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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 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".
15
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.
21
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
24 we are running QEMU.
25
26 A TCG "function" corresponds to a QEMU Translated Block (TB).
27
28 A TCG "temporary" is a variable only live in a basic
29 block. Temporaries are allocated explicitly in each function.
30
31 A TCG "local temporary" is a variable only live in a function. Local
32 temporaries are allocated explicitly in each function.
33
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).
40
41 A TCG "basic block" corresponds to a list of instructions terminated
42 by a branch instruction.
43
44 An operation with "undefined behavior" may result in a crash.
45
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".
49
50 3) Intermediate representation
51
52 3.1) Introduction
53
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.
59
60 Each instruction has a fixed number of output variable operands, input
61 variable operands and always constant operands.
62
63 The notable exception is the call instruction which has a variable
64 number of outputs and inputs.
65
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 '$'.
69
70 add_i32 t0, t1, t2 (t0 <- t1 + t2)
71
72 3.2) Assumptions
73
74 * Basic blocks
75
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.
80
81 After the end of a basic block, the content of temporaries is
82 destroyed, but local temporaries and globals are preserved.
83
84 * Floating point types are not supported yet
85
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
88 TCG_TYPE_I64.
89
90 * Helpers:
91
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.
97
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.
107
108 Note that TCG_CALL_NO_READ_GLOBALS implies TCG_CALL_NO_WRITE_GLOBALS.
109
110 On some TCG targets (e.g. x86), several calling conventions are
111 supported.
112
113 * Branches:
114
115 Use the instruction 'br' to jump to a label.
116
117 3.3) Code Optimizations
118
119 When generating instructions, you can count on at least the following
120 optimizations:
121
122 - Single instructions are simplified, e.g.
123
124 and_i32 t0, t0, $0xffffffff
125
126 is suppressed.
127
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.
133
134 In the following example:
135
136 add_i32 t0, t1, t2
137 add_i32 t0, t0, $1
138 mov_i32 t0, $1
139
140 only the last instruction is kept.
141
142 3.4) Instruction Reference
143
144 ********* Function call
145
146 * call <ret> <params> ptr
147
148 call function 'ptr' (pointer type)
149
150 <ret> optional 32 bit or 64 bit return value
151 <params> optional 32 bit or 64 bit parameters
152
153 ********* Jumps/Labels
154
155 * set_label $label
156
157 Define label 'label' at the current program point.
158
159 * br $label
160
161 Jump to label.
162
163 * brcond_i32/i64 t0, t1, cond, label
164
165 Conditional jump if t0 cond t1 is true. cond can be:
166 TCG_COND_EQ
167 TCG_COND_NE
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 */
176
177 ********* Arithmetic
178
179 * add_i32/i64 t0, t1, t2
180
181 t0=t1+t2
182
183 * sub_i32/i64 t0, t1, t2
184
185 t0=t1-t2
186
187 * neg_i32/i64 t0, t1
188
189 t0=-t1 (two's complement)
190
191 * mul_i32/i64 t0, t1, t2
192
193 t0=t1*t2
194
195 * div_i32/i64 t0, t1, t2
196
197 t0=t1/t2 (signed). Undefined behavior if division by zero or overflow.
198
199 * divu_i32/i64 t0, t1, t2
200
201 t0=t1/t2 (unsigned). Undefined behavior if division by zero.
202
203 * rem_i32/i64 t0, t1, t2
204
205 t0=t1%t2 (signed). Undefined behavior if division by zero or overflow.
206
207 * remu_i32/i64 t0, t1, t2
208
209 t0=t1%t2 (unsigned). Undefined behavior if division by zero.
