1 Tiny Code Generator - Fabrice Bellard.
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.
11 TCG receives RISC-like "TCG ops" and performs some optimizations on them,
12 including liveness analysis and trivial constant expression
13 evaluation. TCG ops are then implemented in the host CPU back end,
14 also known as the TCG "target".
16 The TCG "target" is the architecture for which we generate the
17 code. It is of course not the same as the "target" of QEMU which is
18 the emulated architecture. As TCG started as a generic C backend used
19 for cross compiling, it is assumed that the TCG target is different
20 from the host, although it is never the case for QEMU.
22 In this document, we use "guest" to specify what architecture we are
23 emulating; "target" always means the TCG target, the machine on which
26 A TCG "function" corresponds to a QEMU Translated Block (TB).
28 A TCG "temporary" is a variable only live in a basic
29 block. Temporaries are allocated explicitly in each function.
31 A TCG "local temporary" is a variable only live in a function. Local
32 temporaries are allocated explicitly in each function.
34 A TCG "global" is a variable which is live in all the functions
35 (equivalent of a C global variable). They are defined before the
36 functions defined. A TCG global can be a memory location (e.g. a QEMU
37 CPU register), a fixed host register (e.g. the QEMU CPU state pointer)
38 or a memory location which is stored in a register outside QEMU TBs
39 (not implemented yet).
41 A TCG "basic block" corresponds to a list of instructions terminated
42 by a branch instruction.
44 An operation with "undefined behavior" may result in a crash.
46 An operation with "unspecified behavior" shall not crash. However,
47 the result may be one of several possibilities so may be considered
48 an "undefined result".
50 3) Intermediate representation
54 TCG instructions operate on variables which are temporaries, local
55 temporaries or globals. TCG instructions and variables are strongly
56 typed. Two types are supported: 32 bit integers and 64 bit
57 integers. Pointers are defined as an alias to 32 bit or 64 bit
58 integers depending on the TCG target word size.
60 Each instruction has a fixed number of output variable operands, input
61 variable operands and always constant operands.
63 The notable exception is the call instruction which has a variable
64 number of outputs and inputs.
66 In the textual form, output operands usually come first, followed by
67 input operands, followed by constant operands. The output type is
68 included in the instruction name. Constants are prefixed with a '$'.
70 add_i32 t0, t1, t2 (t0 <- t1 + t2)
76 - Basic blocks end after branches (e.g. brcond_i32 instruction),
77 goto_tb and exit_tb instructions.
78 - Basic blocks start after the end of a previous basic block, or at a
79 set_label instruction.
81 After the end of a basic block, the content of temporaries is
82 destroyed, but local temporaries and globals are preserved.
84 * Floating point types are not supported yet
86 * Pointers: depending on the TCG target, pointer size is 32 bit or 64
87 bit. The type TCG_TYPE_PTR is an alias to TCG_TYPE_I32 or
92 Using the tcg_gen_helper_x_y it is possible to call any function
93 taking i32, i64 or pointer types. By default, before calling a helper,
94 all globals are stored at their canonical location and it is assumed
95 that the function can modify them. By default, the helper is allowed to
96 modify the CPU state or raise an exception.
98 This can be overridden using the following function modifiers:
99 - TCG_CALL_NO_READ_GLOBALS means that the helper does not read globals,
100 either directly or via an exception. They will not be saved to their
101 canonical locations before calling the helper.
102 - TCG_CALL_NO_WRITE_GLOBALS means that the helper does not modify any globals.
103 They will only be saved to their canonical location before calling helpers,
104 but they won't be reloaded afterwards.
105 - TCG_CALL_NO_SIDE_EFFECTS means that the call to the function is removed if
106 the return value is not used.
108 Note that TCG_CALL_NO_READ_GLOBALS implies TCG_CALL_NO_WRITE_GLOBALS.
110 On some TCG targets (e.g. x86), several calling conventions are
115 Use the instruction 'br' to jump to a label.
117 3.3) Code Optimizations
119 When generating instructions, you can count on at least the following
122 - Single instructions are simplified, e.g.
