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dir: /doc/dis.ms/
.so /sys/lib/tmac/tmac.uni
.TL
Dis Virtual Machine Specification
.AU
.I "Lucent Technologies Inc"
.I "30 September 1999"
.I "Extensively revised by Vita Nuova Limited"
.I "5 June 2000, 9 January 2003"
.NH 1
Introduction
.LP
The Dis virtual machine provides the execution environment for programs running under the Inferno operating system. The virtual machine models a CISC-like, three operand, memory-to-memory architecture. Code can either be interpreted by a C library or compiled on-the-fly into machine code for the target architecture.
.LP
This paper defines the virtual machine informally.
A separate paper by Winterbottom and Pike[2] discusses its design.
The Dis object file format is also defined here.
Literals and keywords are in
.CW typewriter
typeface.
.NH 1
Addressing Modes
.SH
Operand Size
.LP
Operand sizes are defined as follows: a byte is 8 bits, a word or pointer is 32 bits, a float is 64 bits, a big integer is 64 bits. The operand size of each instruction is encoded explicitly by the operand code. The operand size and type are specified by the last character of the instruction mnemonic:
.IP
.TS
lf(CW) lfR .
W word, 32-bit two's complement
B byte, 8-bit unsigned
F float, 64-bit IEEE format
L big, 64-bit two's complement
P pointer
C Unicode string encoded in UTF-8
M memory
MP memory containing pointers
.TE
.LP
Two more operand types are defined to provide `short'
types for use by languages other than Limbo:
signed 16-bit integers, called `short word'
here, and 32-bit IEEE format floating-point numbers, called `short float' or `short real' here.
Support for them is limited to conversion to and from words or floats respectively;
the instructions are marked below with a dagger (†).
.SH
Memory Organization
.LP
Memory for a thread is divided into several separate regions. The code segment stores either a decoded virtual machine instruction stream suitable for execution by the interpreter or flash compiled native machine code for the host CPU. Neither type of code segment is addressable from the instruction set. At the object code level, PC values are offsets, counted in instructions, from the beginning of the code space.
.LP
Data memory is a linear array of bytes, addressed using 32-bit pointers. Words are stored in the native representation of the host CPU. Data types larger than a byte must be stored at addresses aligned to
a multiple of the data size. A thread executing a module has access to two regions of addressable data memory. A module pointer
.CW "mp" \& (
register) defines a region of global storage for a particular module, a frame pointer
.CW "fp" \& (
register) defines the current activation record or frame for the thread. Frames are allocated dynamically from a stack by function call and return instructions. The stack is extended automatically from the heap.
.LP
The
.CW mp
and
.CW fp
registers cannot be addressed directly, and therefore, can be modified only by call and return instructions.
.SH
Effective Addresses
.LP
Each instruction can potentially address three operands. The source and destination operands are general, but the middle operand can use any address mode except double indirect. If the middle operand of a three address instruction is omitted, it is assumed to be the same as the destination operand.
.LP
The general operands generate an effective address from three basic modes: immediate, indirect and double indirect. The assembler syntax for each mode is:
.IP
.TS
lf(CW) lfR .
10(fp) 30-bit signed indirect from fp
20(mp) 30-bit signed indirect from mp
$0x123 30-bit signed immediate value
10(20(fp)) two 16-bit unsigned offsets double indirect from fp
10(20(mp)) two 16-bit unsigned offsets double indirect from mp
.TE
.SH
Garbage Collection
.LP
The Dis machine performs both reference counted and real time mark and sweep garbage collection. This hyrbrid approach allows code to be generated in several styles: pure reference counted, mark and sweep, or a hybrid of the two approaches. Compiler writers have the freedom to choose how specific types are handled by the machine to optimize code for performance or language implementation. Instruction selection determines which algorithm will be applied to specific types.
.LP
When using reference counting, pointers are a special operand type and should only be manipulated using the pointer instructions in order to ensure the correct functioning of the garbage collector. Every memory location that stores a pointer must be known to the interpreter so that it can be initialized and deallocated correctly. The information is transmitted in the form of type descriptors in the object module. Each type descriptor contains a bit vector for a particular type where each bit corresponds to a word in memory. Type descriptors are generated automatically by the Limbo compiler. The assembler syntax for a type descriptor is:
.P1
desc $10, 132, "001F"
.P2
The first parameter is the descriptor number, the second is the size in bytes, and the third a pointer map. The map contains a list of hex bytes where each byte maps eight 32 bit words. The most significant bit represents the lowest memory address.
A one bit indicates a pointer in memory. The map need not have an entry for every byte and unspecified bytes are assumed zero.
.LP
Throughout this description, the symbolic constant
.CW H
refers to a nil pointer.
.NH 1
Instruction Set
.SH
add\fIx\fP \- Add
.P1
Syntax: addb src1, src2, dst
addf src1, src2, dst
addw src1, src2, dst
addl src1, src2, dst
Function: dst = src1 + src2
.P2
.LP
The
.CW "add"
instructions compute the sum of the operands addressed by
.CW "src1"
and
.CW "src2"
and stores the result in the
.CW " dst"
operand. For
.CW "addb"
the result is truncated to eight bits.
.SH
addc \- Add strings
.P1
Syntax: addc src1, src2, dst
Function: dst = src1 + src2
.P2
.LP
The
.CW "addc"
instruction concatenates the two UTF strings pointed to by
.CW " src1"
and
.CW "src2" ;
the result is placed in the pointer addressed by
.CW "dst" .
If both pointers are
.CW "H"
the result will be a zero length string rather than
.CW "H" .
.SH
alt \- Alternate between communications
.P1
Syntax: alt src, dst
.P2
The
.CW "alt"
instruction selects between a set of channels ready to communicate. The
.CW src
argument is the address of a structure of the following form:
.P1
struct Alt {
int nsend; /* Number of senders */
int nrecv; /* Number of receivers */
struct {
Channel* c; /* Channel */
void* val; /* Address of lval/rval */
} entry[];
};
.P2
The vector is divided into two sections; the first lists the channels ready to send values, the second lists channels either ready to receive or an array of channels each of which may be ready to receive. The counts of the sender and receiver channels are stored as the first and second words addressed by
.CW src .