210
211 ********* Logical
212
213 * and_i32/i64 t0, t1, t2
214
215 t0=t1&t2
216
217 * or_i32/i64 t0, t1, t2
218
219 t0=t1|t2
220
221 * xor_i32/i64 t0, t1, t2
222
223 t0=t1^t2
224
225 * not_i32/i64 t0, t1
226
227 t0=~t1
228
229 * andc_i32/i64 t0, t1, t2
230
231 t0=t1&~t2
232
233 * eqv_i32/i64 t0, t1, t2
234
235 t0=~(t1^t2), or equivalently, t0=t1^~t2
236
237 * nand_i32/i64 t0, t1, t2
238
239 t0=~(t1&t2)
240
241 * nor_i32/i64 t0, t1, t2
242
243 t0=~(t1|t2)
244
245 * orc_i32/i64 t0, t1, t2
246
247 t0=t1|~t2
248
249 * clz_i32/i64 t0, t1, t2
250
251 t0 = t1 ? clz(t1) : t2
252
253 * ctz_i32/i64 t0, t1, t2
254
255 t0 = t1 ? ctz(t1) : t2
256
257 ********* Shifts/Rotates
258
259 * shl_i32/i64 t0, t1, t2
260
261 t0=t1 << t2. Unspecified behavior if t2 < 0 or t2 >= 32 (resp 64)
262
263 * shr_i32/i64 t0, t1, t2
264
265 t0=t1 >> t2 (unsigned). Unspecified behavior if t2 < 0 or t2 >= 32 (resp 64)
266
267 * sar_i32/i64 t0, t1, t2
268
269 t0=t1 >> t2 (signed). Unspecified behavior if t2 < 0 or t2 >= 32 (resp 64)
270
271 * rotl_i32/i64 t0, t1, t2
272
273 Rotation of t2 bits to the left.
274 Unspecified behavior if t2 < 0 or t2 >= 32 (resp 64)
275
276 * rotr_i32/i64 t0, t1, t2
277
278 Rotation of t2 bits to the right.
279 Unspecified behavior if t2 < 0 or t2 >= 32 (resp 64)
280
281 ********* Misc
282
283 * mov_i32/i64 t0, t1
284
285 t0 = t1
286
287 Move t1 to t0 (both operands must have the same type).
288
289 * ext8s_i32/i64 t0, t1
290 ext8u_i32/i64 t0, t1
291 ext16s_i32/i64 t0, t1
292 ext16u_i32/i64 t0, t1
293 ext32s_i64 t0, t1
294 ext32u_i64 t0, t1
295
296 8, 16 or 32 bit sign/zero extension (both operands must have the same type)
297
298 * bswap16_i32/i64 t0, t1
299
300 16 bit byte swap on a 32/64 bit value. It assumes that the two/six high order
301 bytes are set to zero.
302
303 * bswap32_i32/i64 t0, t1
304
305 32 bit byte swap on a 32/64 bit value. With a 64 bit value, it assumes that
306 the four high order bytes are set to zero.
307
308 * bswap64_i64 t0, t1
309
310 64 bit byte swap
311
312 * discard_i32/i64 t0
313
314 Indicate that the value of t0 won't be used later. It is useful to
315 force dead code elimination.
316
317 * deposit_i32/i64 dest, t1, t2, pos, len
318
319 Deposit T2 as a bitfield into T1, placing the result in DEST.
320 The bitfield is described by POS/LEN, which are immediate values:
321
322 LEN - the length of the bitfield
323 POS - the position of the first bit, counting from the LSB
324
325 For example, "deposit_i32 dest, t1, t2, 8, 4" indicates a 4-bit field
326 at bit 8. This operation would be equivalent to
327
328 dest = (t1 & ~0x0f00) | ((t2 << 8) & 0x0f00)
329
330 * extract_i32/i64 dest, t1, pos, len
331 * sextract_i32/i64 dest, t1, pos, len
332
333 Extract a bitfield from T1, placing the result in DEST.
334 The bitfield is described by POS/LEN, which are immediate values,
335 as above for deposit. For extract_*, the result will be extended
336 to the left with zeros; for sextract_*, the result will be extended
337 to the left with copies of the bitfield sign bit at pos + len - 1.
338
339 For example, "sextract_i32 dest, t1, 8, 4" indicates a 4-bit field
340 at bit 8. This operation would be equivalent to
341
342 dest = (t1 << 20) >> 28
343
344 (using an arithmetic right shift).
345
346 * extract2_i32/i64 dest, t1, t2, pos
347
348 For N = {32,64}, extract an N-bit quantity from the concatenation
349 of t2:t1, beginning at pos. The tcg_gen_extract2_{i32,i64} expander
350 accepts 0 <= pos <= N as inputs. The backend code generator will
351 not see either 0 or N as inputs for these opcodes.