124 and_i32 t0, t0, $0xffffffff
128 - A liveness analysis is done at the basic block level. The
129 information is used to suppress moves from a dead variable to
130 another one. It is also used to remove instructions which compute
131 dead results. The later is especially useful for condition code
132 optimization in QEMU.
134 In the following example:
140 only the last instruction is kept.
142 3.4) Instruction Reference
144 ********* Function call
146 * call <ret> <params> ptr
148 call function 'ptr' (pointer type)
150 <ret> optional 32 bit or 64 bit return value
151 <params> optional 32 bit or 64 bit parameters
153 ********* Jumps/Labels
157 Define label 'label' at the current program point.
163 * brcond_i32/i64 t0, t1, cond, label
165 Conditional jump if t0 cond t1 is true. cond can be:
168 TCG_COND_LT /* signed */
169 TCG_COND_GE /* signed */
170 TCG_COND_LE /* signed */
171 TCG_COND_GT /* signed */
172 TCG_COND_LTU /* unsigned */
173 TCG_COND_GEU /* unsigned */
174 TCG_COND_LEU /* unsigned */
175 TCG_COND_GTU /* unsigned */
179 * add_i32/i64 t0, t1, t2
183 * sub_i32/i64 t0, t1, t2
189 t0=-t1 (two's complement)
191 * mul_i32/i64 t0, t1, t2
195 * div_i32/i64 t0, t1, t2
197 t0=t1/t2 (signed). Undefined behavior if division by zero or overflow.
199 * divu_i32/i64 t0, t1, t2
201 t0=t1/t2 (unsigned). Undefined behavior if division by zero.
203 * rem_i32/i64 t0, t1, t2
205 t0=t1%t2 (signed). Undefined behavior if division by zero or overflow.
207 * remu_i32/i64 t0, t1, t2
209 t0=t1%t2 (unsigned). Undefined behavior if division by zero.
213 * and_i32/i64 t0, t1, t2
217 * or_i32/i64 t0, t1, t2
221 * xor_i32/i64 t0, t1, t2
229 * andc_i32/i64 t0, t1, t2
233 * eqv_i32/i64 t0, t1, t2
235 t0=~(t1^t2), or equivalently, t0=t1^~t2
237 * nand_i32/i64 t0, t1, t2
241 * nor_i32/i64 t0, t1, t2
245 * orc_i32/i64 t0, t1, t2
249 * clz_i32/i64 t0, t1, t2
251 t0 = t1 ? clz(t1) : t2
253 * ctz_i32/i64 t0, t1, t2
255 t0 = t1 ? ctz(t1) : t2
257 * ctpop_i32/i64 t0, t1
259 t0 = number of bits set in t1
260 With "ctpop" short for "count population", matching
261 the function name used in include/qemu/host-utils.h.
263 ********* Shifts/Rotates
265 * shl_i32/i64 t0, t1, t2
267 t0=t1 << t2. Unspecified behavior if t2 < 0 or t2 >= 32 (resp 64)
269 * shr_i32/i64 t0, t1, t2
271 t0=t1 >> t2 (unsigned). Unspecified behavior if t2 < 0 or t2 >= 32 (resp 64)
273 * sar_i32/i64 t0, t1, t2
275 t0=t1 >> t2 (signed). Unspecified behavior if t2 < 0 or t2 >= 32 (resp 64)
277 * rotl_i32/i64 t0, t1, t2
279 Rotation of t2 bits to the left.
280 Unspecified behavior if t2 < 0 or t2 >= 32 (resp 64)
282 * rotr_i32/i64 t0, t1, t2
284 Rotation of t2 bits to the right.
285 Unspecified behavior if t2 < 0 or t2 >= 32 (resp 64)
293 Move t1 to t0 (both operands must have the same type).
295 * ext8s_i32/i64 t0, t1
297 ext16s_i32/i64 t0, t1
298 ext16u_i32/i64 t0, t1
302 8, 16 or 32 bit sign/zero extension (both operands must have the same type)
304 * bswap16_i32/i64 t0, t1, flags
306 16 bit byte swap on the low bits of a 32/64 bit input.
