations in the form ``BP + Offset``. LLVM may
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also optimize constants by emitting them directly in the stack map,
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either in the ``Offset`` of a ``Constant`` location or in the constant
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pool, referred to by ``ConstantIndex`` locations.
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At each callsite, a "liveout" register list is also recorded. These
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are the registers that are live across the stackmap and therefore must
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be saved by the runtime. This is an important optimization when the
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patchpoint intrinsic is used with a calling convention that by default
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preserves most registers as callee-save.
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Each entry in the liveout register list contains a DWARF register
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number and size in bytes. The stackmap format deliberately omits
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specific subregister information. Instead the runtime must interpret
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this information conservatively. For example, if the stackmap reports
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one byte at ``%rax``, then the value may be in either ``%al`` or
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``%ah``. It doesn't matter in practice, because the runtime will
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simply save ``%rax``. However, if the stackmap reports 16 bytes at
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``%ymm0``, then the runtime can safely optimize by saving only
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``%xmm0``.
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The stack map format is a contract between an LLVM SVN revision and
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the runtime. It is currently experimental and may change in the short
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term, but minimizing the need to update the runtime is
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important. Consequently, the stack map design is motivated by
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simplicity and extensibility. Compactness of the representation is
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secondary because the runtime is expected to parse the data
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immediately after compiling a module and encode the information in its
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own format. Since the runtime controls the allocation of sections, it
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can reuse the same stack map space for multiple modules.
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Stackmap support is currently only implemented for 64-bit
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platforms. However, a 32-bit implementation should be able to use the
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same format with an insignificant amount of wasted space.
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.. _stackmap-section:
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Stack Map Section
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^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
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A JIT compiler can easily access this section by providing its own
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memory manager via the LLVM C API
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``LLVMCreateSimpleMCJITMemoryManager()``. When creating the memory
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manager, the JIT provides a callback:
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``LLVMMemoryManagerAllocateDataSectionCallback()``. When LLVM creates
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this section, it invokes the callback and passes the section name. The
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JIT can record the in-memory address of the section at this time and
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later parse it to recover the stack map data.
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For MachO (e.g. on Darwin), the stack map section name is
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"__llvm_stackmaps". The segment name is "__LLVM_STACKMAPS".
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For ELF (e.g. on Linux), the stack map section name is
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".llvm_stackmaps". The segment name is "__LLVM_STACKMAPS".
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Stack Map Usage
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===============
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The stack map support described in this document can be used to
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precisely determine the location of values at a specific position in
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the code. LLVM does not maintain any mapping between those values and
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any higher-level entity. The runtime must be able to interpret the
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stack map record given only the ID, offset, and the order of the
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locations, records, and functions, which LLVM preserves.
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Note that this is quite different from the goal of debug information,
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which is a best-effort attempt to track the location of named
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variables at every instruction.
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An important motivation for this design is to allow a runtime to
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commandeer a stack frame when execution reaches an instruction address
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associated with a stack map. The runtime must be able to rebuild a
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stack frame and resume program execution using the information
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provided by the stack map. For example, execution may resume in an
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interpreter or a recompiled version of the same function.
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This usage restricts LLVM optimization. Clearly, LLVM must not move
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stores across a stack map. However, loads must also be handled
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conservatively. If the load may trigger an exception, hoisting it
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above a stack map could be invalid. For example, the runtime may
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determine that a load is safe to execute without a type check given
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the current state of the type system. If the type system changes while
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some activation of the load's function exists on the stack, the load
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becomes unsafe. The runtime can prevent subsequent execution of that
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load by immediately patching any stack map location that lies between
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the current call site and the load (typically, the runtime would
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simply patch all stack map locations to invalidate the function). If
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the compiler had hoisted the load above the stack map, then the
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program could crash before the runtime could take back control.
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To enforce these semantics, stackmap and patchpoint intrinsics are
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considered to potentially read and write all memory. This may limit
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optimization more than some clients desire. This limitation may be
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avoided by marking the call site as "readonly". In the future we may
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also allow meta-data to be added to the intrinsic call to express
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aliasing, thereby allowing optimizations to hoist certain loads above
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stack maps.
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Direct Stack Map Entries
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^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
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As shown in :ref:`stackmap-section`, a Direct stack map location
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records the address of frame index. This address is itself the value
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that the runtime requested. This differs from Indirect locations,
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which refer to a stack locations from which the requested values must
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be loaded. Direct locations can communicate the address if an alloca,
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while Indirect locations handle register spills.
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For example:
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.. code-block:: none
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entry:
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%a = alloca i64...
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llvm.experimental.stackmap(i64 <ID>, i32 <shadowBytes>, i64* %a)
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The runtime can determine this alloca's relative location on the
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stack immediately after compilation, or at any time thereafter. This
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differs from Register and Indirect locations, because the runtime can
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only read the values in those locations when execution reaches the
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instruction address of the stack map.
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This functionality requires LLVM to treat entry-block allocas
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specially when they are directly consumed by an intrinsics. (This is
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|
the same requirement imposed by the llvm.gcroot intrinsic.) LLVM
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|
transformations must not substitute the alloca with any intervening
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value. This can be verified by the runtime simply by checking that the
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stack map's location is a Direct location type.
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Supported Architectures
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=======================
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Support for StackMap generation and the related intrinsics requires
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some code for each backend. Today, only a subset of LLVM's backends
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|
are supported. The currently supported architectures are X86_64,
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PowerPC, Aarch64 and SystemZ.
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