352
353 * extrl_i64_i32 t0, t1
354
355 For 64-bit hosts only, extract the low 32-bits of input T1 and place it
356 into 32-bit output T0. Depending on the host, this may be a simple move,
357 or may require additional canonicalization.
358
359 * extrh_i64_i32 t0, t1
360
361 For 64-bit hosts only, extract the high 32-bits of input T1 and place it
362 into 32-bit output T0. Depending on the host, this may be a simple shift,
363 or may require additional canonicalization.
364
365 ********* Conditional moves
366
367 * setcond_i32/i64 dest, t1, t2, cond
368
369 dest = (t1 cond t2)
370
371 Set DEST to 1 if (T1 cond T2) is true, otherwise set to 0.
372
373 * movcond_i32/i64 dest, c1, c2, v1, v2, cond
374
375 dest = (c1 cond c2 ? v1 : v2)
376
377 Set DEST to V1 if (C1 cond C2) is true, otherwise set to V2.
378
379 ********* Type conversions
380
381 * ext_i32_i64 t0, t1
382 Convert t1 (32 bit) to t0 (64 bit) and does sign extension
383
384 * extu_i32_i64 t0, t1
385 Convert t1 (32 bit) to t0 (64 bit) and does zero extension
386
387 * trunc_i64_i32 t0, t1
388 Truncate t1 (64 bit) to t0 (32 bit)
389
390 * concat_i32_i64 t0, t1, t2
391 Construct t0 (64-bit) taking the low half from t1 (32 bit) and the high half
392 from t2 (32 bit).
393
394 * concat32_i64 t0, t1, t2
395 Construct t0 (64-bit) taking the low half from t1 (64 bit) and the high half
396 from t2 (64 bit).
397
398 ********* Load/Store
399
400 * ld_i32/i64 t0, t1, offset
401 ld8s_i32/i64 t0, t1, offset
402 ld8u_i32/i64 t0, t1, offset
403 ld16s_i32/i64 t0, t1, offset
404 ld16u_i32/i64 t0, t1, offset
405 ld32s_i64 t0, t1, offset
406 ld32u_i64 t0, t1, offset
407
408 t0 = read(t1 + offset)
409 Load 8, 16, 32 or 64 bits with or without sign extension from host memory.
410 offset must be a constant.
411
412 * st_i32/i64 t0, t1, offset
413 st8_i32/i64 t0, t1, offset
414 st16_i32/i64 t0, t1, offset
415 st32_i64 t0, t1, offset
416
417 write(t0, t1 + offset)
418 Write 8, 16, 32 or 64 bits to host memory.
419
420 All this opcodes assume that the pointed host memory doesn't correspond
421 to a global. In the latter case the behaviour is unpredictable.
422
423 ********* Multiword arithmetic support
424
425 * add2_i32/i64 t0_low, t0_high, t1_low, t1_high, t2_low, t2_high
426 * sub2_i32/i64 t0_low, t0_high, t1_low, t1_high, t2_low, t2_high
427
428 Similar to add/sub, except that the double-word inputs T1 and T2 are
429 formed from two single-word arguments, and the double-word output T0
430 is returned in two single-word outputs.
431
432 * mulu2_i32/i64 t0_low, t0_high, t1, t2
433
434 Similar to mul, except two unsigned inputs T1 and T2 yielding the full
435 double-word product T0. The later is returned in two single-word outputs.
436
437 * muls2_i32/i64 t0_low, t0_high, t1, t2
438
439 Similar to mulu2, except the two inputs T1 and T2 are signed.
440
441 * mulsh_i32/i64 t0, t1, t2
442 * muluh_i32/i64 t0, t1, t2
443
444 Provide the high part of a signed or unsigned multiply, respectively.
445 If mulu2/muls2 are not provided by the backend, the tcg-op generator
446 can obtain the same results can be obtained by emitting a pair of
447 opcodes, mul+muluh/mulsh.