307 If flags & TCG_BSWAP_IZ, then t1 is known to be zero-extended from bit 15.
308 If flags & TCG_BSWAP_OZ, then t0 will be zero-extended from bit 15.
309 If flags & TCG_BSWAP_OS, then t0 will be sign-extended from bit 15.
310 If neither TCG_BSWAP_OZ nor TCG_BSWAP_OS are set, then the bits of
311 t0 above bit 15 may contain any value.
313 * bswap32_i64 t0, t1, flags
315 32 bit byte swap on a 64-bit value. The flags are the same as for bswap16,
316 except they apply from bit 31 instead of bit 15.
318 * bswap32_i32 t0, t1, flags
319 * bswap64_i64 t0, t1, flags
321 32/64 bit byte swap. The flags are ignored, but still present
322 for consistency with the other bswap opcodes.
326 Indicate that the value of t0 won't be used later. It is useful to
327 force dead code elimination.
329 * deposit_i32/i64 dest, t1, t2, pos, len
331 Deposit T2 as a bitfield into T1, placing the result in DEST.
332 The bitfield is described by POS/LEN, which are immediate values:
334 LEN - the length of the bitfield
335 POS - the position of the first bit, counting from the LSB
337 For example, "deposit_i32 dest, t1, t2, 8, 4" indicates a 4-bit field
338 at bit 8. This operation would be equivalent to
340 dest = (t1 & ~0x0f00) | ((t2 << 8) & 0x0f00)
342 * extract_i32/i64 dest, t1, pos, len
343 * sextract_i32/i64 dest, t1, pos, len
345 Extract a bitfield from T1, placing the result in DEST.
346 The bitfield is described by POS/LEN, which are immediate values,
347 as above for deposit. For extract_*, the result will be extended
348 to the left with zeros; for sextract_*, the result will be extended
349 to the left with copies of the bitfield sign bit at pos + len - 1.
351 For example, "sextract_i32 dest, t1, 8, 4" indicates a 4-bit field
352 at bit 8. This operation would be equivalent to
354 dest = (t1 << 20) >> 28
356 (using an arithmetic right shift).
358 * extract2_i32/i64 dest, t1, t2, pos
360 For N = {32,64}, extract an N-bit quantity from the concatenation
361 of t2:t1, beginning at pos. The tcg_gen_extract2_{i32,i64} expander
362 accepts 0 <= pos <= N as inputs. The backend code generator will
363 not see either 0 or N as inputs for these opcodes.
365 * extrl_i64_i32 t0, t1
367 For 64-bit hosts only, extract the low 32-bits of input T1 and place it
368 into 32-bit output T0. Depending on the host, this may be a simple move,
369 or may require additional canonicalization.
371 * extrh_i64_i32 t0, t1
373 For 64-bit hosts only, extract the high 32-bits of input T1 and place it
374 into 32-bit output T0. Depending on the host, this may be a simple shift,
375 or may require additional canonicalization.
377 ********* Conditional moves
379 * setcond_i32/i64 dest, t1, t2, cond
383 Set DEST to 1 if (T1 cond T2) is true, otherwise set to 0.
385 * movcond_i32/i64 dest, c1, c2, v1, v2, cond
387 dest = (c1 cond c2 ? v1 : v2)
389 Set DEST to V1 if (C1 cond C2) is true, otherwise set to V2.
391 ********* Type conversions
394 Convert t1 (32 bit) to t0 (64 bit) and does sign extension
396 * extu_i32_i64 t0, t1
397 Convert t1 (32 bit) to t0 (64 bit) and does zero extension
399 * trunc_i64_i32 t0, t1
400 Truncate t1 (64 bit) to t0 (32 bit)
402 * concat_i32_i64 t0, t1, t2
403 Construct t0 (64-bit) taking the low half from t1 (32 bit) and the high half
406 * concat32_i64 t0, t1, t2
407 Construct t0 (64-bit) taking the low half from t1 (64 bit) and the high half
412 * ld_i32/i64 t0, t1, offset
413 ld8s_i32/i64 t0, t1, offset
414 ld8u_i32/i64 t0, t1, offset
415 ld16s_i32/i64 t0, t1, offset
416 ld16u_i32/i64 t0, t1, offset
417 ld32s_i64 t0, t1, offset
418 ld32u_i64 t0, t1, offset
420 t0 = read(t1 + offset)
421 Load 8, 16, 32 or 64 bits with or without sign extension from host memory.
422 offset must be a constant.
