Mercurial > hg > CbC > CbC_llvm
diff tools/clang/docs/InternalsManual.rst @ 3:9ad51c7bc036
1st commit. remove git dir and add all files.
author | Kaito Tokumori <e105711@ie.u-ryukyu.ac.jp> |
---|---|
date | Wed, 15 May 2013 06:43:32 +0900 |
parents | |
children |
line wrap: on
line diff
--- /dev/null Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000 +++ b/tools/clang/docs/InternalsManual.rst Wed May 15 06:43:32 2013 +0900 @@ -0,0 +1,1810 @@ +============================ +"Clang" CFE Internals Manual +============================ + +.. contents:: + :local: + +Introduction +============ + +This document describes some of the more important APIs and internal design +decisions made in the Clang C front-end. The purpose of this document is to +both capture some of this high level information and also describe some of the +design decisions behind it. This is meant for people interested in hacking on +Clang, not for end-users. The description below is categorized by libraries, +and does not describe any of the clients of the libraries. + +LLVM Support Library +==================== + +The LLVM ``libSupport`` library provides many underlying libraries and +`data-structures <http://llvm.org/docs/ProgrammersManual.html>`_, including +command line option processing, various containers and a system abstraction +layer, which is used for file system access. + +The Clang "Basic" Library +========================= + +This library certainly needs a better name. The "basic" library contains a +number of low-level utilities for tracking and manipulating source buffers, +locations within the source buffers, diagnostics, tokens, target abstraction, +and information about the subset of the language being compiled for. + +Part of this infrastructure is specific to C (such as the ``TargetInfo`` +class), other parts could be reused for other non-C-based languages +(``SourceLocation``, ``SourceManager``, ``Diagnostics``, ``FileManager``). +When and if there is future demand we can figure out if it makes sense to +introduce a new library, move the general classes somewhere else, or introduce +some other solution. + +We describe the roles of these classes in order of their dependencies. + +The Diagnostics Subsystem +------------------------- + +The Clang Diagnostics subsystem is an important part of how the compiler +communicates with the human. Diagnostics are the warnings and errors produced +when the code is incorrect or dubious. In Clang, each diagnostic produced has +(at the minimum) a unique ID, an English translation associated with it, a +:ref:`SourceLocation <SourceLocation>` to "put the caret", and a severity +(e.g., ``WARNING`` or ``ERROR``). They can also optionally include a number of +arguments to the dianostic (which fill in "%0"'s in the string) as well as a +number of source ranges that related to the diagnostic. + +In this section, we'll be giving examples produced by the Clang command line +driver, but diagnostics can be :ref:`rendered in many different ways +<DiagnosticClient>` depending on how the ``DiagnosticClient`` interface is +implemented. A representative example of a diagnostic is: + +.. code-block:: c++ + + t.c:38:15: error: invalid operands to binary expression ('int *' and '_Complex float') + P = (P-42) + Gamma*4; + ~~~~~~ ^ ~~~~~~~ + +In this example, you can see the English translation, the severity (error), you +can see the source location (the caret ("``^``") and file/line/column info), +the source ranges "``~~~~``", arguments to the diagnostic ("``int*``" and +"``_Complex float``"). You'll have to believe me that there is a unique ID +backing the diagnostic :). + +Getting all of this to happen has several steps and involves many moving +pieces, this section describes them and talks about best practices when adding +a new diagnostic. + +The ``Diagnostic*Kinds.td`` files +^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ + +Diagnostics are created by adding an entry to one of the +``clang/Basic/Diagnostic*Kinds.td`` files, depending on what library will be +using it. From this file, :program:`tblgen` generates the unique ID of the +diagnostic, the severity of the diagnostic and the English translation + format +string. + +There is little sanity with the naming of the unique ID's right now. Some +start with ``err_``, ``warn_``, ``ext_`` to encode the severity into the name. +Since the enum is referenced in the C++ code that produces the diagnostic, it +is somewhat useful for it to be reasonably short. + +The severity of the diagnostic comes from the set {``NOTE``, ``WARNING``, +``EXTENSION``, ``EXTWARN``, ``ERROR``}. The ``ERROR`` severity is used for +diagnostics indicating the program is never acceptable under any circumstances. +When an error is emitted, the AST for the input code may not be fully built. +The ``EXTENSION`` and ``EXTWARN`` severities are used for extensions to the +language that Clang accepts. This means that Clang fully understands and can +represent them in the AST, but we produce diagnostics to tell the user their +code is non-portable. The difference is that the former are ignored by +default, and the later warn by default. The ``WARNING`` severity is used for +constructs that are valid in the currently selected source language but that +are dubious in some way. The ``NOTE`` level is used to staple more information +onto previous diagnostics. + +These *severities* are mapped into a smaller set (the ``Diagnostic::Level`` +enum, {``Ignored``, ``Note``, ``Warning``, ``Error``, ``Fatal``}) of output +*levels* by the diagnostics subsystem based on various configuration options. +Clang internally supports a fully fine grained mapping mechanism that allows +you to map almost any diagnostic to the output level that you want. The only +diagnostics that cannot be mapped are ``NOTE``\ s, which always follow the +severity of the previously emitted diagnostic and ``ERROR``\ s, which can only +be mapped to ``Fatal`` (it is not possible to turn an error into a warning, for +example). + +Diagnostic mappings are used in many ways. For example, if the user specifies +``-pedantic``, ``EXTENSION`` maps to ``Warning``, if they specify +``-pedantic-errors``, it turns into ``Error``. This is used to implement +options like ``-Wunused_macros``, ``-Wundef`` etc. + +Mapping to ``Fatal`` should only be used for diagnostics that are considered so +severe that error recovery won't be able to recover sensibly from them (thus +spewing a ton of bogus errors). One example of this class of error are failure +to ``#include`` a file. + +The Format String +^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ + +The format string for the diagnostic is very simple, but it has some power. It +takes the form of a string in English with markers that indicate where and how +arguments to the diagnostic are inserted and formatted. For example, here are +some simple format strings: + +.. code-block:: c++ + + "binary integer literals are an extension" + "format string contains '\\0' within the string body" + "more '%%' conversions than data arguments" + "invalid operands to binary expression (%0 and %1)" + "overloaded '%0' must be a %select{unary|binary|unary or binary}2 operator" + " (has %1 parameter%s1)" + +These examples show some important points of format strings. You can use any +plain ASCII character in the diagnostic string except "``%``" without a +problem, but these are C strings, so you have to use and be aware of all the C +escape sequences (as in the second example). If you want to produce a "``%``" +in the output, use the "``%%``" escape sequence, like the third diagnostic. +Finally, Clang uses the "``%...[digit]``" sequences to specify where and how +arguments to the diagnostic are formatted. + +Arguments to the diagnostic are numbered according to how they are specified by +the C++ code that :ref:`produces them <internals-producing-diag>`, and are +referenced by ``%0`` .. ``%9``. If you have more than 10 arguments to your +diagnostic, you are doing something wrong :). Unlike ``printf``, there is no +requirement that arguments to the diagnostic end up in the output in the same +order as they are specified, you could have a format string with "``%1 %0``" +that swaps them, for example. The text in between the percent and digit are +formatting instructions. If there are no instructions, the argument is just +turned into a string and substituted in. + +Here are some "best practices" for writing the English format string: + +* Keep the string short. It should ideally fit in the 80 column limit of the + ``DiagnosticKinds.td`` file. This avoids the diagnostic wrapping when + printed, and forces you to think about the important point you are conveying + with the diagnostic. +* Take advantage of location information. The user will be able to see the + line and location of the caret, so you don't need to tell them that the + problem is with the 4th argument to the function: just point to it. +* Do not capitalize the diagnostic string, and do not end it with a period. +* If you need to quote something in the diagnostic string, use single quotes. + +Diagnostics should never take random English strings as arguments: you +shouldn't use "``you have a problem with %0``" and pass in things like "``your +argument``" or "``your return value``" as arguments. Doing this prevents +:ref:`translating <internals-diag-translation>` the Clang diagnostics to other +languages (because they'll get random English words in their otherwise +localized diagnostic). The exceptions to this are C/C++ language keywords +(e.g., ``auto``, ``const``, ``mutable``, etc) and C/C++ operators (``/=``). +Note that things like "pointer" and "reference" are not keywords. On the other +hand, you *can* include anything that comes from the user's source code, +including variable names, types, labels, etc. The "``select``" format can be +used to achieve this sort of thing in a localizable way, see below. + +Formatting a Diagnostic Argument +^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ + +Arguments to diagnostics are fully typed internally, and come from a couple +different classes: integers, types, names, and random strings. Depending on +the class of the argument, it can be optionally formatted in different ways. +This gives the ``DiagnosticClient`` information about what the argument means +without requiring it to use a specific presentation (consider this MVC for +Clang :). + +Here are the different diagnostic argument formats currently supported by +Clang: + +**"s" format** + +Example: + ``"requires %1 parameter%s1"`` +Class: + Integers +Description: + This is a simple formatter for integers that is useful when producing English + diagnostics. When the integer is 1, it prints as nothing. When the integer + is not 1, it prints as "``s``". This allows some simple grammatical forms to + be to be handled correctly, and eliminates the need to use gross things like + ``"requires %1 parameter(s)"``. + +**"select" format** + +Example: + ``"must be a %select{unary|binary|unary or binary}2 operator"`` +Class: + Integers +Description: + This format specifier is used to merge multiple related diagnostics together + into one common one, without requiring the difference to be specified as an + English string argument. Instead of specifying the string, the diagnostic + gets an integer argument and the format string selects the numbered option. + In this case, the "``%2``" value must be an integer in the range [0..2]. If + it is 0, it prints "unary", if it is 1 it prints "binary" if it is 2, it + prints "unary or binary". This allows other language translations to + substitute reasonable words (or entire phrases) based on the semantics of the + diagnostic instead of having to do things textually. The selected string + does undergo formatting. + +**"plural" format** + +Example: + ``"you have %1 %plural{1:mouse|:mice}1 connected to your computer"`` +Class: + Integers +Description: + This is a formatter for complex plural forms. It is designed to handle even + the requirements of languages with very complex plural forms, as many Baltic + languages have. The argument consists of a series of expression/form pairs, + separated by ":", where the first form whose expression evaluates to true is + the result of the modifier. + + An expression can be empty, in which case it is always true. See the example + at the top. Otherwise, it is a series of one or more numeric conditions, + separated by ",". If any condition matches, the expression matches. Each + numeric condition can take one of three forms. + + * number: A simple decimal number matches if the argument is the same as the + number. Example: ``"%plural{1:mouse|:mice}4"`` + * range: A range in square brackets matches if the argument is within the + range. Then range is inclusive on both ends. Example: + ``"%plural{0:none|1:one|[2,5]:some|:many}2"`` + * modulo: A modulo operator is followed by a number, and equals sign and + either a number or a range. The tests are the same as for plain numbers + and ranges, but the argument is taken modulo the number first. Example: + ``"%plural{%100=0:even hundred|%100=[1,50]:lower half|:everything else}1"`` + + The parser is very unforgiving. A syntax error, even whitespace, will abort, + as will a failure to match the argument against any expression. + +**"ordinal" format** + +Example: + ``"ambiguity in %ordinal0 argument"`` +Class: + Integers +Description: + This is a formatter which represents the argument number as an ordinal: the + value ``1`` becomes ``1st``, ``3`` becomes ``3rd``, and so on. Values less + than ``1`` are not supported. This formatter is currently hard-coded to use + English ordinals. + +**"objcclass" format** + +Example: + ``"method %objcclass0 not found"`` +Class: + ``DeclarationName`` +Description: + This is a simple formatter that indicates the ``DeclarationName`` corresponds + to an Objective-C class method selector. As such, it prints the selector + with a leading "``+``". + +**"objcinstance" format** + +Example: + ``"method %objcinstance0 not found"`` +Class: + ``DeclarationName`` +Description: + This is a simple formatter that indicates the ``DeclarationName`` corresponds + to an Objective-C instance method selector. As such, it prints the selector + with a leading "``-``". + +**"q" format** + +Example: + ``"candidate found by name lookup is %q0"`` +Class: + ``NamedDecl *`` +Description: + This formatter indicates that the fully-qualified name of the declaration + should be printed, e.g., "``std::vector``" rather than "``vector``". + +**"diff" format** + +Example: + ``"no known conversion %diff{from $ to $|from argument type to parameter type}1,2"`` +Class: + ``QualType`` +Description: + This formatter takes two ``QualType``\ s and attempts to print a template + difference between the two. If tree printing is off, the text inside the + braces before the pipe is printed, with the formatted text replacing the $. + If tree printing is on, the text after the pipe is printed and a type tree is + printed after the diagnostic message. + +It is really easy to add format specifiers to the Clang diagnostics system, but +they should be discussed before they are added. If you are creating a lot of +repetitive diagnostics and/or have an idea for a useful formatter, please bring +it up on the cfe-dev mailing list. + +.. _internals-producing-diag: + +Producing the Diagnostic +^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ + +Now that you've created the diagnostic in the ``Diagnostic*Kinds.td`` file, you +need to write the code that detects the condition in question and emits the new +diagnostic. Various components of Clang (e.g., the preprocessor, ``Sema``, +etc.) provide a helper function named "``Diag``". It creates a diagnostic and +accepts the arguments, ranges, and other information that goes along with it. + +For example, the binary expression error comes from code like this: + +.. code-block:: c++ + + if (various things that are bad) + Diag(Loc, diag::err_typecheck_invalid_operands) + << lex->getType() << rex->getType() + << lex->getSourceRange() << rex->getSourceRange(); + +This shows that use of the ``Diag`` method: it takes a location (a +:ref:`SourceLocation <SourceLocation>` object) and a diagnostic enum value +(which matches the name from ``Diagnostic*Kinds.td``). If the diagnostic takes +arguments, they are specified with the ``<<`` operator: the first argument +becomes ``%0``, the second becomes ``%1``, etc. The diagnostic interface +allows you to specify arguments of many different types, including ``int`` and +``unsigned`` for integer arguments, ``const char*`` and ``std::string`` for +string arguments, ``DeclarationName`` and ``const IdentifierInfo *`` for names, +``QualType`` for types, etc. ``SourceRange``\ s are also specified with the +``<<`` operator, but do not have a specific ordering requirement. + +As you can see, adding and producing a diagnostic is pretty straightforward. +The hard part is deciding exactly what you need to say to help the user, +picking a suitable wording, and providing the information needed to format it +correctly. The good news is that the call site that issues a diagnostic should +be completely independent of how the diagnostic is formatted and in what +language it is rendered. + +Fix-It Hints +^^^^^^^^^^^^ + +In some cases, the front end emits diagnostics when it is clear that some small +change to the source code would fix the problem. For example, a missing +semicolon at the end of a statement or a use of deprecated syntax that is +easily rewritten into a more modern form. Clang tries very hard to emit the +diagnostic and recover gracefully in these and other cases. + +However, for these cases where the fix is obvious, the diagnostic can be +annotated with a hint (referred to as a "fix-it hint") that describes how to +change the code referenced by the diagnostic to fix the problem. For example, +it might add the missing semicolon at the end of the statement or rewrite the +use of a deprecated construct into something more palatable. Here is one such +example from the C++ front end, where we warn about the right-shift operator +changing meaning from C++98 to C++11: + +.. code-block:: c++ + + test.cpp:3:7: warning: use of right-shift operator ('>>') in template argument + will require parentheses in C++11 + A<100 >> 2> *a; + ^ + ( ) + +Here, the fix-it hint is suggesting that parentheses be added, and showing +exactly where those parentheses would be inserted into the source code. The +fix-it hints themselves describe what changes to make to the source code in an +abstract manner, which the text diagnostic printer renders as a line of +"insertions" below the caret line. :ref:`Other diagnostic clients +<DiagnosticClient>` might choose to render the code differently (e.g., as +markup inline) or even give the user the ability to automatically fix the +problem. + +Fix-it hints on errors and warnings need to obey these rules: + +* Since they are automatically applied if ``-Xclang -fixit`` is passed to the + driver, they should only be used when it's very likely they match the user's + intent. +* Clang must recover from errors as if the fix-it had been applied. + +If a fix-it can't obey these rules, put the fix-it on a note. Fix-its on notes +are not applied automatically. + +All fix-it hints are described by the ``FixItHint`` class, instances of which +should be attached to the diagnostic using the ``<<`` operator in the same way +that highlighted source ranges and arguments are passed to the diagnostic. +Fix-it hints can be created with one of three constructors: + +* ``FixItHint::CreateInsertion(Loc, Code)`` + + Specifies that the given ``Code`` (a string) should be inserted before the + source location ``Loc``. + +* ``FixItHint::CreateRemoval(Range)`` + + Specifies that the code in the given source ``Range`` should be removed. + +* ``FixItHint::CreateReplacement(Range, Code)`` + + Specifies that the code in the given source ``Range`` should be removed, + and replaced with the given ``Code`` string. + +.. _DiagnosticClient: + +The ``DiagnosticClient`` Interface +^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ + +Once code generates a diagnostic with all of the arguments and the rest of the +relevant information, Clang needs to know what to do with it. As previously +mentioned, the diagnostic machinery goes through some filtering to map a +severity onto a diagnostic level, then (assuming the diagnostic is not mapped +to "``Ignore``") it invokes an object that implements the ``DiagnosticClient`` +interface with the information. + +It is possible to implement this interface in many different ways. For +example, the normal Clang ``DiagnosticClient`` (named +``TextDiagnosticPrinter``) turns the arguments into strings (according to the +various formatting rules), prints out the file/line/column information and the +string, then prints out the line of code, the source ranges, and the caret. +However, this behavior isn't required. + +Another implementation of the ``DiagnosticClient`` interface is the +``TextDiagnosticBuffer`` class, which is used when Clang is in ``-verify`` +mode. Instead of formatting and printing out the diagnostics, this +implementation just captures and remembers the diagnostics as they fly by. +Then ``-verify`` compares the list of produced diagnostics to the list of +expected ones. If they disagree, it prints out its own output. Full +documentation for the ``-verify`` mode can be found in the Clang API +documentation for `VerifyDiagnosticConsumer +</doxygen/classclang_1_1VerifyDiagnosticConsumer.html#details>`_. + +There are many other possible implementations of this interface, and this is +why we prefer diagnostics to pass down rich structured information in +arguments. For example, an HTML output might want declaration names be +linkified to where they come from in the source. Another example is that a GUI +might let you click on typedefs