448
449 ********* Memory Barrier support
450
451 * mb <$arg>
452
453 Generate a target memory barrier instruction to ensure memory ordering as being
454 enforced by a corresponding guest memory barrier instruction. The ordering
455 enforced by the backend may be stricter than the ordering required by the guest.
456 It cannot be weaker. This opcode takes a constant argument which is required to
457 generate the appropriate barrier instruction. The backend should take care to
458 emit the target barrier instruction only when necessary i.e., for SMP guests and
459 when MTTCG is enabled.
460
461 The guest translators should generate this opcode for all guest instructions
462 which have ordering side effects.
463
464 Please see docs/devel/atomics.txt for more information on memory barriers.
465
466 ********* 64-bit guest on 32-bit host support
467
468 The following opcodes are internal to TCG. Thus they are to be implemented by
469 32-bit host code generators, but are not to be emitted by guest translators.
470 They are emitted as needed by inline functions within "tcg-op.h".
471
472 * brcond2_i32 t0_low, t0_high, t1_low, t1_high, cond, label
473
474 Similar to brcond, except that the 64-bit values T0 and T1
475 are formed from two 32-bit arguments.
476
477 * setcond2_i32 dest, t1_low, t1_high, t2_low, t2_high, cond
478
479 Similar to setcond, except that the 64-bit values T1 and T2 are
480 formed from two 32-bit arguments. The result is a 32-bit value.
481
482 ********* QEMU specific operations
483
484 * exit_tb t0
485
486 Exit the current TB and return the value t0 (word type).
487
488 * goto_tb index
489
490 Exit the current TB and jump to the TB index 'index' (constant) if the
491 current TB was linked to this TB. Otherwise execute the next
492 instructions. Only indices 0 and 1 are valid and tcg_gen_goto_tb may be issued
493 at most once with each slot index per TB.
494
495 * lookup_and_goto_ptr tb_addr
496
497 Look up a TB address ('tb_addr') and jump to it if valid. If not valid,
498 jump to the TCG epilogue to go back to the exec loop.
499
500 This operation is optional. If the TCG backend does not implement the
501 goto_ptr opcode, emitting this op is equivalent to emitting exit_tb(0).
502
503 * qemu_ld_i32/i64 t0, t1, flags, memidx
504 * qemu_st_i32/i64 t0, t1, flags, memidx
505 * qemu_st8_i32 t0, t1, flags, memidx
506
507 Load data at the guest address t1 into t0, or store data in t0 at guest
508 address t1. The _i32/_i64 size applies to the size of the input/output
509 register t0 only. The address t1 is always sized according to the guest,
510 and the width of the memory operation is controlled by flags.
511
512 Both t0 and t1 may be split into little-endian ordered pairs of registers
513 if dealing with 64-bit quantities on a 32-bit host.
514
515 The memidx selects the qemu tlb index to use (e.g. user or kernel access).
516 The flags are the MemOp bits, selecting the sign, width, and endianness
517 of the memory access.
518
519 For a 32-bit host, qemu_ld/st_i64 is guaranteed to only be used with a
520 64-bit memory access specified in flags.
521
522 For i386, qemu_st8_i32 is exactly like qemu_st_i32, except the size of
523 the memory operation is known to be 8-bit. This allows the backend to
524 provide a different set of register constraints.
525
526 ********* Host vector operations
527
528 All of the vector ops have two parameters, TCGOP_VECL & TCGOP_VECE.
529 The former specifies the length of the vector in log2 64-bit units; the
530 later specifies the length of the element (if applicable) in log2 8-bit units.
531 E.g. VECL=1 -> 64 << 1 -> v128, and VECE=2 -> 1 << 2 -> i32.
532
533 * mov_vec v0, v1
534 * ld_vec v0, t1
535 * st_vec v0, t1
536
537 Move, load and store.
538
539 * dup_vec v0, r1
540
541 Duplicate the low N bits of R1 into VECL/VECE copies across V0.
542
543 * dupi_vec v0, c
544
545 Similarly, for a constant.
546 Smaller values will be replicated to host register size by the expanders.
547
548 * dup2_vec v0, r1, r2
549
550 Duplicate r2:r1 into VECL/64 copies across V0. This opcode is
551 only present for 32-bit hosts.