An
.CW "alt"
instruction proceeds by testing each channel for readiness to communicate. A ready channel is added to a list. If the list is empty after each channel has been considered, the thread blocks at the
.CW "alt"
instruction waiting for a channel to become ready; otherwise, a channel is picked at random from the ready set.
.LP
The
.CW "alt"
instruction then uses the selected channel to perform the communication using the
.CW "val"
address as either a source for send or a destination for receive. The numeric index of the selected vector element is placed in
.CW "dst" .
.SH
and\fIx\fP \- Logical AND
.P1
Syntax: andb src1, src2, dst
andw src1, src2, dst
andl src1, src2, dst
Function: dst = src1 & src2
.P2
The instructions compute the bitwise AND of the two operands addressed by
.CW "src1"
and
.CW "src2"
and stores the result in the
.CW "dst"
operand.
.SH
beq\fIx\fP \- Branch equal
.P1
Syntax: beqb src1, src2, dst
beqc src1, src2, dst
beqf src1, src2, dst
beqw src1, src2, dst
beql src1, src2, dst
Function: if src1 == src2 then pc = dst
.P2
If the
.CW "src1"
operand is equal to the
.CW "src2"
operand, then control is transferred to the program counter specified by the
.CW "dst"
operand.
.SH
bge\fIx\fP \- Branch greater or equal
.P1
Syntax: bgeb src1, src2, dst
bgec src1, src2, dst
bgef src1, src2, dst
bgew src1, src2, dst
bgel src1, src2, dst
Function: if src1 >= src2 then pc = dst
.P2
If the
.CW "src1"
operand is greater than or equal to the
.CW "src2"
operand, then control is transferred to program counter specified by the
.CW "dst"
operand. This instruction performs a signed comparison.
.SH
bgt\fIx\fP \- Branch greater
.P1
Syntax: bgtb src1, src2, dst
bgtc src1, src2, dst
bgtf src1, src2, dst
bgtw src1, src2, dst
bgtl src1, src2, dst
Function: if src1 > src2 then pc = dst
.P2
If the
.CW "src1"
operand is greater than the
.CW "src2"
operand, then control is transferred to the program counter specified by the
.CW "dst"
operand. This instruction performs a signed comparison.
.SH
ble\fIx\fP \- Branch less than or equal
.P1
Syntax: bleb src1, src2, dst
blec src1, src2, dst
blef src1, src2, dst
blew src1, src2, dst
blel src1, src2, dst
Function: if src1 <= src2 then pc = dst
.P2
If the
.CW "src1"
operand is less than or equal to the
.CW "src2"
operand, then control is transferred to the program counter specified by the
.CW "dst"
operand. This instruction performs a signed comparison.
.SH
blt\fIx\fP \- Branch less than
.P1
Syntax: bltb src1, src2, dst
bltc src1, src2, dst
bltf src1, src2, dst
bltw src1, src2, dst
bltl src1, src2, dst
Function: if src1 < src2 then pc = dst
.P2
If the
.CW "src1"
operand is less than the
.CW "src2"
operand, then control is transferred to the program counter specified by the
.CW "dst"
operand.
.SH
bne\fIx\fP \- Branch not equal
.P1
Syntax: bneb src1, src2, dst
bnec src1, src2, dst
bnef src1, src2, dst
bnew src1, src2, dst
bnel src1, src2, dst
Function: if src1 != src2 then pc = dst
.P2
If the
.CW "src1"
operand is not equal to the
.CW "src2"
operand, then control is transferred to the program counter specified by the
.CW "dst"
operand.
.SH
call \- Call local function
.P1
Syntax: call src, dst
Function: link(src) = pc
frame(src) = fp
mod(src) = 0
fp = src
pc = dst
.P2
The
.CW "call"
instruction performs a function call to a routine in the same module. The
.CW "src"
argument specifies a frame created by
.CW "new" .
The current value of
.CW "pc"
is stored in link(src), the current value of
.CW "fp"
is stored in frame(src) and the module link register is set to 0. The value of
.CW "fp"
is then set to
.CW "src"
and control is transferred to the program counter specified by
.CW dst .
.SH
case \- Case compare integer and branch
.P1
Syntax: case src, dst
Function: pc = 0..i: dst[i].pc where
dst[i].lo >= src && dst[i].hi < src
.P2
The
.CW "case"
instruction jumps to a new location specified by a range of values. The
.CW "dst"
operand points to a table in memory containing a table of
.CW "i"
values. Each value is three words long: the first word specifies a low value, the second word specifies a high value, and the third word specifies a program counter. The first word of the table gives the number of entries. The
.CW "case"
instruction searches the table for the first matching value where the
.CW "src"
operand is greater than or equal to the low word and less than the high word. Control is transferred to the program counter stored in the first word of the matching entry.
.SH
casec \- Case compare string and branch
.P1
Syntax: casec src, dst
Function: pc = 0..i: dst[i].pc where
dst[i].lo >= src && dst[i].hi < src
.P2
The
.CW "casec"
instruction jumps to a new location specified by a range of string constants. The table is the same as described for the
.CW case
instruction.
.SH
cons\fIx\fP \- Allocate new list element
.P1
Syntax: consb src, dst
consc src, dst
consf src, dst
consl src, dst
consm src, dst
consmp src, dst
consp src, dst
consw src, dst
Function: p = new(src, dst)
dst = p
.P2
The
.CW "cons"
instructions add a new element to the head of a list. A new list element is composed from the
.CW "src"
operand and a pointer to the head of an extant list specified by
.CW "dst" .
The resulting element is stored back into
.CW "dst" .
.SH
cvtac \- Convert byte array to string
.P1
Syntax: cvtac src, dst
Function: dst = string(src)
.P2
The
.CW "src"
operand must be an array of bytes, which is converted into a character string and stored in
.CW "dst" .
The new string is a copy of the bytes in
.CW "src" .
.SH
cvtbw \- Convert byte to word
.P1
Syntax: cvtbw src, dst
Function: dst = src & 0xff
.P2
A byte is fetched from the
.CW "src"
operand extended to the size of a word and then stored into
.CW "dst" .
.SH
cvtca \- Convert string to byte array
.P1
Syntax: cvtca src, dst
Function: dst = array(src)
.P2
The
.CW "src"
operand must be a string which is converted into an array of bytes and stored in
.CW "dst" .