to expand them. This application would want to +pass significantly more information about types through to the GUI than a +simple flat string. The interface allows this to happen. + +.. _internals-diag-translation: + +Adding Translations to Clang +^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ + +Not possible yet! Diagnostic strings should be written in UTF-8, the client can +translate to the relevant code page if needed. Each translation completely +replaces the format string for the diagnostic. + +.. _SourceLocation: +.. _SourceManager: + +The ``SourceLocation`` and ``SourceManager`` classes +---------------------------------------------------- + +Strangely enough, the ``SourceLocation`` class represents a location within the +source code of the program. Important design points include: + +#. ``sizeof(SourceLocation)`` must be extremely small, as these are embedded + into many AST nodes and are passed around often. Currently it is 32 bits. +#. ``SourceLocation`` must be a simple value object that can be efficiently + copied. +#. We should be able to represent a source location for any byte of any input + file. This includes in the middle of tokens, in whitespace, in trigraphs, + etc. +#. A ``SourceLocation`` must encode the current ``#include`` stack that was + active when the location was processed. For example, if the location + corresponds to a token, it should contain the set of ``#include``\ s active + when the token was lexed. This allows us to print the ``#include`` stack + for a diagnostic. +#. ``SourceLocation`` must be able to describe macro expansions, capturing both + the ultimate instantiation point and the source of the original character + data. + +In practice, the ``SourceLocation`` works together with the ``SourceManager`` +class to encode two pieces of information about a location: its spelling +location and its instantiation location. For most tokens, these will be the +same. However, for a macro expansion (or tokens that came from a ``_Pragma`` +directive) these will describe the location of the characters corresponding to +the token and the location where the token was used (i.e., the macro +instantiation point or the location of the ``_Pragma`` itself). + +The Clang front-end inherently depends on the location of a token being tracked +correctly. If it is ever incorrect, the front-end may get confused and die. +The reason for this is that the notion of the "spelling" of a ``Token`` in +Clang depends on being able to find the original input characters for the +token. This concept maps directly to the "spelling location" for the token. + +``SourceRange`` and ``CharSourceRange`` +--------------------------------------- + +.. mostly taken from http://lists.cs.uiuc.edu/pipermail/cfe-dev/2010-August/010595.html + +Clang represents most source ranges by [first, last], where "first" and "last" +each point to the beginning of their respective tokens. For example consider +the ``SourceRange`` of the following statement: + +.. code-block:: c++ + + x = foo + bar; + ^first ^last + +To map from this representation to a character-based representation, the "last" +location needs to be adjusted to point to (or past) the end of that token with +either ``Lexer::MeasureTokenLength()`` or ``Lexer::getLocForEndOfToken()``. For +the rare cases where character-level source ranges information is needed we use +the ``CharSourceRange`` class. + +The Driver Library +================== + +The clang Driver and library are documented :doc:`here <DriverInternals>`. + +Precompiled Headers +=================== + +Clang supports two implementations of precompiled headers. The default +implementation, precompiled headers (:doc:`PCH <PCHInternals>`) uses a +serialized representation of Clang's internal data structures, encoded with the +`LLVM bitstream format <http://llvm.org/docs/BitCodeFormat.html>`_. +Pretokenized headers (:doc:`PTH <PTHInternals>`), on the other hand, contain a +serialized representation of the tokens encountered when preprocessing a header +(and anything that header includes). + +The Frontend Library +==================== + +The Frontend library contains functionality useful for building tools on top of +the Clang libraries, for example several methods for outputting diagnostics. + +The Lexer and Preprocessor Library +================================== + +The Lexer library contains several tightly-connected classes that are involved +with the nasty process of lexing and preprocessing C source code. The main +interface to this library for outside clients is the large ``Preprocessor`` +class. It contains the various pieces of state that are required to coherently +read tokens out of a translation unit. + +The core interface to the ``Preprocessor`` object (once it is set up) is the +``Preprocessor::Lex`` method, which returns the next :ref:`Token <Token>` from +the preprocessor stream. There are two types of token providers that the +preprocessor is capable of reading from: a buffer lexer (provided by the +:ref:`Lexer <Lexer>` class) and a buffered token stream (provided by the +:ref:`TokenLexer <TokenLexer>` class). + +.. _Token: + +The Token class +--------------- + +The ``Token`` class is used to represent a single lexed token. Tokens are +intended to be used by the lexer/preprocess and parser libraries, but are not +intended to live beyond them (for example, they should not live in the ASTs). + +Tokens most often live on the stack (or some other location that is efficient +to access) as the parser is running, but occasionally do get buffered up. For +example, macro definitions are stored as a series of tokens, and the C++ +front-end periodically needs to buffer tokens up for tentative parsing and +various pieces of look-ahead. As such, the size of a ``Token`` matters. On a +32-bit system, ``sizeof(Token)`` is currently 16 bytes. + +Tokens occur in two forms: :ref:`annotation tokens <AnnotationToken>` and +normal tokens. Normal tokens are those returned by the lexer, annotation +tokens represent semantic information and are produced by the parser, replacing +normal tokens in the token stream. Normal tokens contain the following +information: + +* **A SourceLocation** --- This indicates the location of the start of the + token. + +* **A length** --- This stores the length of the token as stored in the + ``SourceBuffer``. For tokens that include them, this length includes + trigraphs and escaped newlines which are ignored by later phases of the + compiler. By pointing into the original source buffer, it is always possible + to get the original spelling of a token completely accurately. + +* **IdentifierInfo** --- If a token takes the form of an identifier, and if + identifier lookup was enabled when the token was lexed (e.g., the lexer was + not reading in "raw" mode) this contains a pointer to the unique hash value + for the identifier. Because the lookup happens before keyword + identification, this field is set even for language keywords like "``for``". + +* **TokenKind** --- This indicates the kind of token as classified by the + lexer. This includes things like ``tok::starequal`` (for the "``*=``" + operator), ``tok::ampamp`` for the "``&&``" token, and keyword values (e.g., + ``tok::kw_for``) for identifiers that correspond to keywords. Note that + some tokens can be spelled multiple ways. For example, C++ supports + "operator keywords", where things like "``and``" are treated exactly like the + "``&&``" operator. In these cases, the kind value is set to ``tok::ampamp``, + which is good for the parser, which doesn't have to consider both forms. For + something that cares about which form is used (e.g., the preprocessor + "stringize" operator) the spelling indicates the original form. + +* **Flags** --- There are currently four flags tracked by the + lexer/preprocessor system on a per-token basis: + + #. **StartOfLine** --- This was the first token that occurred on its input + source line. + #. **LeadingSpace** --- There was a space character either immediately before + the token or transitively before the token as it was expanded through a + macro. The definition of this flag is very closely defined by the + stringizing requirements of the preprocessor. + #. **DisableExpand** --- This flag is used internally to the preprocessor to + represent identifier tokens which have macro expansion disabled. This + prevents them from being considered as candidates for macro expansion ever + in the future. + #. **NeedsCleaning** --- This flag is set if the original spelling for the + token includes a trigraph or escaped newline. Since this is uncommon, + many pieces of code can fast-path on tokens that did not need cleaning. + +One interesting (and somewhat unusual) aspect of normal tokens is that they +don't contain any semantic information about the lexed value. For example, if +the token was a pp-number token, we do not represent the value of the number +that was lexed (this is left for later pieces of code to decide). +Additionally, the lexer library has no notion of typedef names vs variable +names: both are returned as identifiers, and the parser is left to decide +whether a specific identifier is a typedef or a variable (tracking this +requires scope information among other things). The parser can do this +translation by replacing tokens returned by the preprocessor with "Annotation +Tokens". + +.. _AnnotationToken: + +Annotation Tokens +----------------- + +Annotation tokens are tokens that are synthesized by the parser and injected +into the preprocessor's token stream (replacing existing tokens) to record +semantic information found by the parser. For example, if "``foo``" is found +to be a typedef, the "``foo``" ``tok::identifier`` token is replaced with an +``tok::annot_typename``. This is useful for a couple of reasons: 1) this makes +it easy to handle qualified type names (e.g., "``foo::bar::baz<42>::t``") in +C++ as a single "token" in the parser. 