424 * st_i32/i64 t0, t1, offset
425 st8_i32/i64 t0, t1, offset
426 st16_i32/i64 t0, t1, offset
427 st32_i64 t0, t1, offset
429 write(t0, t1 + offset)
430 Write 8, 16, 32 or 64 bits to host memory.
432 All this opcodes assume that the pointed host memory doesn't correspond
433 to a global. In the latter case the behaviour is unpredictable.
435 ********* Multiword arithmetic support
437 * add2_i32/i64 t0_low, t0_high, t1_low, t1_high, t2_low, t2_high
438 * sub2_i32/i64 t0_low, t0_high, t1_low, t1_high, t2_low, t2_high
440 Similar to add/sub, except that the double-word inputs T1 and T2 are
441 formed from two single-word arguments, and the double-word output T0
442 is returned in two single-word outputs.
444 * mulu2_i32/i64 t0_low, t0_high, t1, t2
446 Similar to mul, except two unsigned inputs T1 and T2 yielding the full
447 double-word product T0. The later is returned in two single-word outputs.
449 * muls2_i32/i64 t0_low, t0_high, t1, t2
451 Similar to mulu2, except the two inputs T1 and T2 are signed.
453 * mulsh_i32/i64 t0, t1, t2
454 * muluh_i32/i64 t0, t1, t2
456 Provide the high part of a signed or unsigned multiply, respectively.
457 If mulu2/muls2 are not provided by the backend, the tcg-op generator
458 can obtain the same results can be obtained by emitting a pair of
459 opcodes, mul+muluh/mulsh.
461 ********* Memory Barrier support
465 Generate a target memory barrier instruction to ensure memory ordering as being
466 enforced by a corresponding guest memory barrier instruction. The ordering
467 enforced by the backend may be stricter than the ordering required by the guest.
468 It cannot be weaker. This opcode takes a constant argument which is required to
469 generate the appropriate barrier instruction. The backend should take care to
470 emit the target barrier instruction only when necessary i.e., for SMP guests and
471 when MTTCG is enabled.
473 The guest translators should generate this opcode for all guest instructions
474 which have ordering side effects.
476 Please see docs/devel/atomics.rst for more information on memory barriers.
478 ********* 64-bit guest on 32-bit host support
480 The following opcodes are internal to TCG. Thus they are to be implemented by
481 32-bit host code generators, but are not to be emitted by guest translators.
482 They are emitted as needed by inline functions within "tcg-op.h".
484 * brcond2_i32 t0_low, t0_high, t1_low, t1_high, cond, label
486 Similar to brcond, except that the 64-bit values T0 and T1
487 are formed from two 32-bit arguments.
489 * setcond2_i32 dest, t1_low, t1_high, t2_low, t2_high, cond
491 Similar to setcond, except that the 64-bit values T1 and T2 are
492 formed from two 32-bit arguments. The result is a 32-bit value.
494 ********* QEMU specific operations
498 Exit the current TB and return the value t0 (word type).
502 Exit the current TB and jump to the TB index 'index' (constant) if the
503 current TB was linked to this TB. Otherwise execute the next
504 instructions. Only indices 0 and 1 are valid and tcg_gen_goto_tb may be issued
505 at most once with each slot index per TB.
507 * lookup_and_goto_ptr tb_addr
509 Look up a TB address ('tb_addr') and jump to it if valid. If not valid,
510 jump to the TCG epilogue to go back to the exec loop.
512 This operation is optional. If the TCG backend does not implement the
513 goto_ptr opcode, emitting this op is equivalent to emitting exit_tb(0).
515 * qemu_ld_i32/i64 t0, t1, flags, memidx
516 * qemu_st_i32/i64 t0, t1, flags, memidx
517 * qemu_st8_i32 t0, t1, flags, memidx
519 Load data at the guest address t1 into t0, or store data in t0 at guest
520 address t1. The _i32/_i64 size applies to the size of the input/output
521 register t0 only. The address t1 is always sized according to the guest,
522 and the width of the memory operation is controlled by flags.