The new array is a copy of the characters in src.
.SH
cvtcf \- Convert string to real
.P1
Syntax: cvtcf src, dst
Function: dst = (float)src
.P2
The string addressed by the
.CW "src"
operand is converted to a floating point value and stored in the
.CW "dst"
operand. Initial white space is ignored; conversion ceases at the first character in the string that is not part of the representation of the floating point value.
.SH
cvtcl \- Convert string to big
.P1
Syntax: cvtcl src, dst
Function: dst = (big)src
.P2
The string addressed by the
.CW "src"
operand is converted to a big integer and stored in the
.CW "dst"
operand. Initial white space is ignored; conversion ceases at the first non-digit in the string.
.SH
cvtcw \- Convert string to word
.P1
Syntax: cvtcw src, dst
Function: dst = (int)src
.P2
The string addressed by the
.CW "src"
operand is converted to a word and stored in the
.CW "dst"
operand. Initial white space is ignored; after a possible sign, conversion ceases at the first non-digit in the string.
.SH
cvtfc \- Convert real to string
.P1
Syntax: cvtfc src, dst
Function: dst = string(src)
.P2
The floating point value addressed by the
.CW "src"
operand is converted to a string and stored in the
.CW "dst"
operand. The string is a floating point representation of the value.
.SH
cvtfw \- Convert real to word
.P1
Syntax: cvtfw src, dst
Function: dst = (int)src
.P2
The floating point value addressed by
.CW "src"
is converted into a word and stored into
.CW "dst" .
The floating point value is rounded to the nearest integer.
.SH
cvtfl \- Convert real to big
.P1
Syntax: cvtfl src, dst
Function: dst = (big)src
.P2
The floating point value addressed by
.CW "src"
is converted into a big integer and stored into
.CW "dst" .
The floating point value is rounded to the nearest integer.
.SH
cvtfr \- Convert real to short real†
.P1
Syntax: cvtfr src, dst
Function: dst = (short float)src
.P2
The floating point value addressed by
.CW "src"
is converted to a short (32-bit) floating point value and stored into
.CW "dst" .
The floating point value is rounded to the nearest integer.
.SH
cvtlc \- Convert big to string
.P1
Syntax: cvtlc src, dst
Function: dst = string(src)
.P2
The big integer addressed by the
.CW "src"
operand is converted to a string and stored in the
.CW "dst"
operand. The string is the decimal representation of the big integer.
.SH
cvtlw \- Convert big to word
.P1
Syntax: cvtlw src, dst
Function: dst = (int)src
.P2
The big integer addressed by the
.CW "src"
operand is converted to a word and stored in the
.CW "dst"
operand.
.SH
cvtsw \- Convert short word to word†
.P1
Syntax: cvtsw src, dst
Function: dst = (int)src
.P2
The short word addressed by the
.CW "src"
operand is converted to a word and stored in the
.CW "dst"
operand.
.SH
cvtwb \- Convert word to byte
.P1
Syntax: cvtwb src, dst
Function: dst = (byte)src;
.P2
The
.CW "src"
operand is converted to a byte and stored in the
.CW "dst"
operand.
.SH
cvtwc \- Convert word to string
.P1
Syntax: cvtwc src, dst
Function: dst = string(src)
.P2
The word addressed by the
.CW "src"
operand is converted to a string and stored in the
.CW "dst"
operand. The string is the decimal representation of the word.
.SH
cvtwl \- Convert word to big
.P1
Syntax: cvtwl src, dst
Function: dst = (big)src;
.P2
The word addressed by the
.CW "src"
operand is converted to a big integer and stored in the
.CW "dst"
operand.
.SH
cvtwf \- Convert word to real
.P1
Syntax: cvtwf src, dst
Function: dst = (float)src;
.P2
The word addressed by the
.CW "src"
operand is converted to a floating point value and stored in the
.CW "dst"
operand.
.SH
cvtws \- Convert word to short word†
.P1
Syntax: cvtws src, dst
Function: dst = (short)src;
.P2
The word addressed by the
.CW "src"
operand is converted to a short word and stored in the
.CW "dst"
operand.
.SH
cvtlf \- Convert big to real
.P1
Syntax: cvtlf src, dst
Function: dst = (float)src;
.P2
The big integer addressed by the
.CW "src"
operand is converted to a floating point value and stored in the
.CW "dst"
operand.
.SH
cvtrf \- Convert short real to real†
.P1
Syntax: cvtrf src, dst
Function: dst = (float)src;
.P2
The short (32 bit) floating point value addressed by the
.CW "src"
operand is converted to a 64-bit floating point value and stored in the
.CW "dst"
operand.
.SH
div\fIx\fP \- Divide
.P1
Syntax: divb src1, src2, dst
divf src1, src2, dst
divw src1, src2, dst
divl src1, src2, dst
Function: dst = src2/src1
.P2
The
.CW "src2"
operand is divided by the
.CW "src1"
operand and the quotient is stored in the
.CW "dst"
operand. Division by zero causes the thread to terminate.
.SH
exit \- Terminate thread
.P1
Syntax: exit
Function: exit()
.P2
The executing thread terminates. All resources held in the stack are deallocated.
.SH
frame \- Allocate frame for local call
.P1
Syntax: frame src1, src2
Function: src2 = fp + src1->size
initmem(src2, src1);
.P2
The frame instruction creates a new stack frame
for a call to a function in the same module. The frame is initialized according to the type descriptor supplied as the
.CW src1
operand. A pointer to the newly created frame is stored in the
.CW src2
operand.
.SH
goto \- Computed goto
.P1
Syntax: goto src, dst
Function: pc = dst[src]
.P2
The
.CW "goto"
instruction performs a computed goto. The
.CW "src"
operand must be an integer index into a table of PC values specified by the
.CW "dst"
operand.
.SH
head\fIx\fP \- Head of list
.P1
Syntax: headb src, dst
headf src, dst
headm src, dst
headmp src, dst
headp src, dst
headw src, dst
headl src, dst
Function: dst = hd src
.P2
The
.CW "head"
instructions make a copy of the first data item stored in a list. The
.CW "src"
operand must be a list of the correct type. The first item is copied into the
.CW "dst"
operand. The list is not modified.