2) if the parser backtracks, the +reparse does not need to redo semantic analysis to determine whether a token +sequence is a variable, type, template, etc. + +Annotation tokens are created by the parser and reinjected into the parser's +token stream (when backtracking is enabled). Because they can only exist in +tokens that the preprocessor-proper is done with, it doesn't need to keep +around flags like "start of line" that the preprocessor uses to do its job. +Additionally, an annotation token may "cover" a sequence of preprocessor tokens +(e.g., "``a::b::c``" is five preprocessor tokens). As such, the valid fields +of an annotation token are different than the fields for a normal token (but +they are multiplexed into the normal ``Token`` fields): + +* **SourceLocation "Location"** --- The ``SourceLocation`` for the annotation + token indicates the first token replaced by the annotation token. In the + example above, it would be the location of the "``a``" identifier. +* **SourceLocation "AnnotationEndLoc"** --- This holds the location of the last + token replaced with the annotation token. In the example above, it would be + the location of the "``c``" identifier. +* **void* "AnnotationValue"** --- This contains an opaque object that the + parser gets from ``Sema``. The parser merely preserves the information for + ``Sema`` to later interpret based on the annotation token kind. +* **TokenKind "Kind"** --- This indicates the kind of Annotation token this is. + See below for the different valid kinds. + +Annotation tokens currently come in three kinds: + +#. **tok::annot_typename**: This annotation token represents a resolved + typename token that is potentially qualified. The ``AnnotationValue`` field + contains the ``QualType`` returned by ``Sema::getTypeName()``, possibly with + source location information attached. +#. **tok::annot_cxxscope**: This annotation token represents a C++ scope + specifier, such as "``A::B::``". This corresponds to the grammar + productions "*::*" and "*:: [opt] nested-name-specifier*". The + ``AnnotationValue`` pointer is a ``NestedNameSpecifier *`` returned by the + ``Sema::ActOnCXXGlobalScopeSpecifier`` and + ``Sema::ActOnCXXNestedNameSpecifier`` callbacks. +#. **tok::annot_template_id**: This annotation token represents a C++ + template-id such as "``foo<int, 4>``", where "``foo``" is the name of a + template. The ``AnnotationValue`` pointer is a pointer to a ``malloc``'d + ``TemplateIdAnnotation`` object. Depending on the context, a parsed + template-id that names a type might become a typename annotation token (if + all we care about is the named type, e.g., because it occurs in a type + specifier) or might remain a template-id token (if we want to retain more + source location information or produce a new type, e.g., in a declaration of + a class template specialization). template-id annotation tokens that refer + to a type can be "upgraded" to typename annotation tokens by the parser. + +As mentioned above, annotation tokens are not returned by the preprocessor, +they are formed on demand by the parser. This means that the parser has to be +aware of cases where an annotation could occur and form it where appropriate. +This is somewhat similar to how the parser handles Translation Phase 6 of C99: +String Concatenation (see C99 5.1.1.2). In the case of string concatenation, +the preprocessor just returns distinct ``tok::string_literal`` and +``tok::wide_string_literal`` tokens and the parser eats a sequence of them +wherever the grammar indicates that a string literal can occur. + +In order to do this, whenever the parser expects a ``tok::identifier`` or +``tok::coloncolon``, it should call the ``TryAnnotateTypeOrScopeToken`` or +``TryAnnotateCXXScopeToken`` methods to form the annotation token. These +methods will maximally form the specified annotation tokens and replace the +current token with them, if applicable. If the current tokens is not valid for +an annotation token, it will remain an identifier or "``::``" token. + +.. _Lexer: + +The ``Lexer`` class +------------------- + +The ``Lexer`` class provides the mechanics of lexing tokens out of a source +buffer and deciding what they mean. The ``Lexer`` is complicated by the fact +that it operates on raw buffers that have not had spelling eliminated (this is +a necessity to get decent performance), but this is countered with careful +coding as well as standard performance techniques (for example, the comment +handling code is vectorized on X86 and PowerPC hosts). + +The lexer has a couple of interesting modal features: + +* The lexer can operate in "raw" mode. This mode has several features that + make it possible to quickly lex the file (e.g., it stops identifier lookup, + doesn't specially handle preprocessor tokens, handles EOF differently, etc). + This mode is used for lexing within an "``#if 0``" block, for example. +* The lexer can capture and return comments as tokens. This is required to + support the ``-C`` preprocessor mode, which passes comments through, and is + used by the diagnostic checker to identifier expect-error annotations. +* The lexer can be in ``ParsingFilename`` mode, which happens when + preprocessing after reading a ``#include`` directive. This mode changes the + parsing of "``<``" to return an "angled string" instead of a bunch of tokens + for each thing within the filename. +* When parsing a preprocessor directive (after "``#``") the + ``ParsingPreprocessorDirective`` mode is entered. This changes the parser to + return EOD at a newline. +* The ``Lexer`` uses a ``LangOptions`` object to know whether trigraphs are + enabled, whether C++ or ObjC keywords are recognized, etc. + +In addition to these modes, the lexer keeps track of a couple of other features +that are local to a lexed buffer, which change as the buffer is lexed: + +* The ``Lexer`` uses ``BufferPtr`` to keep track of the current character being + lexed. +* The ``Lexer`` uses ``IsAtStartOfLine`` to keep track of whether the next + lexed token will start with its "start of line" bit set. +* The ``Lexer`` keeps track of the current "``#if``" directives that are active + (which can be nested). +* The ``Lexer`` keeps track of an :ref:`MultipleIncludeOpt + <MultipleIncludeOpt>` object, which is used to detect whether the buffer uses + the standard "``#ifndef XX`` / ``#define XX``" idiom to prevent multiple + inclusion. If a buffer does, subsequent includes can be ignored if the + "``XX``" macro is defined. + +.. _TokenLexer: + +The ``TokenLexer`` class +------------------------ + +The ``TokenLexer`` class is a token provider that returns tokens from a list of +tokens that came from somewhere else. It typically used for two things: 1) +returning tokens from a macro definition as it is being expanded 2) returning +tokens from an arbitrary buffer of tokens. The later use is used by +``_Pragma`` and will most likely be used to handle unbounded look-ahead for the +C++ parser. + +.. _MultipleIncludeOpt: + +The ``MultipleIncludeOpt`` class +-------------------------------- + +The ``MultipleIncludeOpt`` class implements a really simple little state +machine that is used to detect the standard "``#ifndef XX`` / ``#define XX``" +idiom that people typically use to prevent multiple inclusion of headers. If a +buffer uses this idiom and is subsequently ``#include``'d, the preprocessor can +simply check to see whether the guarding condition is defined or not. If so, +the preprocessor can completely ignore the include of the header. + +The Parser Library +================== + +The AST Library +=============== + +.. _Type: + +The ``Type`` class and its subclasses +------------------------------------- + +The ``Type`` class (and its subclasses) are an important part of the AST. +Types are accessed through the ``ASTContext`` class, which implicitly creates +and uniques them as they are needed. Types have a couple of non-obvious +features: 1) they do not capture type qualifiers like ``const`` or ``volatile`` +(see :ref:`QualType <QualType>`), and 2) they implicitly capture typedef +information. Once created, types are immutable (unlike decls). + +Typedefs in C make semantic analysis a bit more complex than it would be without +them. The issue is that we want to capture typedef information and represent it +in the AST perfectly, but the semantics of operations need to "see through" +typedefs. For example, consider this code: + +.. code-block:: c++ + + void func() { + typedef int foo; + foo X, *Y; + typedef foo *bar; + bar Z; + *X; // error + **Y; // error + **Z; // error + } + +The code above is illegal, and thus we expect there to be diagnostics emitted +on the annotated lines. In this example, we expect to get: + +.. code-block:: c++ + + test.c:6:1: error: indirection requires pointer operand ('foo' invalid) + *X; // error + ^~ + test.c:7:1: error: indirection requires pointer operand ('foo' invalid) + **Y; // error + ^~~ + test.c:8:1: error: indirection requires pointer operand ('foo' invalid) + **Z; // error + ^~~ + +While this example is somewhat silly, it illustrates the point: we want to +retain typedef information where possible, so that we can emit errors about +"``std::string``" instead of "``std::basic_string<char, std:...``". Doing this +requires properly keeping typedef information (for example, the type of ``X`` +is "``foo``", not "``int``"), and requires properly propagating it through the +various operators (for example, the type of ``*Y`` is "``foo``", not +"``int``"). In order to retain this information, the type of these expressions +is an instance of the ``TypedefType`` class, which indicates that the type of +these expressions is a typedef for "``foo``". + +Representing types like this is great for diagnostics, because the +user-specified type is always immediately available. There are two problems +with this: first, various semantic checks need to make judgements about the +*actual structure* of a type, ignoring typedefs. Second, we need an efficient +way to query whether two types are structurally identical to each other, +ignoring typedefs. The solution to both of these problems is the idea of +canonical types. + +Canonical Types +^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ + +Every instance of the ``Type`` class contains a canonical type pointer. For +simple types with no typedefs involved (e.g., "``int``", "``int*``", +"``int**``"), the type just points to itself. For types that have a typedef +somewhere in their structure (e.g., "``foo``", "``foo*``", "``foo**``", +"``bar``"), the canonical type pointer points to their structurally equivalent +type without any typedefs (e.g., "``int``", "``int*``", "``int**``", and +"``int*``" respectively). + +This design provides a constant time operation (dereferencing the canonical type +pointer) that gives us access to the structure of types. For example, we can +trivially tell that "``bar``" and "``foo*``" are the same type by dereferencing +their canonical type pointers and doing a pointer comparison (they both point +to the single "``int*``" type). + +Canonical types and typedef types bring up some complexities that must be +carefully managed. Specifically, the ``isa``/``cast``/``dyn_cast`` operators +generally shouldn't be used in code that is inspecting the AST. For example, +when type checking the indirection operator (unary "``*``" on a pointer), the +type checker must verify that the operand has a pointer type. It would not be +correct to check that with "``isa<PointerType>(SubExpr->getType())``", because +this predicate would fail if the subexpression had a typedef type. + +The solution to this problem are a set of helper methods on ``Type``, used to +check their properties. In this case, it would be correct to use +"``SubExpr->getType()->isPointerType()``" to do the check. This predicate will +return true if the *canonical type is a pointer*, which is true any time the +type is structurally a pointer type. The only hard part here is remembering +not to use the ``isa``/``cast``/``dyn_cast`` operations. + +The second problem we face is how to get access to the pointer type once we +know it exists. To continue the example, the result type of the indirection +operator is the pointee type of the subexpression. In order to determine the +type, we need to get the instance of ``PointerType`` that best captures the +typedef information in the program. If the type of the expression is literally +a ``PointerType``, we can return that, otherwise we have to dig through the +typedefs to find the pointer type. For example, if the subexpression had type +"``foo*``", we could return that type as the result. If the subexpression had +type "``bar``", we want to return "``foo*``" (note that we do *not* want +"``int*``"). In order to provide all of this, ``Type`` has a +``getAsPointerType()`` method that checks whether the type is structurally a +``PointerType`` and, if so, returns the best one. If not, it returns a null +pointer. + +This structure is somewhat mystical, but after meditating on it, it will make +sense to you :). + +.. _QualType: + +The ``QualType`` class +---------------------- + +The ``QualType`` class is designed as a trivial value class that is small, +passed by-value and is efficient to query. The idea of ``QualType`` is that it +stores the type qualifiers (``const``, ``volatile``, ``restrict``, plus some +extended qualifiers required by language extensions) separately from the types +themselves. ``QualType`` is conceptually a pair of "``Type*``" and the bits +for these type qualifiers. + +By storing the type qualifiers as bits in the conceptual pair, it is extremely +efficient to get the set of qualifiers on a ``QualType`` (just return the field +of the pair), add a type qualifier (which is a trivial constant-time operation +that sets a bit), and remove one or more type qualifiers (just return a +``QualType`` with the bitfield set to empty). + +Further, because the bits are stored outside of the type itself, we do not need +to create duplicates of types with different sets of qualifiers (i.e. there is +only a single heap allocated "``int``" type: "``const int``" and "``volatile +const int``" both point to the same heap allocated "``int``" type). This +reduces the heap size used to represent bits and also means we do not have to +consider qualifiers when uniquing types (:ref:`Type <Type>` does not even +contain qualifiers). + +In practice, the two most common type qualifiers (``const`` and ``restrict``) +are stored in the low bits of the pointer to the ``Type`` object, together with +a flag indicating whether extended qualifiers are present (which must be +heap-allocated). This means that ``QualType`` is exactly the same size as a +pointer. + +.. _DeclarationName: + +Declaration names +----------------- + +The ``DeclarationName`` class represents the name of a declaration in Clang. +Declarations in the C family of languages can take several different forms. +Most declarations are named by simple identifiers, e.g., "``f``" and "``x``" in +the function declaration ``f(int x)``. In C++, declaration names can also name +class constructors ("``Class``" in ``struct Class { Class(); }``), class +destructors ("``~Class``"), overloaded operator names ("``operator+``"), and +conversion functions ("``operator void const *``"). In Objective-C, +declaration names can refer to the names of Objective-C methods, which involve +the method name and the parameters, collectively called a *selector*, e.g., +"``setWidth:height:``". Since all of these kinds of entities --- variables, +functions, Objective-C methods, C++ constructors, destructors, and operators +--- are represented as subclasses of Clang's common ``NamedDecl`` class, +``DeclarationName`` is designed to efficiently represent any kind of name. + +Given a ``DeclarationName`` ``N``, ``N.getNameKind()`` will produce a value +that describes what kind of name ``N`` stores. There are 8 options (all of the +names are inside the ``DeclarationName`` class). + +``Identifier`` + + The name is a simple identifier. Use ``N.getAsIdentifierInfo()`` to retrieve + the corresponding ``IdentifierInfo*`` pointing to the actual identifier. + Note that C++ overloaded operators (e.g., "``operator+``") are represented as + special kinds of identifiers. Use ``IdentifierInfo``'s + ``getOverloadedOperatorID`` function to determine whether an identifier is an + overloaded operator name. + +``ObjCZeroArgSelector``, ``ObjCOneArgSelector``, ``ObjCMultiArgSelector`` + + The name is an Objective-C selector, which can be retrieved as a ``Selector`` + instance via ``N.getObjCSelector()``. The three possible name kinds for + Objective-C reflect an optimization within the ``DeclarationName`` class: + both zero- and one-argument selectors are stored as a masked + ``IdentifierInfo`` pointer, and therefore require very little space, since + zero- and one-argument selectors are far more common than multi-argument + selectors (which use a different structure). + +``CXXConstructorName`` + + The name is a C++ constructor name. Use ``N.getCXXNameType()`` to retrieve + the :ref:`type <QualType>` that this constructor is meant to construct. The + type is always the canonical type, since all constructors for a given type + have the same name. + +``CXXDestructorName`` + + The name is a C++ destructor name. Use ``N.getCXXNameType()`` to retrieve + the :ref:`type <QualType>` whose destructor is being named. This type is + always a canonical type. + +``CXXConversionFunctionName`` + + The name is a C++ conversion function. Conversion functions are named + according to the type they convert to, e.g., "``operator void const *``". + Use ``N.getCXXNameType()`` to retrieve the type that this conversion function + converts to. This type is always a canonical type. + +``CXXOperatorName`` + + The name is a C++ overloaded operator name. Overloaded operators are named + according to their spelling, e.g., "``operator+``" or "``operator new []``". + Use ``N.getCXXOverloadedOperator()`` to retrieve the overloaded operator (a + value of type ``OverloadedOperatorKind``). + +``DeclarationName``\ s are cheap to create, copy, and compare. They require +only a single pointer's worth of storage in the common cases (identifiers, +zero- and one-argument Objective-C selectors) and use dense, uniqued storage +for the other kinds of names. Two ``DeclarationName``\ s can be compared for +equality (``==``, ``!=``) using a simple bitwise comparison, can be ordered +with ``<``, ``>``, ``<=``, and ``>=`` (which provide a lexicographical ordering +for normal identifiers but an unspecified ordering for other kinds of names), +and can be placed into LLVM ``DenseMap``\ s and ``DenseSet``\ s. + +``DeclarationName`` instances can be created in different ways depending on +what kind of name the instance will store. Normal identifiers +(``IdentifierInfo`` pointers) and Objective-C selectors (``Selector``) can be +implicitly converted to ``DeclarationNames``. Names for C++ constructors, +destructors, conversion functions, and overloaded operators can be retrieved +from the ``DeclarationNameTable``, an instance of which is available as +``ASTContext::DeclarationNames``. The member functions +``getCXXConstructorName``, ``getCXXDestructorName``, +``getCXXConversionFunctionName``, and ``getCXXOperatorName``, respectively, +return ``DeclarationName`` instances for the four kinds of C++ special function +names. + +.. _DeclContext: + +Declaration contexts +-------------------- + +Every declaration in a program exists within some *declaration context*, such +as a translation unit, namespace, class, or function. Declaration contexts in +Clang are represented by the ``DeclContext`` class, from which the various +declaration-context AST nodes (``TranslationUnitDecl``, ``NamespaceDecl``, +``RecordDecl``, ``FunctionDecl``, etc.) will derive. The ``DeclContext`` class +provides several facilities common to each declaration context: + +Source-centric vs. Semantics-centric View of Declarations + + ``DeclContext`` provides two views of the declarations stored within a + declaration context. The source-centric view accurately represents the + program source code as written, including multiple declarations of entities + where present (see the section :ref:`Redeclarations and Overloads + <Redeclarations>`), while the semantics-centric view represents the program + semantics. The two views are kept synchronized by semantic analysis while + the ASTs are being constructed. + +Storage of declarations within that context + + Every declaration context can contain some number of declarations. For + example, a C++ class (represented by ``RecordDecl``) contains various member + functions, fields, nested types, and so on. All of these declarations will + be stored within the ``DeclContext``, and one can iterate over the + declarations via [``DeclContext::decls_begin()``, + ``DeclContext::decls_end()``). This mechanism provides the source-centric + view of declarations in the context. + +Lookup of declarations within that context + + The ``DeclContext`` structure provides efficient name lookup for names within + that declaration context. For example, if ``N`` is a namespace we can look + for the name ``N::f`` using ``DeclContext::lookup``. The lookup itself is + based on a lazily-constructed array (for declaration contexts with a small + number of declarations) or hash table (for declaration contexts with more + declarations). The lookup operation provides the semantics-centric view of + the declarations in the context. + +Ownership of declarations + + The ``DeclContext`` owns all of the declarations that were declared within + its declaration context, and is responsible for the management of their + memory as well as their (de-)serialization. + +All declarations are stored within a declaration context, and one can query +information about the context in which each declaration lives. One can +retrieve the ``DeclContext`` that contains a particular ``Decl`` using +``Decl::getDeclContext``. However, see the section +:ref:`LexicalAndSemanticContexts` for more information about how to interpret +this context information. + +.. _Redeclarations: + +Redeclarations and Overloads +^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ + +Within a translation unit, it is common for an entity to be declared several +times. For example, we might declare a function "``f``" and then later +re-declare it as part of an inlined definition: + +.. code-block:: c++ + + void f(int x, int y, int z = 1); + + inline void f(int x, int y, int z) { /* ... */ } + +The representation of "``f``" differs in the source-centric and +semantics-centric views of a declaration context. In the source-centric view, +all redeclarations will be present, in the order they occurred in the source +code, making this view suitable for clients that wish to see the structure of +the source code. In the semantics-centric view, only the most recent "``f``" +will be found