524 Both t0 and t1 may be split into little-endian ordered pairs of registers
525 if dealing with 64-bit quantities on a 32-bit host.
527 The memidx selects the qemu tlb index to use (e.g. user or kernel access).
528 The flags are the MemOp bits, selecting the sign, width, and endianness
529 of the memory access.
531 For a 32-bit host, qemu_ld/st_i64 is guaranteed to only be used with a
532 64-bit memory access specified in flags.
534 For i386, qemu_st8_i32 is exactly like qemu_st_i32, except the size of
535 the memory operation is known to be 8-bit. This allows the backend to
536 provide a different set of register constraints.
538 ********* Host vector operations
540 All of the vector ops have two parameters, TCGOP_VECL & TCGOP_VECE.
541 The former specifies the length of the vector in log2 64-bit units; the
542 later specifies the length of the element (if applicable) in log2 8-bit units.
543 E.g. VECL=1 -> 64 << 1 -> v128, and VECE=2 -> 1 << 2 -> i32.
549 Move, load and store.
553 Duplicate the low N bits of R1 into VECL/VECE copies across V0.
557 Similarly, for a constant.
558 Smaller values will be replicated to host register size by the expanders.
560 * dup2_vec v0, r1, r2
562 Duplicate r2:r1 into VECL/64 copies across V0. This opcode is
563 only present for 32-bit hosts.
567 v0 = v1 + v2, in elements across the vector.
571 Similarly, v0 = v1 - v2.
575 Similarly, v0 = v1 * v2.
583 Similarly, v0 = v1 < 0 ? -v1 : v1, in elements across the vector.
588 Similarly, v0 = MIN(v1, v2), for signed and unsigned element types.
593 Similarly, v0 = MAX(v1, v2), for signed and unsigned element types.
600 Signed and unsigned saturating addition and subtraction. If the true
601 result is not representable within the element type, the element is
602 set to the minimum or maximum value for the type.
607 * andc_vec v0, v1, v2
611 Similarly, logical operations with and without complement.
612 Note that VECE is unused.
614 * shli_vec v0, v1, i2
615 * shls_vec v0, v1, s2
617 Shift all elements from v1 by a scalar i2/s2. I.e.
619 for (i = 0; i < VECL/VECE; ++i) {
623 * shri_vec v0, v1, i2
624 * sari_vec v0, v1, i2
625 * rotli_vec v0, v1, i2
626 * shrs_vec v0, v1, s2
627 * sars_vec v0, v1, s2
629 Similarly for logical and arithmetic right shift, and left rotate.
631 * shlv_vec v0, v1, v2
633 Shift elements from v1 by elements from v2. I.e.
635 for (i = 0; i < VECL/VECE; ++i) {
636 v0[i] = v1[i] << v2[i];
639 * shrv_vec v0, v1, v2
640 * sarv_vec v0, v1, v2
641 * rotlv_vec v0, v1, v2
642 * rotrv_vec v0, v1, v2
644 Similarly for logical and arithmetic right shift, and rotates.
646 * cmp_vec v0, v1, v2, cond
648 Compare vectors by element, storing -1 for true and 0 for false.
650 * bitsel_vec v0, v1, v2, v3
652 Bitwise select, v0 = (v2 & v1) | (v3 & ~v1), across the entire vector.
654 * cmpsel_vec v0, c1, c2, v3, v4, cond
656 Select elements based on comparison results:
657 for (i = 0; i < n; ++i) {
658 v0[i] = (c1[i] cond c2[i]) ? v3[i] : v4[i].
663 Note 1: Some shortcuts are defined when the last operand is known to be
664 a constant (e.g. addi for add, movi for mov).
666 Note 2: When using TCG, the opcodes must never be generated directly
667 as some of them may not be available as "real" opcodes. Always use the
668 function tcg_gen_xxx(args).
672 tcg-target.h contains the target specific definitions. tcg-target.c.inc
673 contains the target specific code; it is #included by tcg/tcg.c, rather
674 than being a standalone C file.
678 The target word size (TCG_TARGET_REG_BITS) is expected to be 32 bit or
679 64 bit. It is expected that the pointer has the same size as the word.