.SH
indc \- Index by character
.P1
Syntax: indc src1, src2, dst
Function: dst = src1[src2]
.P2
The
.CW "indc"
instruction indexes Unicode strings. The
.CW "src1"
instruction must be a string. The
.CW "src2"
operand must be an integer specifying the origin-0 index in
.CW src1
of the (Unicode) character to store in the
.CW "dst"
operand.
.SH
indx \- Array index
.P1
Syntax: indx src1, dst, src2
Function: dst = &src1[src2]
.P2
The
.CW "indx"
instruction computes the effective address of an array element. The
.CW "src1"
operand must be an array created by the
.CW "newa"
instruction. The
.CW "src2"
operand must be an integer. The effective address of the
.CW "src2"
element of the array is stored in the
.CW "dst"
operand.
.SH
ind\fIx\fP \- Index by type
.P1
Syntax: indb src1, dst, src2
indw src1, dst, src2
indf src1, dst, src2
indl src1, dst, src2
Function: dst = &src1[src2]
.P2
The
.CW "indb" ,
.CW "indw" ,
.CW "indf"
and
.CW "indl"
instructions index arrays of the basic types. The
.CW "src1"
operand must be an array created by the
.CW "newa"
instruction. The
.CW "src2"
operand must be a non-negative integer index less than the array size. The effective address of the element at the index is stored in the
.CW "dst"
operand.
.SH
insc \- Insert character into string
.P1
Syntax: insc src1, src2, dst
Function: src1[src2] = dst
.P2
The
.CW "insc"
instruction inserts a character into an existing string.
The index in
.CW "src2"
must be a non-negative integer less than the length of the string plus one.
(The character will be appended to the string if the index is equal to
the string's length.)
The
.CW "src1"
operand must be a string (or nil).
The character to insert must be a valid 21-bit unicode value represented as a word.
.SH
jmp \- Branch always
.P1
Syntax: jmp dst
Function: pc = dst
.P2
Control is transferred to the location specified by the
.CW "dst"
operand.
.SH
lea \- Load effective address
.P1
Syntax: lea src, dst
Function: dst = &src
.P2
The
.CW "lea"
instruction computes the effective address of the
.CW "src"
operand and stores it in the
.CW "dst"
operand.
.SH
lena \- Length of array
.P1
Syntax: lena src, dst
Function: dst = nelem(src)
.P2
The
.CW "lena"
instruction computes the length of the array specified by the
.CW "src"
operand and stores it in the
.CW "dst"
operand.
.SH
lenc \- Length of string
.P1
Syntax: lenc src, dst
Function: dst = utflen(src)
.P2
The
.CW "lenc"
instruction computes the number of characters in the UTF string addressed by the
.CW "src"
operand and stores it in the
.CW "dst"
operand.
.SH
lenl \- Length of list
.P1
Syntax: lenl src, dst
Function: dst = 0;
for(l = src; l; l = tl l)
dst++;
.P2
The
.CW "lenl"
instruction computes the number of elements in the list addressed by the
.CW "src"
operand and stores the result in the
.CW "dst"
operand.
.SH
load \- Load module
.P1
Syntax: load src1, src2, dst
Function: dst = load src2 src1
.P2
The
.CW "load"
instruction loads a new module into the heap. The module might optionally be compiled into machine code depending on the module header. The
.CW "src1"
operand is a pathname to the file containing the object code for the module. The
.CW "src2"
operand specifies the address
of a linkage descriptor for the module (see below).
A reference to the newly loaded module is stored in the
.CW "dst"
operand.
If the module could not be loaded for any reason, then
.CW "dst"
will be set to
.CW H .
.LP
The linkage descriptor referenced by the
.CW src2
operand is a table in data space that lists the functions
imported by the current module from the module to be loaded.
It has the following layout:
.P1
int nentries;
struct { /* word aligned */
int sig;
byte name[]; /* UTF encoded name, 0-terminated */
} entry[];
.P2
The
.CW nentries
value gives the number of entries in the table and can be zero.
It is followed by that many linkage entries.
Each entry is aligned on a word boundary; there can therefore
be padding before each structure.
The entry names the imported function in the UTF-encoded string in
.CW name ,
which is terminated by a byte containing zero.
The MD5 hash of the function's type signature is given in the value
.CW sig .
For each entry,
.CW load
instruction checks that a function with the same name in the newly loaded
exists, with the same signature.
Otherwise the load will fail and
.CW dst
will be set to
.CW H .
.LP
The entries in the linkage descriptor form an array of linkage records
(internal to the virtual machine) associated with the
module pointer returned in
.CW dst ,
that is indexed by operators
.CW mframe ,
.CW mcall
and
.CW mspawn
to refer to functions in that module.
The linkage scheme provides a level of indirection that allows
a module to be loaded using any module declaration that is a valid
subset of the implementation module's declaration,
and allows entry points to be added to modules without invalidating
calling modules.
.SH
lsr\fIx\fP \- Logical shift right
.P1
Syntax: lsrw src1, src2, dst
lsrl src1, src2, dst
Function: dst = (unsigned)src2 >> src1
.P2
The
.CW "lsr"
instructions shift the
.CW "src2"
operand right by the number of bits specified by the
.CW "src1"
operand, replacing the vacated bits by 0, and store the result in the
.CW "dst"
operand. Shift counts less than 0 or greater than the number of bits in the object have undefined results.
This instruction is included for support of languages other than Limbo,
and is not used by the Limbo compiler.
.SH
mcall \- Inter-module call
.P1
Syntax: mcall src1, src2, src3
Function: link(src1) = pc
frame(src1) = fp
mod(src1) = current_moduleptr
current_moduleptr = src3->moduleptr
fp = src1
pc = src3->links[src2]->pc
.P2
The
.CW "mcall"
instruction calls a function in another module. The first argument specifies a new frame for the called procedure and must have been built using the
.CW "mframe"
instruction.
The
.CW "src3"
operand is a module reference generated by a successful
.CW "load"
instruction.
The
.CW "src2"
operand specifies the index for the called
function in the array of linkage records associated with that module reference
(see the
.CW load
instruction).