by the lookup, since it effectively replaces the first +declaration of "``f``". + +In the semantics-centric view, overloading of functions is represented +explicitly. For example, given two declarations of a function "``g``" that are +overloaded, e.g., + +.. code-block:: c++ + + void g(); + void g(int); + +the ``DeclContext::lookup`` operation will return a +``DeclContext::lookup_result`` that contains a range of iterators over +declarations of "``g``". Clients that perform semantic analysis on a program +that is not concerned with the actual source code will primarily use this +semantics-centric view. + +.. _LexicalAndSemanticContexts: + +Lexical and Semantic Contexts +^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ + +Each declaration has two potentially different declaration contexts: a +*lexical* context, which corresponds to the source-centric view of the +declaration context, and a *semantic* context, which corresponds to the +semantics-centric view. The lexical context is accessible via +``Decl::getLexicalDeclContext`` while the semantic context is accessible via +``Decl::getDeclContext``, both of which return ``DeclContext`` pointers. For +most declarations, the two contexts are identical. For example: + +.. code-block:: c++ + + class X { + public: + void f(int x); + }; + +Here, the semantic and lexical contexts of ``X::f`` are the ``DeclContext`` +associated with the class ``X`` (itself stored as a ``RecordDecl`` AST node). +However, we can now define ``X::f`` out-of-line: + +.. code-block:: c++ + + void X::f(int x = 17) { /* ... */ } + +This definition of "``f``" has different lexical and semantic contexts. The +lexical context corresponds to the declaration context in which the actual +declaration occurred in the source code, e.g., the translation unit containing +``X``. Thus, this declaration of ``X::f`` can be found by traversing the +declarations provided by [``decls_begin()``, ``decls_end()``) in the +translation unit. + +The semantic context of ``X::f`` corresponds to the class ``X``, since this +member function is (semantically) a member of ``X``. Lookup of the name ``f`` +into the ``DeclContext`` associated with ``X`` will then return the definition +of ``X::f`` (including information about the default argument). + +Transparent Declaration Contexts +^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ + +In C and C++, there are several contexts in which names that are logically +declared inside another declaration will actually "leak" out into the enclosing +scope from the perspective of name lookup. The most obvious instance of this +behavior is in enumeration types, e.g., + +.. code-block:: c++ + + enum Color { + Red, + Green, + Blue + }; + +Here, ``Color`` is an enumeration, which is a declaration context that contains +the enumerators ``Red``, ``Green``, and ``Blue``. Thus, traversing the list of +declarations contained in the enumeration ``Color`` will yield ``Red``, +``Green``, and ``Blue``. However, outside of the scope of ``Color`` one can +name the enumerator ``Red`` without qualifying the name, e.g., + +.. code-block:: c++ + + Color c = Red; + +There are other entities in C++ that provide similar behavior. For example, +linkage specifications that use curly braces: + +.. code-block:: c++ + + extern "C" { + void f(int); + void g(int); + } + // f and g are visible here + +For source-level accuracy, we treat the linkage specification and enumeration +type as a declaration context in which its enclosed declarations ("``Red``", +"``Green``", and "``Blue``"; "``f``" and "``g``") are declared. However, these +declarations are visible outside of the scope of the declaration context. + +These language features (and several others, described below) have roughly the +same set of requirements: declarations are declared within a particular lexical +context, but the declarations are also found via name lookup in scopes +enclosing the declaration itself. This feature is implemented via +*transparent* declaration contexts (see +``DeclContext::isTransparentContext()``), whose declarations are visible in the +nearest enclosing non-transparent declaration context. This means that the +lexical context of the declaration (e.g., an enumerator) will be the +transparent ``DeclContext`` itself, as will the semantic context, but the +declaration will be visible in every outer context up to and including the +first non-transparent declaration context (since transparent declaration +contexts can be nested). + +The transparent ``DeclContext``\ s are: + +* Enumerations (but not C++11 "scoped enumerations"): + + .. code-block:: c++ + + enum Color { + Red, + Green, + Blue + }; + // Red, Green, and Blue are in scope + +* C++ linkage specifications: + + .. code-block:: c++ + + extern "C" { + void f(int); + void g(int); + } + // f and g are in scope + +* Anonymous unions and structs: + + .. code-block:: c++ + + struct LookupTable { + bool IsVector; + union { + std::vector<Item> *Vector; + std::set<Item> *Set; + }; + }; + + LookupTable LT; + LT.Vector = 0; // Okay: finds Vector inside the unnamed union + +* C++11 inline namespaces: + + .. code-block:: c++ + + namespace mylib { + inline namespace debug { + class X; + } + } + mylib::X *xp; // okay: mylib::X refers to mylib::debug::X + +.. _MultiDeclContext: + +Multiply-Defined Declaration Contexts +^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ + +C++ namespaces have the interesting --- and, so far, unique --- property that +the namespace can be defined multiple times, and the declarations provided by +each namespace definition are effectively merged (from the semantic point of +view). For example, the following two code snippets are semantically +indistinguishable: + +.. code-block:: c++ + + // Snippet #1: + namespace N { + void f(); + } + namespace N { + void f(int); + } + + // Snippet #2: + namespace N { + void f(); + void f(int); + } + +In Clang's representation, the source-centric view of declaration contexts will +actually have two separate ``NamespaceDecl`` nodes in Snippet #1, each of which +is a declaration context that contains a single declaration of "``f``". +However, the semantics-centric view provided by name lookup into the namespace +``N`` for "``f``" will return a ``DeclContext::lookup_result`` that contains a +range of iterators over declarations of "``f``". + +``DeclContext`` manages multiply-defined declaration contexts internally. The +function ``DeclContext::getPrimaryContext`` retrieves the "primary" context for +a given ``DeclContext`` instance, which is the ``DeclContext`` responsible for +maintaining the lookup table used for the semantics-centric view. Given the +primary context, one can follow the chain of ``DeclContext`` nodes that define +additional declarations via ``DeclContext::getNextContext``. Note that these +functions are used internally within the lookup and insertion methods of the +``DeclContext``, so the vast majority of clients can ignore them. + +.. _CFG: + +The ``CFG`` class +----------------- + +The ``CFG`` class is designed to represent a source-level control-flow graph +for a single statement (``Stmt*``). Typically instances of ``CFG`` are +constructed for function bodies (usually an instance of ``CompoundStmt``), but +can also be instantiated to represent the control-flow of any class that +subclasses ``Stmt``, which includes simple expressions. Control-flow graphs +are especially useful for performing `flow- or path-sensitive +<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data_flow_analysis#Sensitivities>`_ program +analyses on a given function. + +Basic Blocks +^^^^^^^^^^^^ + +Concretely, an instance of ``CFG`` is a collection of basic blocks. Each basic +block is an instance of ``CFGBlock``, which simply contains an ordered sequence +of ``Stmt*`` (each referring to statements in the AST). The ordering of +statements within a block indicates unconditional flow of control from one +statement to the next. :ref:`Conditional control-flow +<ConditionalControlFlow>` is represented using edges between basic blocks. The +statements within a given ``CFGBlock`` can be traversed using the +``CFGBlock::*iterator`` interface. + +A ``CFG`` object owns the instances of ``CFGBlock`` within the control-flow +graph it represents. Each ``CFGBlock`` within a CFG is also uniquely numbered +(accessible via ``CFGBlock::getBlockID()``). Currently the number is based on +the ordering the blocks were created, but no assumptions should be made on how +``CFGBlocks`` are numbered other than their numbers are unique and that they +are numbered from 0..N-1 (where N is the number of basic blocks in the CFG). + +Entry and Exit Blocks +^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ + +Each instance of ``CFG`` contains two special blocks: an *entry* block +(accessible via ``CFG::getEntry()``), which has no incoming edges, and an +*exit* block (accessible via ``CFG::getExit()``), which has no outgoing edges. +Neither block contains any statements, and they serve the role of providing a +clear entrance and exit for a body of code such as a function body. The +presence of these empty blocks greatly simplifies the implementation of many +analyses built on top of CFGs. + +.. _ConditionalControlFlow: + +Conditional Control-Flow +^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ + +Conditional control-flow (such as those induced by if-statements and loops) is +represented as edges between ``CFGBlocks``. Because different C language +constructs can induce control-flow, each ``CFGBlock`` also records an extra +``Stmt*`` that represents the *terminator* of the block. A terminator is +simply the statement that caused the control-flow, and is used to identify the +nature of the conditional control-flow between blocks. For example, in the +case of an if-statement, the terminator refers to the ``IfStmt`` object in the +AST that represented the given branch. + +To illustrate, consider the following code example: + +.. code-block:: c++ + + int foo(int x) { + x = x + 1; + if (x > 2) + x++; + else { + x += 2; + x *= 2; + } + + return x; + } + +After invoking the parser+semantic analyzer on this code fragment, the AST of +the body of ``foo`` is referenced by a single ``Stmt*``. We can then construct +an instance of ``CFG`` representing the control-flow graph of this function +body by single call to a static class method: + +.. code-block:: c++ + + Stmt *FooBody = ... + CFG *FooCFG = CFG::buildCFG(FooBody); + +It is the responsibility of the caller of ``CFG::buildCFG`` to ``delete`` the +returned ``CFG*`` when the CFG is no longer needed. + +Along with providing an interface to iterate over its ``CFGBlocks``, the +``CFG`` class also provides methods that are useful for debugging and +visualizing CFGs. For example, the method ``CFG::dump()`` dumps a +pretty-printed version of the CFG to standard error. This is especially useful +when one is using a debugger such as gdb. For example, here is the output of +``FooCFG->dump()``: + +.. code-block:: c++ + + [ B5 (ENTRY) ] + Predecessors (0): + Successors (1): B4 + + [ B4 ] + 1: x = x + 1 + 2: (x > 2) + T: if [B4.2] + Predecessors (1): B5 + Successors (2): B3 B2 + + [ B3 ] + 1: x++ + Predecessors (1): B4 + Successors (1): B1 + + [ B2 ] + 1: x += 2 + 2: x *= 2 + Predecessors (1): B4 + Successors (1): B1 + + [ B1 ] + 1: return x; + Predecessors (2): B2 B3 + Successors (1): B0 + + [ B0 (EXIT) ] + Predecessors (1): B1 + Successors (0): + +For each block, the pretty-printed output displays for each block the number of +*predecessor* blocks (blocks that have outgoing control-flow to the given +block) and *successor* blocks (blocks that have control-flow that have incoming +control-flow from the given block). We can also clearly see the special entry +and exit blocks at the beginning and end of the pretty-printed output. For the +entry block (block B5), the number of predecessor blocks is 0, while for the +exit block (block B0) the number of successor blocks is 0. + +The most interesting block here is B4, whose outgoing control-flow represents +the branching caused by the sole if-statement in ``foo``. Of particular +interest is the second statement in the block, ``(x > 2)``, and the terminator, +printed as ``if [B4.2]``. The second statement represents the evaluation of +the condition of the if-statement, which occurs before the actual branching of +control-flow. Within the ``CFGBlock`` for B4, the ``Stmt*`` for the second +statement refers to the actual expression in the AST for ``(x > 2)``. Thus +pointers to subclasses of ``Expr`` can appear in the list of statements in a +block, and not just subclasses of ``Stmt`` that refer to proper C statements. + +The terminator of block B4 is a pointer to the ``IfStmt`` object in the AST. +The pretty-printer outputs ``if [B4.2]`` because the condition expression of +the if-statement has an actual place in the basic block, and thus the +terminator is essentially *referring* to the expression that is the second +statement of block B4 (i.e., B4.2). In this manner, conditions for +control-flow (which also includes conditions for loops and switch statements) +are hoisted into the actual basic block. + +.. Implicit Control-Flow +.. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ + +.. A key design principle of the ``CFG`` class was to not require any +.. transformations to the AST in order to represent control-flow. Thus the +.. ``CFG`` does not perform any "lowering" of the statements in an AST: loops +.. are not transformed into guarded gotos, short-circuit operations are not +.. converted to a set of if-statements, and so on. + +Constant Folding in the Clang AST +--------------------------------- + +There are several places where constants and constant folding matter a lot to +the Clang front-end. First, in general, we prefer the AST to retain the source +code as close to how the user wrote it as possible. This means that if they +wrote "``5+4``", we want to keep the addition and two constants in the AST, we +don't want to fold to "``9``". This means that constant folding in various +ways turns into a tree walk that needs to handle the various cases. + +However, there are places in both C and C++ that require constants to be +folded. For example, the C standard defines what an "integer constant +expression" (i-c-e) is with very precise and specific requirements. The +language then requires i-c-e's in a lot of places (for example, the size of a +bitfield, the value for a case statement, etc). For these, we have to be able +to constant fold the constants, to do semantic checks (e.g., verify bitfield +size is non-negative and that case statements aren't duplicated). We aim for +Clang to be very pedantic about this, diagnosing cases when the code does not +use an i-c-e where one is required, but accepting the code unless running with +``-pedantic-errors``. + +Things get a little bit more tricky when it comes to compatibility with +real-world source code. Specifically, GCC has historically accepted a huge +superset of expressions as i-c-e's, and a lot of real world code depends on +this unfortuate accident of history (including, e.g., the glibc system +headers). GCC accepts anything its "fold" optimizer is capable of reducing to +an integer constant, which means that the definition of what it accepts changes +as its optimizer does. One example is that GCC accepts things like "``case +X-X:``" even when ``X`` is a variable, because it can fold this to 0. + +Another issue are how constants interact with the extensions we support, such +as ``__builtin_constant_p``, ``__builtin_inf``, ``__extension__`` and many +others. C99 obviously does not specify the semantics of any of these +extensions, and the definition of i-c-e does not include them. However, these +extensions are often used in real code, and we have to have a way to reason +about them. + +Finally, this is not just a problem for semantic analysis. The code generator +and other clients have to be able to fold constants (e.g., to initialize global +variables) and has to handle a superset of what C99 allows. Further, these +clients can benefit from extended information. For example, we know that +"``foo() || 1``" always evaluates to ``true``, but we can't replace the +expression with ``true`` because it has side effects. + +Implementation Approach +^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ + +After trying several different approaches, we've finally converged on a design +(Note, at the time of this writing, not all of this has been implemented, +consider this a design goal!). Our basic approach is to define a single +recursive method evaluation method (``Expr::Evaluate``), which is implemented +in ``AST/ExprConstant.cpp``. Given an expression with "scalar" type (integer, +fp, complex, or pointer) this method returns the following information: + +* Whether the expression is an integer constant expression, a general constant + that was folded but has no side effects, a general constant that was folded + but that does have side effects, or an uncomputable/unfoldable value. +* If the expression was computable in any way, this method returns the + ``APValue`` for the result of the expression. +* If the expression is not evaluatable at all, this method returns information + on one of the problems with the expression. This includes a + ``SourceLocation`` for where the problem is, and a diagnostic ID that explains + the problem. The diagnostic should have ``ERROR`` type. +* If the expression is not an integer constant expression, this method returns + information on one of the problems with the expression. This includes a + ``SourceLocation`` for where the problem is, and a diagnostic ID that + explains the problem. The diagnostic should have ``EXTENSION`` type. + +This information gives various clients the flexibility that they want, and we +will eventually have some helper methods for various extensions. For example, +``Sema`` should have a ``Sema::VerifyIntegerConstantExpression`` method, which +calls ``Evaluate`` on the expression. If the expression is not foldable, the +error is emitted, and it would return ``true``. If the expression is not an +i-c-e, the ``EXTENSION`` diagnostic is emitted. Finally it would return +``false`` to indicate that the AST is OK. + +Other clients can use the information in other ways, for example, codegen can +just use expressions that are foldable in any way. + +Extensions +^^^^^^^^^^ + +This section describes how some of the various extensions Clang supports +interacts with constant evaluation: + +* ``__extension__``: The expression form of this extension causes any + evaluatable subexpression to be accepted as an integer constant expression. +* ``__builtin_constant_p``: This returns true (as an integer constant + expression) if the operand evaluates to either a numeric value (that is, not + a pointer cast to integral type) of integral, enumeration, floating or + complex type, or if it evaluates to the address of the first character of a + string literal (possibly cast to some other type). As a special case, if + ``__builtin_constant_p`` is the (potentially parenthesized) condition of a + conditional operator expression ("``?:``"), only the true side of the + conditional operator is considered, and it is evaluated with full constant + folding. +* ``__builtin_choose_expr``: The condition is required to be an integer + constant expression, but we accept any constant as an "extension of an + extension". This only evaluates one operand depending on which way the + condition evaluates. +* ``__builtin_classify_type``: This always returns an integer constant + expression. +* ``__builtin_inf, nan, ...``: These are treated just like a floating-point + literal. +* ``__builtin_abs, copysign, ...``: These are constant folded as general + constant expressions. +* ``__builtin_strlen`` and ``strlen``: These are constant folded as integer + constant expressions if the argument is a string literal. + +How to change Clang +=================== + +How to add an attribute +----------------------- + +To add an attribute, you'll have to add it to the list of attributes, add it to +the parsing phase, and look for it in the AST scan. +`r124217 <http://llvm.org/viewvc/llvm-project?view=rev&revision=124217>`_ +has a good example of adding a warning attribute. + +(Beware that this hasn't been reviewed/fixed by the people who designed the +attributes system yet.) + + +``include/clang/Basic/Attr.td`` +^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ + +First, add your attribute to the `include/clang/Basic/Attr.td file +<http://llvm.org/viewvc/llvm-project/cfe/trunk/include/clang/Basic/Attr.td?view=markup>`_. + +Each attribute gets a ``def`` inheriting from ``Attr`` or one of its +subclasses. ``InheritableAttr`` means that the attribute also applies to +subsequent declarations of the same name. + +``Spellings`` lists the strings that can appear in ``__attribute__((here))`` or +``[[here]]``. All such strings will be synonymous. If you want to allow the +``[[]]`` C++11 syntax, you have to define a list of ``Namespaces``, which will +let users write ``[[namespace::spelling]]``. Using the empty string for a +namespace will allow users to write just the spelling with no "``::``". +Attributes which g++-4.8 accepts should also have a +``CXX11<"gnu", "spelling">`` spelling. + +``Subjects`` restricts what kinds of AST node to which this attribute can +appertain (roughly, attach). + +``Args`` names the arguments the attribute takes, in order. If ``Args`` is +``[StringArgument<"Arg1">, IntArgument<"Arg2">]`` then +``__attribute__((myattribute("Hello", 3)))`` will be a valid use. + +Boilerplate +^^^^^^^^^^^ + +Write a new ``HandleYourAttr()`` function in `lib/Sema/SemaDeclAttr.cpp +<http://llvm.org/viewvc/llvm-project/cfe/trunk/lib/Sema/SemaDeclAttr.cpp?view=markup>`_, +and add a case to the switch in ``ProcessNonInheritableDeclAttr()`` or +``ProcessInheritableDeclAttr()`` forwarding