552
553 * add_vec v0, v1, v2
554
555 v0 = v1 + v2, in elements across the vector.
556
557 * sub_vec v0, v1, v2
558
559 Similarly, v0 = v1 - v2.
560
561 * mul_vec v0, v1, v2
562
563 Similarly, v0 = v1 * v2.
564
565 * neg_vec v0, v1
566
567 Similarly, v0 = -v1.
568
569 * abs_vec v0, v1
570
571 Similarly, v0 = v1 < 0 ? -v1 : v1, in elements across the vector.
572
573 * smin_vec:
574 * umin_vec:
575
576 Similarly, v0 = MIN(v1, v2), for signed and unsigned element types.
577
578 * smax_vec:
579 * umax_vec:
580
581 Similarly, v0 = MAX(v1, v2), for signed and unsigned element types.
582
583 * ssadd_vec:
584 * sssub_vec:
585 * usadd_vec:
586 * ussub_vec:
587
588 Signed and unsigned saturating addition and subtraction. If the true
589 result is not representable within the element type, the element is
590 set to the minimum or maximum value for the type.
591
592 * and_vec v0, v1, v2
593 * or_vec v0, v1, v2
594 * xor_vec v0, v1, v2
595 * andc_vec v0, v1, v2
596 * orc_vec v0, v1, v2
597 * not_vec v0, v1
598
599 Similarly, logical operations with and without complement.
600 Note that VECE is unused.
601
602 * shli_vec v0, v1, i2
603 * shls_vec v0, v1, s2
604
605 Shift all elements from v1 by a scalar i2/s2. I.e.
606
607 for (i = 0; i < VECL/VECE; ++i) {
608 v0[i] = v1[i] << s2;
609 }
610
611 * shri_vec v0, v1, i2
612 * sari_vec v0, v1, i2
613 * rotli_vec v0, v1, i2
614 * shrs_vec v0, v1, s2
615 * sars_vec v0, v1, s2
616
617 Similarly for logical and arithmetic right shift, and left rotate.
618
619 * shlv_vec v0, v1, v2
620
621 Shift elements from v1 by elements from v2. I.e.
622
623 for (i = 0; i < VECL/VECE; ++i) {
624 v0[i] = v1[i] << v2[i];
625 }
626
627 * shrv_vec v0, v1, v2
628 * sarv_vec v0, v1, v2
629 * rotlv_vec v0, v1, v2
630 * rotrv_vec v0, v1, v2
631
632 Similarly for logical and arithmetic right shift, and rotates.
633
634 * cmp_vec v0, v1, v2, cond
635
636 Compare vectors by element, storing -1 for true and 0 for false.
637
638 * bitsel_vec v0, v1, v2, v3
639
640 Bitwise select, v0 = (v2 & v1) | (v3 & ~v1), across the entire vector.
641
642 * cmpsel_vec v0, c1, c2, v3, v4, cond
643
644 Select elements based on comparison results:
645 for (i = 0; i < n; ++i) {
646 v0[i] = (c1[i] cond c2[i]) ? v3[i] : v4[i].
647 }
648
649 *********
650
651 Note 1: Some shortcuts are defined when the last operand is known to be
652 a constant (e.g. addi for add, movi for mov).
653
654 Note 2: When using TCG, the opcodes must never be generated directly
655 as some of them may not be available as "real" opcodes. Always use the
656 function tcg_gen_xxx(args).
657
658 4) Backend
659
660 tcg-target.h contains the target specific definitions. tcg-target.c.inc
661 contains the target specific code; it is #included by tcg/tcg.c, rather
662 than being a standalone C file.
663
664 4.1) Assumptions
665
666 The target word size (TCG_TARGET_REG_BITS) is expected to be 32 bit or
667 64 bit. It is expected that the pointer has the same size as the word.
668
669 On a 32 bit target, all 64 bit operations are converted to 32 bits. A
670 few specific operations must be implemented to allow it (see add2_i32,
671 sub2_i32, brcond2_i32).