.SH
mframe \- Allocate inter-module frame
.P1
Syntax: mframe src1, src2, dst
Function: dst = fp + src1->links[src2]->t->size
initmem(dst, src1->links[src2])
.P2
The
.CW mframe
instruction allocates a new frame for a procedure call into another module. The
.CW src1
operand specifies the location of a module pointer created as the result of a successful load instruction. The
.CW src2
operand specifies the index for the called function in
the array of linkage records associated
with that module pointer (see the
.CW load
instruction).
A pointer to the initialized frame is stored in
.CW dst .
The
.CW src2
operand specifies the linkage number of the function to be called in the module specified by
.CW src1 .
.SH
mnewz \- Allocate object given type from another module
.P1
Syntax: mnewz src1, src2, dst
Function: dst = malloc(src1->types[src2]->size)
initmem(dst, src1->types[src2]->map)
.P2
The
.CW mnewz
instruction allocates and initializes storage to a new
area of memory.
The
.CW src1
operand specifies the location of a module pointer created as the result of a successful load instruction.
The size of the new memory area and the location of
pointers within it are specified by the
.CW src2
operand, which gives a
type descriptor number within that module.
Space not occupied by pointers is initialized to zero.
A pointer to the initialized object is stored in
.CW dst .
This instruction is not used by Limbo; it was added to implement other languages.
.SH
mod\fIx\fP \- Modulus
.P1
Syntax: modb src1, src2, dst
modw src1, src2, dst
modl src1, src2, dst
Function: dst = src2 % src1
.P2
The modulus instructions compute the remainder of the
.CW "src2"
operand divided by the
.CW "src1"
operand and store the result in
.CW "dst" .
The operator preserves the condition that the absolute value of a%b is less than the absolute value of
.CW "b" ;
.CW "(a/b)*b + a%b"
is always equal to
.CW a .
.SH
mov\fIx\fP \- Move scalar
.P1
Syntax: movb src, dst
movw src, dst
movf src, dst
movl src, dst
Function: dst = src
.P2
The move operators perform assignment. The value specified by the
.CW "src"
operand is copied to the
.CW "dst"
operand.
.SH
movm \- Move memory
.P1
Syntax: movm src1, src2, dst
Function: memmove(&dst, &src1, src2)
.P2
The
.CW "movm"
instruction copies memory from the
.CW "src1"
operand to the
.CW "dst"
operand for
.CW "src2"
bytes. The
.CW "src1"
and
.CW "dst"
operands specify the effective address of the memory rather than a pointer to the memory.
.SH
movmp \- Move memory and update reference counts
.P1
Syntax: movmp src1, src2, dst
Function: decmem(&dst, src2)
memmove(&dst, &src1, src2->size)
incmem(&src, src2)
.P2
The
.CW "movmp"
instructions performs the same function as the
.CW "movm"
instruction but increments the reference count of pointers contained in the data type. For each pointer specified by the
.CW "src2"
type descriptor, the corresponding pointer reference count in the destination is decremented. The
.CW "movmp"
instruction then copies memory from the
.CW "src1"
operand to the
.CW "dst"
operand for the number of bytes described by the type descriptor. For each pointer specified by the type descriptor the corresponding pointer reference count in the source is incremented.
.SH
movp \- Move pointer
.P1
Syntax: movp src, dst
Function: destroy(dst)
dst = src
incref(src)
.P2
The
.CW "movp"
instruction copies a pointer adjusting the reference counts to reflect the new pointers.
.SH
movpc \- Move program counter
.P1
Syntax: movpc src, dst
Function: dst = PC(src);
.P2
The
.CW "movpc"
instruction computes the actual address of an immediate PC value. The
.CW "dst"
operand is set to the actual machine address of the instruction addressed by the
.CW "src"
operand. This instruction must be used to calculate PC values for computed branches.
.SH
mspawn \- Module spawn function
.P1
Syntax: mspawn src1, src2, src3
Function: fork();
if(child){
link(src1) = 0
frame(src1) = 0
mod(src1) = src3->moduleptr
current_moduleptr = src3->moduleptr
fp = src1
pc = src3->links[src2]->pc
}
.P2
The
.CW "mspawn"
instruction creates a new thread, which starts executing a function in another module.
The first argument specifies a new frame for the called procedure and must have been built using the
.CW "mframe"
instruction.
The
.CW "src3"
operand is a module reference generated by a successful
.CW "load"
instruction.
The
.CW "src2"
operand specifies the index for the called function in
the array of linkage records associated with that module reference (see the
.CW load
instruction above).
.SH
mul\fIx\fP - Multiply
.P1
Syntax: mulb src1, src2, dst
mulw src1, src2, dst
mulf src1, src2, dst
mull src1, src2, dst
Function: dst = src1 * src2
.P2
The
.CW src1
operand is multiplied by the
.CW src2
operand and the product is stored in the
.CW dst
operand.
.SH
nbalt \- Non blocking alternate
.P1
Syntax: nbalt src, dst
.P2
The
.CW "nbalt"
instruction has the same operands and function as
.CW "alt"
, except that if no channel is ready to communicate, the instruction does not block. When no channels are ready, control is transferred to the PC in the last element of the table addressed by
.CW dst .
.SH
negf \- Negate real
.P1
Syntax: negf src, dst
Function: dst = -src
.P2
The floating point value addressed by the
.CW "src"
operand is negated and stored in the
.CW "dst"
operand.
.SH
new, newz \- Allocate object
.P1
Syntax: new src, dst
newz src, dst
Function: dst = malloc(src->size);
initmem(dst, src->map);
.P2
The
.CW "new"
instruction allocates and initializes storage to a new area of memory. The size and locations of pointers are specified by the type descriptor number given as the
.CW "src"
operand. A pointer to the newly allocated object is placed in
.CW "dst" .
Any space not occupied by pointers has undefined value.
.LP
The
.CW "newz"
instruction additionally guarantees that all non-pointer values are set to zero.
It is not used by Limbo.
.SH
newa, newaz \- Allocate array
.P1
Syntax: newa src1, src2, dst
newaz src1, src2, dst
Function: dst = malloc(src2->size * src1);
for(i = 0; i < src1; i++)
initmem(dst + i*src2->size, src2->map);
.P2
The
.CW "newa"
instruction allocates and initializes an array. The number of elements is specified by the
.CW "src1"
operand. The type of each element is specified by the type descriptor number given as the
.CW "src2"
operand.