681 On a 32 bit target, all 64 bit operations are converted to 32 bits. A
682 few specific operations must be implemented to allow it (see add2_i32,
683 sub2_i32, brcond2_i32).
685 On a 64 bit target, the values are transferred between 32 and 64-bit
686 registers using the following ops:
691 They ensure that the values are correctly truncated or extended when
692 moved from a 32-bit to a 64-bit register or vice-versa. Note that the
693 trunc_shr_i64_i32 is an optional op. It is not necessary to implement
694 it if all the following conditions are met:
695 - 64-bit registers can hold 32-bit values
696 - 32-bit values in a 64-bit register do not need to stay zero or
698 - all 32-bit TCG ops ignore the high part of 64-bit registers
700 Floating point operations are not supported in this version. A
701 previous incarnation of the code generator had full support of them,
702 but it is better to concentrate on integer operations first.
706 GCC like constraints are used to define the constraints of every
707 instruction. Memory constraints are not supported in this
708 version. Aliases are specified in the input operands as for GCC.
710 The same register may be used for both an input and an output, even when
711 they are not explicitly aliased. If an op expands to multiple target
712 instructions then care must be taken to avoid clobbering input values.
713 GCC style "early clobber" outputs are supported, with '&'.
715 A target can define specific register or constant constraints. If an
716 operation uses a constant input constraint which does not allow all
717 constants, it must also accept registers in order to have a fallback.
718 The constraint 'i' is defined generically to accept any constant.
719 The constraint 'r' is not defined generically, but is consistently
720 used by each backend to indicate all registers.
722 The movi_i32 and movi_i64 operations must accept any constants.
724 The mov_i32 and mov_i64 operations must accept any registers of the
727 The ld/st/sti instructions must accept signed 32 bit constant offsets.
728 This can be implemented by reserving a specific register in which to
729 compute the address if the offset is too big.
731 The ld/st instructions must accept any destination (ld) or source (st)
734 The sti instruction may fail if it cannot store the given constant.
736 4.3) Function call assumptions
738 - The only supported types for parameters and return value are: 32 and
739 64 bit integers and pointer.
740 - The stack grows downwards.
741 - The first N parameters are passed in registers.
742 - The next parameters are passed on the stack by storing them as words.
743 - Some registers are clobbered during the call.
744 - The function can return 0 or 1 value in registers. On a 32 bit
745 target, functions must be able to return 2 values in registers for
748 5) Recommended coding rules for best performance
750 - Use globals to represent the parts of the QEMU CPU state which are
751 often modified, e.g. the integer registers and the condition
752 codes. TCG will be able to use host registers to store them.
754 - Avoid globals stored in fixed registers. They must be used only to
755 store the pointer to the CPU state and possibly to store a pointer
756 to a register window.
758 - Use temporaries. Use local temporaries only when really needed,
759 e.g. when you need to use a value after a jump. Local temporaries
760 introduce a performance hit in the current TCG implementation: their
761 content is saved to memory at end of each basic block.
763 - Free temporaries and local temporaries when they are no longer used
764 (tcg_temp_free). Since tcg_const_x() also creates a temporary, you
765 should free it after it is used. Freeing temporaries does not yield
766 a better generated code, but it reduces the memory usage of TCG and
767 the speed of the translation.
769 - Don't hesitate to use helpers for complicated or seldom used guest
770 instructions. There is little performance advantage in using TCG to
771 implement guest instructions taking more than about twenty TCG
772 instructions. Note that this rule of thumb is more applicable to
773 helpers doing complex logic or arithmetic, where the C compiler has
774 scope to do a good job of optimisation; it is less relevant where
775 the instruction is mostly doing loads and stores, and in those cases
776 inline TCG may still be faster for longer sequences.
778 - The hard limit on the number of TCG instructions you can generate
779 per guest instruction is set by MAX_OP_PER_INSTR in exec-all.h --
780 you cannot exceed this without risking a buffer overrun.
782 - Use the 'discard' instruction if you know that TCG won't be able to
783 prove that a given global is "dead" at a given program point. The
784 x86 guest uses it to improve the condition codes optimisation.