The Curious Case of T6084 -or- Register Confusion with LLVM

Thu Sep 21 23:10:16 UTC 2017

The issue is at the function definition. In the price point splitting code we determine that the F1 and D2 registers are not actually used in the body of `q`.  And as such optimize the set of live register tees from R1, F1, D2, F3, D4 to R1, F3, D4.

Thus in https://phabricator.haskell.org/D4003
I simply retain the live registers of the top proc instead of updating them to the optimized set.

As such we generate the correct function signature in the llvm backend.

Sent from my iPhone

> On 22 Sep 2017, at 2:08 AM, Kavon Farvardin <kavon at farvard.in> wrote:
> 
> Let me elaborate a bit more because I clearly missed some points you already made in your original message. Sorry about that:
> 
> 
> I don't think we need a heavyweight solution to this problem (the suggestions of: disabling overlapping registers for LLVM, or adding a new virtual register class Vx).
> 
> Instead, let's first remember how the type of the called function pointer corresponds to its calling convention when it is lowered to assembly in LLVM. In our GHC calling convention in LLVM, we can specify that
> 
>    if type == float OR type == double, use:
>        XMM1,XMM2,XMM3,XMM4,XMM5,XMM6
> 
> When a calling convention is being determined by LLVM for any function definition or call, it goes in order from left to right in the list of parameters, and assigns float or double arguments to the first currently available register in that XMM list.
> 
> So, if `q` were indeed using F3 and D4 to accept its first two floating point arguments, the function signature we generate,
> 
>    ghccc void @q(i64*, i64*, i64*, i64, i64, i64, i64, i64, i64, i64, float, double)
> 
> is wrong. The registers for the `float, double` arguments will be assigned to XMM1 and XMM2 by LLVM. Since F3 and D4 use XMM3 and XMM4, respectively, we should have padded out the type of `q` in LLVM to be:
> 
> 
>    ghccc void @q(i64*, i64*, i64*, i64, i64, i64, i64, i64, i64, i64, float, double, float, double)
> 
> where the first `float, double` parameters are now unused. We would also perform the same type of padding at every call site where the first two float arguments are F3 and D4, so that they end up in the right physical registers.
> We pass `undef` for the first two `float, double` arguments.
> 
> 
> 
>> On Sep 21, 2017, at 12:32 PM, Kavon Farvardin <kavon at farvard.in> wrote:
>> 
>> Responses are inline below:
>> 
>>> As the LLVM backend takes off from Cmm, we produce function that always hold
>>> the always live registers (on x86_64 these are: Base, Sp, Hp, R1, R2, R3, R4, R5, R6, SpLim)
>>> and appends those registers that are live throughout the function call: in the
>>> case of `q` this is one Float and one Double register.
>> 
>> To be more precise, we append only the live floating point or vector arguments to this always live list. We need to do this because of overlapping register usage in our calling convention on x86-64 (F1 and D1 are both put in XMM1). See Note [Overlapping global registers] for details.
>> 
>> 
>>> Let’s assume these are F3 and D4.  Thus the function signature we generate looks like:
>>> 
>>> ghccc void @q(i64*, i64*, i64*, i64, i64, i64, i64, i64, i64, i64, float, double)
>>> 
>>> And expect the passed arguments to represent the following registers:
>>> 
>>>            base, sp, hp, r1, r2, r3, r4, r5, r6, spLim, f3, d4
>>> 
>>> as we found that f1 and d1 are not live.
>> 
>> 
>> I think it's wrong to assume that `q` accepts its first two floating-point arguments in F3 and D4, because I'm pretty sure the standard Cmm calling convention assigns them to F1 and D2, respectively. Are we actually outputting `q` such that F3 and D4 are used?
>> 
>> 
>>> (This is where my llvmng backend fell over, as it does not bitcast function
>>> signatures but tries to unify them.)
>> 
>> 
>> I think to solve this problem, we'll want to bitcast functions whenever we call them, because the type of an LLVM function is important for us to get the calling convention correct.
>> 
>> 
>> ~kavon
>> 
>> 
>>> On Sep 20, 2017, at 4:44 AM, Moritz Angermann <moritz.angermann at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> 
>>> Hi *,
>>> 
>>> TLDR: The LLVM backend might confuse floating registers in GHC.
>>> 
>>> # Demo (Ticket #14251)
>>> 