Space not occupied by pointers has undefined value.
The
.CW newaz
instruction additionally guarantees that all non-pointer values are set to zero;
it is not used by Limbo.
.SH
newc\fIx\fP \- Allocate channel
.P1
Syntax: newcw dst
newcb dst
newcl dst
newcf dst
newcp dst
newcm src, dst
newcmp src, dst
Function: dst = new(Channel)
.P2
The
.CW "newc"
instruction allocates a new channel of the specified type and stores a reference to the channel in
.CW "dst" .
For the
.CW "newcm"
instruction the source specifies the number of bytes of memory used by values sent on the channel (see the
.CW movm
instruction above).
For the
.CW "newcmp"
instruction the first operand specifies a type descriptor giving the length of the structure and the location of pointers within the structure (see the
.CW movmp
instruction above).
.SH
or\fIx\fP \- Logical OR
.P1
Syntax: orb src1, src2, dst
orw src1, src2, dst
orl src1, src2, dst
Function: dst = src1 | src
.P2
These instructions compute the bitwise OR of the two operands addressed by
.CW "src1"
and
.CW "src2"
and store the result in the
.CW "dst"
operand.
.SH
recv \- Receive from channel
.P1
Syntax: recv src, dst
Function: dst = <-src
.P2
The
.CW "recv"
instruction receives a value from some other thread on the channel specified by the
.CW "src"
operand. Communication is synchronous, so the calling thread will block until a corresponding
.CW "send"
or
.CW "alt"
is performed on the channel. The type of the received value is determined by the channel type and the
.CW "dst"
operand specifies where to place the received value.
.SH
ret \- Return from function
.P1
Syntax: ret
Function: npc = link(fp)
mod = mod(fp)
fp = frame(fp)
pc = npc
.P2
The
.CW "ret"
instruction returns control to the instruction after the call of the current function.
.SH
send \- Send to channel
.P1
Syntax: send src, dst
Function: dst <-= src
.P2
The
.CW "send"
instruction sends a value from this thread to some other thread on the channel specified by the
.CW "dst"
operand. Communication is synchronous so the calling thread will block until a corresponding
.CW "recv"
or
.CW "alt"
is performed on the channel. The type of the sent value is determined by the channel type and the
.CW "dst"
operand specifies where to retrieve the sent value.
.SH
shl\fIx\fP \- Shift left arithmetic
.P1
Syntax: shlb src1, src2, dst
shlw src1, src2, dst
shll src1, src2, dst
Function: dst = src2 << src1
.P2
The
.CW "shl"
instructions shift the
.CW "src2"
operand left by the number of bits specified by the
.CW "src1"
operand and store the result in the
.CW "dst"
operand. Shift counts less than 0 or greater than the number of bits in the object have undefined results.
.SH
shr\fIx\fP \- Shift right arithmetic
.P1
Syntax: shrb src1, src2, dst
shrw src1, src2, dst
shrl src1, src2, dst
Function: dst = src2 >> src1
.P2
The
.CW "shr"
instructions shift the
.CW "src2"
operand right by the number of bits specified by the
.CW "src1"
operand and store the result in the
.CW "dst"
operand. Shift counts less than 0 or greater than the number of bits in the object have undefined results.
.SH
slicea \- Slice array
.P1
Syntax: slicea src1, src2, dst
Function: dst = dst[src1:src2]
.P2
The
.CW "slicea"
instruction creates a new array, which contains the elements from the index at
.CW "src1"
to the index
.CW "src2-1" .
The new array is a reference array which points at the elements in the initial array. The initial array will remain allocated until both arrays are no longer referenced.
.SH
slicec \- Slice string
.P1
Syntax: slicec src1, src2, dst
Function: dst = dst[src1:src2]
.P2
The
.CW "slicec"
instruction creates a new string, which contains characters from the index at
.CW "src1"
to the index
.CW "src2-1" .
Unlike
.CW "slicea"
, the new string is a copy of the elements from the initial string.
.SH
slicela \- Assign to array slice
.P1
Syntax: slicela src1, src2, dst
Function: dst[src2:] = src1
.P2
The
.CW "src1"
and
.CW "dst"
operands must be arrays of equal types. The
.CW "src2"
operand is a non-negative integer index. The
.CW "src1"
array is assigned to the array slice
.CW "dst[src2:]" ;
.CW "src2 + nelem(src1)"
must not exceed
.CW "nelem(dst)" .
.SH
spawn \- Spawn function
.P1
Syntax: spawn src, dst
Function: fork();
if(child)
dst(src);
.P2
The
.CW "spawn"
instruction creates a new thread and calls the function specified by the
.CW "dst"
operand. The argument frame passed to the thread function is specified by the
.CW "src"
operand and should have been created by the
.CW "frame"
instruction.
.SH
sub\fIx\fP \- Subtract
.P1
Syntax: subb src1, src2, dst
subf src1, src2, dst
subw src1, src2, dst
subl src1, src2, dst
Function: dst = src2 - src1
.P2
The
.CW "sub"
instructions subtract the operands addressed by
.CW "src1"
and
.CW "src2"
and stores the result in the
.CW "dst"
operand. For
.CW "subb" ,
the result is truncated to eight bits.
.SH
tail \- Tail of list
.P1
Syntax: tail src, dst
Function: dst = src->next
.P2
The
.CW "tail"
instruction takes the list specified by the
.CW "src"
operand and creates a reference to a new list with the head removed, which is stored in the
.CW "dst"
operand.
.SH
tcmp \- Compare types
.P1
Syntax: tcmp src, dst
Function: if(typeof(src) != typeof(dst))
error("typecheck");
.P2
The
.CW "tcmp"
instruction compares the types of the two pointers supplied by the
.CW "src"
and
.CW "dst"
operands. The comparison will succeed if the two pointers were created from the same type descriptor or the
.CW "src"
operand is
.CW "nil" ;
otherwise, the program will error. The
.CW "dst"
operand must be a valid pointer.
.SH
xor\fIx\fP \- Exclusive OR
.P1
Syntax: xorb src1, src2, dst
xorw src1, src2, dst
xorl src1, src2, dst
Function: dst = src1 ^ src2
.P2
These instructions compute the bitwise exclusive-OR of the two operands addressed by
.CW "src1"
and
.CW "src2"
and store the result in the
.CW "dst"
operand.