672
673 On a 64 bit target, the values are transferred between 32 and 64-bit
674 registers using the following ops:
675 - trunc_shr_i64_i32
676 - ext_i32_i64
677 - extu_i32_i64
678
679 They ensure that the values are correctly truncated or extended when
680 moved from a 32-bit to a 64-bit register or vice-versa. Note that the
681 trunc_shr_i64_i32 is an optional op. It is not necessary to implement
682 it if all the following conditions are met:
683 - 64-bit registers can hold 32-bit values
684 - 32-bit values in a 64-bit register do not need to stay zero or
685 sign extended
686 - all 32-bit TCG ops ignore the high part of 64-bit registers
687
688 Floating point operations are not supported in this version. A
689 previous incarnation of the code generator had full support of them,
690 but it is better to concentrate on integer operations first.
691
692 4.2) Constraints
693
694 GCC like constraints are used to define the constraints of every
695 instruction. Memory constraints are not supported in this
696 version. Aliases are specified in the input operands as for GCC.
697
698 The same register may be used for both an input and an output, even when
699 they are not explicitly aliased. If an op expands to multiple target
700 instructions then care must be taken to avoid clobbering input values.
701 GCC style "early clobber" outputs are supported, with '&'.
702
703 A target can define specific register or constant constraints. If an
704 operation uses a constant input constraint which does not allow all
705 constants, it must also accept registers in order to have a fallback.
706 The constraint 'i' is defined generically to accept any constant.
707 The constraint 'r' is not defined generically, but is consistently
708 used by each backend to indicate all registers.
709
710 The movi_i32 and movi_i64 operations must accept any constants.
711
712 The mov_i32 and mov_i64 operations must accept any registers of the
713 same type.
714
715 The ld/st/sti instructions must accept signed 32 bit constant offsets.
716 This can be implemented by reserving a specific register in which to
717 compute the address if the offset is too big.
718
719 The ld/st instructions must accept any destination (ld) or source (st)
720 register.
721
722 The sti instruction may fail if it cannot store the given constant.
723
724 4.3) Function call assumptions
725
726 - The only supported types for parameters and return value are: 32 and
727 64 bit integers and pointer.
728 - The stack grows downwards.
729 - The first N parameters are passed in registers.
730 - The next parameters are passed on the stack by storing them as words.
731 - Some registers are clobbered during the call.
732 - The function can return 0 or 1 value in registers. On a 32 bit
733 target, functions must be able to return 2 values in registers for
734 64 bit return type.
735
736 5) Recommended coding rules for best performance
737
738 - Use globals to represent the parts of the QEMU CPU state which are
739 often modified, e.g. the integer registers and the condition
740 codes. TCG will be able to use host registers to store them.
741
742 - Avoid globals stored in fixed registers. They must be used only to
743 store the pointer to the CPU state and possibly to store a pointer
744 to a register window.
745
746 - Use temporaries. Use local temporaries only when really needed,
747 e.g. when you need to use a value after a jump. Local temporaries
748 introduce a performance hit in the current TCG implementation: their
749 content is saved to memory at end of each basic block.
750
751 - Free temporaries and local temporaries when they are no longer used
752 (tcg_temp_free). Since tcg_const_x() also creates a temporary, you
753 should free it after it is used. Freeing temporaries does not yield
754 a better generated code, but it reduces the memory usage of TCG and
755 the speed of the translation.
756
757 - Don't hesitate to use helpers for complicated or seldom used guest
758 instructions. There is little performance advantage in using TCG to
759 implement guest instructions taking more than about twenty TCG
760 instructions. Note that this rule of thumb is more applicable to
761 helpers doing complex logic or arithmetic, where the C compiler has
762 scope to do a good job of optimisation; it is less relevant where
763 the instruction is mostly doing loads and stores, and in those cases
764 inline TCG may still be faster for longer sequences.
765
766 - The hard limit on the number of TCG instructions you can generate
767 per guest instruction is set by MAX_OP_PER_INSTR in exec-all.h --
768 you cannot exceed this without risking a buffer overrun.
769
770 - Use the 'discard' instruction if you know that TCG won't be able to
771 prove that a given global is "dead" at a given program point. The
772 x86 guest uses it to improve the condition codes optimisation.