to it. + +If your attribute causes extra warnings to fire, define a ``DiagGroup`` in +`include/clang/Basic/DiagnosticGroups.td +<http://llvm.org/viewvc/llvm-project/cfe/trunk/include/clang/Basic/DiagnosticGroups.td?view=markup>`_ +named after the attribute's ``Spelling`` with "_"s replaced by "-"s. If you're +only defining one diagnostic, you can skip ``DiagnosticGroups.td`` and use +``InGroup<DiagGroup<"your-attribute">>`` directly in `DiagnosticSemaKinds.td +<http://llvm.org/viewvc/llvm-project/cfe/trunk/include/clang/Basic/DiagnosticSemaKinds.td?view=markup>`_ + +The meat of your attribute +^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ + +Find an appropriate place in Clang to do whatever your attribute needs to do. +Check for the attribute's presence using ``Decl::getAttr<YourAttr>()``. + +Update the :doc:`LanguageExtensions` document to describe your new attribute. + +How to add an expression or statement +------------------------------------- + +Expressions and statements are one of the most fundamental constructs within a +compiler, because they interact with many different parts of the AST, semantic +analysis, and IR generation. Therefore, adding a new expression or statement +kind into Clang requires some care. The following list details the various +places in Clang where an expression or statement needs to be introduced, along +with patterns to follow to ensure that the new expression or statement works +well across all of the C languages. We focus on expressions, but statements +are similar. + +#. Introduce parsing actions into the parser. Recursive-descent parsing is + mostly self-explanatory, but there are a few things that are worth keeping + in mind: + + * Keep as much source location information as possible! You'll want it later + to produce great diagnostics and support Clang's various features that map + between source code and the AST. + * Write tests for all of the "bad" parsing cases, to make sure your recovery + is good. If you have matched delimiters (e.g., parentheses, square + brackets, etc.), use ``Parser::BalancedDelimiterTracker`` to give nice + diagnostics when things go wrong. + +#. Introduce semantic analysis actions into ``Sema``. Semantic analysis should + always involve two functions: an ``ActOnXXX`` function that will be called + directly from the parser, and a ``BuildXXX`` function that performs the + actual semantic analysis and will (eventually!) build the AST node. It's + fairly common for the ``ActOnCXX`` function to do very little (often just + some minor translation from the parser's representation to ``Sema``'s + representation of the same thing), but the separation is still important: + C++ template instantiation, for example, should always call the ``BuildXXX`` + variant. Several notes on semantic analysis before we get into construction + of the AST: + + * Your expression probably involves some types and some subexpressions. + Make sure to fully check that those types, and the types of those + subexpressions, meet your expectations. Add implicit conversions where + necessary to make sure that all of the types line up exactly the way you + want them. Write extensive tests to check that you're getting good + diagnostics for mistakes and that you can use various forms of + subexpressions with your expression. + * When type-checking a type or subexpression, make sure to first check + whether the type is "dependent" (``Type::isDependentType()``) or whether a + subexpression is type-dependent (``Expr::isTypeDependent()``). If any of + these return ``true``, then you're inside a template and you can't do much + type-checking now. That's normal, and your AST node (when you get there) + will have to deal with this case. At this point, you can write tests that + use your expression within templates, but don't try to instantiate the + templates. + * For each subexpression, be sure to call ``Sema::CheckPlaceholderExpr()`` + to deal with "weird" expressions that don't behave well as subexpressions. + Then, determine whether you need to perform lvalue-to-rvalue conversions + (``Sema::DefaultLvalueConversions``) or the usual unary conversions + (``Sema::UsualUnaryConversions``), for places where the subexpression is + producing a value you intend to use. + * Your ``BuildXXX`` function will probably just return ``ExprError()`` at + this point, since you don't have an AST. That's perfectly fine, and + shouldn't impact your testing. + +#. Introduce an AST node for your new expression. This starts with declaring + the node in ``include/Basic/StmtNodes.td`` and creating a new class for your + expression in the appropriate ``include/AST/Expr*.h`` header. It's best to + look at the class for a similar expression to get ideas, and there are some + specific things to watch for: + + * If you need to allocate memory, use the ``ASTContext`` allocator to + allocate memory. Never use raw ``malloc`` or ``new``, and never hold any + resources in an AST node, because the destructor of an AST node is never + called. + * Make sure that ``getSourceRange()`` covers the exact source range of your + expression. This is needed for diagnostics and for IDE support. + * Make sure that ``children()`` visits all of the subexpressions. This is + important for a number of features (e.g., IDE support, C++ variadic + templates). If you have sub-types, you'll also need to visit those + sub-types in the ``RecursiveASTVisitor``. + * Add printing support (``StmtPrinter.cpp``) and dumping support + (``StmtDumper.cpp``) for your expression. + * Add profiling support (``StmtProfile.cpp``) for your AST node, noting the + distinguishing (non-source location) characteristics of an instance of + your expression. Omitting this step will lead to hard-to-diagnose + failures regarding matching of template declarations. + +#. Teach semantic analysis to build your AST node. At this point, you can wire + up your ``Sema::BuildXXX`` function to actually create your AST. A few + things to check at this point: + + * If your expression can construct a new C++ class or return a new + Objective-C object, be sure to update and then call + ``Sema::MaybeBindToTemporary`` for your just-created AST node to be sure + that the object gets properly destructed. An easy way to test this is to + return a C++ class with a private destructor: semantic analysis should + flag an error here with the attempt to call the destructor. + * Inspect the generated AST by printing it using ``clang -cc1 -ast-print``, + to make sure you're capturing all of the important information about how + the AST was written. + * Inspect the generated AST under ``clang -cc1 -ast-dump`` to verify that + all of the types in the generated AST line up the way you want them. + Remember that clients of the AST should never have to "think" to + understand what's going on. For example, all implicit conversions should + show up explicitly in the AST. + * Write tests that use your expression as a subexpression of other, + well-known expressions. Can you call a function using your expression as + an argument? Can you use the ternary operator? + +#. Teach code generation to create IR to your AST node. This step is the first + (and only) that requires knowledge of LLVM IR. There are several things to + keep in mind: + + * Code generation is separated into scalar/aggregate/complex and + lvalue/rvalue paths, depending on what kind of result your expression + produces. On occasion, this requires some careful factoring of code to + avoid duplication. + * ``CodeGenFunction`` contains functions ``ConvertType`` and + ``ConvertTypeForMem`` that convert Clang's types (``clang::Type*`` or + ``clang::QualType``) to LLVM types. Use the former for values, and the + later for memory locations: test with the C++ "``bool``" type to check + this. If you find that you are having to use LLVM bitcasts to make the + subexpressions of your expression have the type that your expression + expects, STOP! Go fix semantic analysis and the AST so that you don't + need these bitcasts. + * The ``CodeGenFunction`` class has a number of helper functions to make + certain operations easy, such as generating code to produce an lvalue or + an rvalue, or to initialize a memory location with a given value. Prefer + to use these functions rather than directly writing loads and stores, + because these functions take care of some of the tricky details for you + (e.g., for exceptions). + * If your expression requires some special behavior in the event of an + exception, look at the ``push*Cleanup`` functions in ``CodeGenFunction`` + to introduce a cleanup. You shouldn't have to deal with + exception-handling directly. + * Testing is extremely important in IR generation. Use ``clang -cc1 + -emit-llvm`` and `FileCheck + <http://llvm.org/docs/CommandGuide/FileCheck.html>`_ to verify that you're + generating the right IR. + +#. Teach template instantiation how to cope with your AST node, which requires + some fairly simple code: + + * Make sure that your expression's constructor properly computes the flags + for type dependence (i.e., the type your expression produces can change + from one instantiation to the next), value dependence (i.e., the constant + value your expression produces can change from one instantiation to the + next), instantiation dependence (i.e., a template parameter occurs + anywhere in your expression), and whether your expression contains a + parameter pack (for variadic templates). Often, computing these flags + just means combining the results from the various types and + subexpressions. + * Add ``TransformXXX`` and ``RebuildXXX`` functions to the ``TreeTransform`` + class template in ``Sema``. ``TransformXXX`` should (recursively) + transform all of the subexpressions and types within your expression, + using ``getDerived().TransformYYY``. If all of the subexpressions and + types transform without error, it will then call the ``RebuildXXX`` + function, which will in turn call ``getSema().BuildXXX`` to perform + semantic analysis and build your expression. + * To test template instantiation, take those tests you wrote to make sure + that you were type checking with type-dependent expressions and dependent + types (from step #2) and instantiate those templates with various types, + some of which type-check and some that don't, and test the error messages + in each case. + +#. There are some "extras" that make other features work better. It's worth + handling these extras to give your expression complete integration into + Clang: + + * Add code completion support for your expression in + ``SemaCodeComplete.cpp``. + * If your expression has types in it, or has any "interesting" features + other than subexpressions, extend libclang's ``CursorVisitor`` to provide + proper visitation for your expression, enabling various IDE features such + as syntax highlighting, cross-referencing, and so on. The + ``c-index-test`` helper program can be used to test these features. +