.NH 1
Object File Format
.LP
An object file defines a single module. The file has the following structure:
.P1
Objfile
{
Header;
Code_section;
Type_section;
Data_section;
Module_name;
Link_section;
};
.P2
The following data types are used in the description of the file encoding:
.IP
.TS
lf(CW) lw(4i)fR .
OP T{
encoded integer operand, encoding selected by the two most significant bits as follows:
.nf
00 signed 7 bits, 1 byte
.br
10 signed 14 bits, 2 bytes
.br
11 signed 30 bits, 4 bytes
T}
B unsigned byte
W 32 bit signed integer
F canonicalized 64-bit IEEE754 floating point value
SO 16 bit unsigned small offset from register
SI 16 bit signed immediate value
LO 30 bit signed large offset from register
.TE
.LP
All binary values are encoded in two's complement format, most significant byte first.
.SH
The Header Section
.P1
Header
{
OP: magic_number;
Signature;
OP: runtime_flag;
OP: stack_extent;
OP: code_size;
OP: data_size;
OP: type_size;
OP: link_size;
OP: entry_pc;
OP: entry_type;
};
.P2
The magic number is defined as 819248
(symbolically
.CW XMAGIC ),
for modules that have not been signed cryptographically, and 923426
(symbolically
.CW "SMAGIC" ),
for modules that contain a signature.
On the Inferno system, the symbolic names
.CW "XMAGIC"
and
.CW SMAGIC
are defined by the C include file
.CW "/include/isa.h"
and the Limbo module
.CW /module/dis.m .
.LP
The signature field is only present if the magic number is
.CW "SMAGIC" .
It has the form:
.P1
Signature
{
OP: length;
array[length] of byte: signature;
};
.P2
A digital signature is defined by a length, followed by an array of untyped bytes.
Data within the signature should identify the signing authority, algorithm, and data to be signed.
.LP
The
.CW runtime_flag
is a bit mask that defines various execution options for a Dis module. The flags currently defined are:
.P1
MUSTCOMPILE = 1<<0
DONTCOMPILE = 1<<1
SHAREMP = 1<<2
.P2
The
.CW "MUSTCOMPILE"
flag indicates that a
.CW "load"
instruction should draw an error if the implementation is unable to compile the module into native instructions using a just-in-time compiler.
.LP
The
.CW "DONTCOMPILE"
flag indicates that the module should not be compiled into native instructions, even though it is the default for the runtime environment. This flag may be set to allow debugging or to save memory.
.LP
The
.CW "SHAREMP"
flag indicates that each instance of the module should use the same module data for all instances of the module. There is no implicit synchronization between threads using the shared data.
.LP
The
.CW stack_extent
value indicates the number of bytes by which the thread stack of this module should be extended in the event that procedure calls exhaust the allocated stack. While stack extension is transparent to programs, increasing this value may improve the efficiency of execution at the expense of using more memory.
.LP
The
.CW code_size
is a count of the number of instructions stored in the Code_section.
.LP
The
.CW data_size
gives the size in bytes of the module's global data, which is initialized
by evaluating the contents of the data section.
.LP
The
.CW type_size
is a count of the number of type descriptors stored in the Type_section.
.LP
The
.CW link_size
is a count of the number of external linkage directives stored in the Link_section.
.LP
The
.CW entry_pc
is an integer index into the instruction stream that is the default entry point for this module. The
.CW entry_pc
should point to the first instruction of a function. Instructions are numbered from a program counter value of zero.
.LP
The
.CW entry_type
is the index of the type descriptor that corresponds to the function entry point set by
.CW entry_pc .
.SH
The Code Section
.LP
The code section describes a sequence of instructions for the virtual machine. An instruction is encoded as follows:
.P1
Instruction
{
B: opcode;
B: address_mode;
Middle_data;
Source_data;
Dest_data;
};
.P2
.LP
The
.CW opcode
specifies the instruction to execute, encoded as follows:
.IP
.TS
tab(:);
l l l l l .
00 nop:20 headb:40 mulw:60 blew:80 shrl
01 alt:21 headw:41 mulf:61 bgtw:81 bnel
02 nbalt:22 headp:42 divb:62 bgew:82 bltl
03 goto:23 headf:43 divw:63 beqf:83 blel
04 call:24 headm:44 divf:64 bnef:84 bgtl
05 frame:25 headmp:45 modw:65 bltf:85 bgel
06 spawn:26 tail:46 modb:66 blef:86 beql
07 runt:27 lea:47 andb:67 bgtf:87 cvtlf
08 load:28 indx:48 andw:68 bgef:88 cvtfl
09 mcall:29 movp:49 orb:69 beqc:89 cvtlw
0A mspawn:2A movm:4A orw:6A bnec:8A cvtwl
0B mframe:2B movmp:4B xorb:6B bltc:8B cvtlc
0C ret:2C movb:4C xorw:6C blec:8C cvtcl
0D jmp:2D movw:4D shlb:6D bgtc:8D headl
0E case:2E movf:4E shlw:6E bgec:8E consl
0F exit:2F cvtbw:4F shrb:6F slicea:8F newcl
10 new:30 cvtwb:50 shrw:70 slicela:90 casec
11 newa:31 cvtfw:51 insc:71 slicec:91 indl
12 newcb:32 cvtwf:52 indc:72 indw:92 movpc
13 newcw:33 cvtca:53 addc:73 indf:93 tcmp
14 newcf:34 cvtac:54 lenc:74 indb:94 mnewz
15 newcp:35 cvtwc:55 lena:75 negf:95 cvtrf
16 newcm:36 cvtcw:56 lenl:76 movl:96 cvtfr
17 newcmp:37 cvtfc:57 beqb:77 addl:97 cvtws
18 send:38 cvtcf:58 bneb:78 subl:98 cvtsw
19 recv:39 addb:59 bltb:79 divl:99 lsrw
1A consb:3A addw:5A bleb:7A modl:9A lsrl
1B consw:3B addf:5B bgtb:7B mull:9B eclr
1C consp:3C subb:5C bgeb:7C andl:9C newz
1D consf:3D subw:5D beqw:7D orl:9D newaz
1E consm:3E subf:5E bnew:7E xorl
1F consmp:3F mulb:5F bltw:7F shll
.TE
.LP
The
.CW address_mode
byte specifies the addressing mode of each of the three operands: middle, source and destination. The source and destination operands are encoded by three bits and the middle operand by two bits. The bits are packed as follows:
.P1
bit 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
m1 m0 s2 s1 s0 d2 d1 d0
.P2
The middle operand is encoded as follows:
.IP
.TS
lf(CW) lf(CW) lw(3i)fR .