>>> Let Demo.hs be the following short program (a minor modification from T6084):
>>> ```
>>> {-# LANGUAGE MagicHash, BangPatterns #-}
>>> module Main where
>>> 
>>> import GHC.Exts
>>> 
>>> {-# NOINLINE f #-}
>>> f :: (Int# -> Float# -> Double# -> Float# -> Double# -> String) -> String
>>> f g = g 3# 4.0# 5.0## 6.0# 6.9## ++ " World!"
>>> 
>>> {-# NOINLINE q #-}
>>> q :: Int# -> Float# -> Double# -> Float# -> Double# -> String
>>> q i j k l m = "Hello " ++ show (F# l) ++ " " ++ show (D# m)
>>> 
>>> main = putStrLn (f $ q)
>>> ```
>>> 
>>> What happens if we compile them with the NCG and LLVM?
>>> 
>>> $ ghc -fasm -fforce-recomp Demo.hs -O2 -o Demo-ncg && ./Demo-ncg
>>> Hello 6.0 6.9 World!
>>> 
>>> $ ghc -fllvm -fforce-recomp Demo.hs -O2 -o Demo-llvm && ./Demo-llvm
>>> Hello 4.0 5.0 World!
>>> 
>>> # Discussion
>>> 
>>> What is happening here?  The LLVM backend passes the registers in arguments,
>>> which are then mapped to registers via the GHC calling convention we added
>>> to LLVM.
>>> 
>>> As the LLVM backend takes off from Cmm, we produce function that always hold
>>> the always live registers (on x86_64 these are: Base, Sp, Hp, R1, R2, R3, R4, R5, R6, SpLim)
>>> and appends those registers that are live throughout the function call: in the
>>> case of `q` this is one Float and one Double register. Let’s assume these are
>>> F3 and D4.  Thus the function signature we generate looks like:
>>> 
>>> ghccc void @q(i64*, i64*, i64*, i64, i64, i64, i64, i64, i64, i64, float, double)
>>> 
>>> And expect the passed arguments to represent the following registers:
>>> 
>>>            base, sp, hp, r1, r2, r3, r4, r5, r6, spLim, f3, d4
>>> 
>>> as we found that f1 and d1 are not live.
>>> 
>>> Yet, when we call `q` in the form of `g` in the body of `f`. We will pass it 14 arguments
>>> instead of 12.  To make this “typecheck” in LLVM, we
>>> 
>>> @q' = bitcast @q to (i64*, i64*, i64*, i64, i64, i64, i64, i64, i64, i64, float, double, float, double)
>>> 
>>> and call @q’(base, sp, hp, r1, r2, r3, r4, r5, r6, spLim, f1, d2, f3, d4).
>>> 
>>> at this point, we now assign f3 <- f1 and d4 <- d2; while silently ignoring
>>> the passed arguments f3 and d4.
>>> 
>>> (This is where my llvmng backend fell over, as it does not bitcast function
>>> signatures but tries to unify them.)
>>> 
>>> # Solution?
>>> 
>>> Initially, Ben and I though we could simply always pass all registers as
>>> arguments in LLVM and call it a day with the downside of create more verbose
>>> but correct code.  As I found out, that comes with a few complications.  For
>>> some reason, all active stg registers for my machine give me 
>>> 
>>> Base, Sp, Hp, R1, R2, R3, R4, R5, R6, SpLim,
>>> F1, D1, F2, D2, F3, D3,
>>> XMM1,XMM2,XMM3,XMM4,XMM5,XMM6,
>>> YMM1,YMM2,YMM3,YMM4,YMM5,YMM6,
>>> ZMM1,ZMM2,ZMM3,ZMM4,ZMM5,ZMM6
>>> 
>>> I should not have the YMM*, and ZMM* registers as I don’t have any AVX nor AVX512;
>>> that looks like only a patch away.  However we try to optimize our register, such
>>> that we can pass up to six doubles or six floats or any combination of both if needed
>>> in registers, without having to allocate them on the stack, by assuming overlapping
>>> registers (See Note [Overlapping global registers]).
>>> 
>>> And as such a full function signature in LLVM would as opposed to one that’s based on
>>> the “live” registers as we have right now, would consist of 12 float/double registers,
>>> and LLVM only maps 6.  My current idea is to, pass only the explicit F1,D1,…,F3,D3
>>> and try to disable the register overlapping for LLVM.  This would probably force more
>>> floating values to be stack allocated rather than passed via registers, but would
>>> likely guarantee that the registers match up.  The other option I can think of is to
>>> define some viertual generic floating registers in the llvm code gen: V1,…,V6
>>> and then perform something like
>>> 
>>> F1 <- V1 as float
>>> D1 <- V1 as double
>>> 
>>> in the body of the function, while trying to use the `live` information at the call site
>>> to decide which of F1 or D1 to pass as V1.
>>> 
>>> Ideas?
>>> 
>>> Cheers,
>>> Moritz
>>> 
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> ghc-devs mailing list
>>> ghc-devs at haskell.org
>>> http://mail.haskell.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/ghc-devs
> 
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