00 \fInone\fP no middle operand
01 $SI small immediate
10 SO(FP) small offset indirect from FP
11 SO(MP) small offset indirect from MP
.TE
.LP
The source and destination operands are encoded as follows:
.IP
.TS
lf(CW) lf(CW) lw(3i)fR .
000 LO(MP) offset indirect from MP
001 LO(FP) offset indirect from FP
010 $OP 30 bit immediate
011 \fInone\fP no operand
100 SO(SO(MP)) double indirect from MP
101 SO(SO(FP)) double indirect from FP
110 \fIreserved\fP
111 \fIreserved\fP
.TE
.LP
The
.CW middle_data
field is only present if the middle operand specifier of the address_mode is not `none'.
If the field is present it is encoded as an
.CW "OP" .
.LP
The
.CW source_data
and
.CW dest_data
fields are present only if the corresponding
.CW address_mode
field is not `none'.
For offset indirect and immediate modes the field contains a single
.CW "OP" .
For double indirect modes the values are encoded as two
.CW "OP"
values: the first value is the register indirect offset, and the second value is the final indirect offset. The offsets for double indirect addressing cannot be larger than 16 bits.
.SH
The Type Section
.LP
The type section contains type descriptors describing the layout of pointers within data types. The format of each descriptor is:
.P1
Type_descriptor
{
OP: desc_number;
OP: size;
OP: number_ptrs;
array[number_ptrs] of B: map;
};
.P2
.LP
The
.CW desc_number
is a small integer index used to identify the descriptor to instructions such as
.CW "new" .
.LP
The
.CW "size"
field is the size in bytes of the memory described by this type.
.LP
The
.CW number_ptrs
field gives the size in bytes of the
.CW "map"
array.
.LP
The
.CW "map"
array is a bit vector where each bit corresponds to a word in memory.
The most significant bit corresponds to the lowest address.
For each bit in the map,
the word at the corresponding offset in the type is a pointer iff the bit is set to 1.
.SH
The Data Section
.LP
The data section encodes the contents of the
.CW "MP"
data for the module. The section contains a sequence of items; each item contains
a control byte and an offset into the section,
followed by one or more data items.
A control byte of zero marks the end of the data section.
Otherwise, it gives the type of data to be loaded and selects between
two representations of an item:
.P1
Short_item
{
B: code;
OP: offset;
array[code & 16rF] of type[code>>4]: data;
};
.P3
Long_item
{
B: code;
OP: count;
OP: offset;
array[ndata] of type[code>>4]: data;
};
.P2
A
.CW Short_item
is generated for 15 or fewer items, otherwise a
.CW "Long_item"
is generated. In a
.CW "Long_item"
the count field (bottom 4 bits of code) is set to zero and the count follows as an
.CW "OP" .
The top 4 bits of code determine the type of the datum.
The defined values are:
.IP
.TS
lf(CW) lw(3i)f(R) .
0001 8 bit bytes
0010 32 bit words
0011 utf encoded string
0100 real value IEEE754 canonical representation
0101 Array
0110 Set array address
0111 Restore load address
1000 64 bit big
.TE
.LP
The byte, word, real and big operands are encoded as sequences
of bytes (of appropriate length) in big-endian form, converted to native
format before being stored in the data space.
The `string' code takes a UTF-encoded sequence of
.CW count
bytes, which is converted to an array of 21-bit Unicode values stored in an
implementation-dependent structure on
the heap; a 4-byte pointer to the string descriptor is stored in the data space.
The `array' code takes two 4-byte operands: the first is the index of the array's type
descriptor in the type section; the second is the length of the array to be created.
The result in memory is a 4-byte pointer to an implementation-dependent
array descriptor in the heap.
.LP
Each item's data is stored at the address formed by adding the
.CW offset
in that item to a base address maintained by the loader.
Initially that address is the base of the data space of the module instance.
A new base for loading subsequent items can be set or restored by
the following operations, used to initialize arrays.
The `set array index' item must appear immediately following an `array'
item.
Its operand is a 4-byte big-endian integer that gives an index into that
array, at which address subsequent data should be loaded; the
previous load address is stacked internally.
Subsequent data will be loaded at offsets from the new base address.
The `restore load address' item has no operands; it pops a load address
from the internal address stack and makes that the new
base address.
.SH
The Module Name
.LP
The module name immediately follows the data section.
It contains the name of the implementation module, in UTF encoding,
terminated by a zero byte.
.SH
The Link Section
.LP
The link section contains an array of external linkage items:
the list of functions exported by this module.
Each item describes one exported function in the following form:
.P1
Linkage_item
{
OP: pc;
OP: desc_number;
W: sig;
array[] of byte: name;
};
.P2
The
.CW pc
is the instruction number of the function's entry point.
The
.CW desc_number
is the index, in the type section, of the type descriptor for the function's stack frame.
The
.CW sig
word is a 32-bit hash of the function's type signature.
Finally,
the name of the function is stored as a variable length array of bytes
in UTF-8 encoding,
with the end of the array marked by a zero byte.
The names of member functions of an exported adt are qualified
by the name of the adt.
The next linkage item, if any, follows immediately.
.NH 1
Symbol Table File Format
.LP
The object file format does not include type information for debuggers.
The Limbo compiler can optionally produce a separate symbol table file.
Its format is defined in the entry
.I sbl (6)
of [1].
.NH 1
References
.IP 1.
.I "Inferno Programmer's Manual"
(Third Edition),
Volume 1 (`the manual'),
Vita Nuova Holdings Limited, June 2000.
.IP 2.
P Winterbottom and R Pike,
``The Design of the Inferno Virtual Machine'',
reprinted in this volume.