325 lines
12 KiB
ReStructuredText
325 lines
12 KiB
ReStructuredText
.. _compiler:
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The Compiler
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============
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The compilation process in MicroPython involves the following steps:
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* The lexer converts the stream of text that makes up a MicroPython program into tokens.
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* The parser then converts the tokens into an abstract syntax (parse tree).
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* Then bytecode or native code is emitted based on the parse tree.
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For purposes of this discussion we are going to add a simple language feature ``add1``
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that can be use in Python as:
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.. code-block:: bash
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>>> add1 3
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4
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>>>
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The ``add1`` statement takes an integer as argument and adds ``1`` to it.
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Adding a grammar rule
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----------------------
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MicroPython's grammar is based on the `CPython grammar <https://docs.python.org/3.5/reference/grammar.html>`_
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and is defined in `py/grammar.h <https://github.com/micropython/micropython/blob/master/py/grammar.h>`_.
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This grammar is what is used to parse MicroPython source files.
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There are two macros you need to know to define a grammar rule: ``DEF_RULE`` and ``DEF_RULE_NC``.
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``DEF_RULE`` allows you to define a rule with an associated compile function,
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while ``DEF_RULE_NC`` has no compile (NC) function for it.
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A simple grammar definition with a compile function for our new ``add1`` statement
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looks like the following:
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.. code-block:: c
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DEF_RULE(add1_stmt, c(add1_stmt), and(2), tok(KW_ADD1), rule(testlist))
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The second argument ``c(add1_stmt)`` is the corresponding compile function that should be implemented
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in ``py/compile.c`` to turn this rule into executable code.
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The third required argument can be ``or`` or ``and``. This specifies the number of nodes associated
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with a statement. For example, in this case, our ``add1`` statement is similar to ADD1 in assembly
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language. It takes one numeric argument. Therefore, the ``add1_stmt`` has two nodes associated with it.
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One node is for the statement itself, i.e the literal ``add1`` corresponding to ``KW_ADD1``,
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and the other for its argument, a ``testlist`` rule which is the top-level expression rule.
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.. note::
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The ``add1`` rule here is just an example and not part of the standard
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MicroPython grammar.
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The fourth argument in this example is the token associated with the rule, ``KW_ADD1``. This token should be
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defined in the lexer by editing ``py/lexer.h``.
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Defining the same rule without a compile function is achieved by using the ``DEF_RULE_NC`` macro
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and omitting the compile function argument:
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.. code-block:: c
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DEF_RULE_NC(add1_stmt, and(2), tok(KW_ADD1), rule(testlist))
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The remaining arguments take on the same meaning. A rule without a compile function must
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be handled explicitly by all rules that may have this rule as a node. Such NC-rules are usually
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used to express sub-parts of a complicated grammar structure that cannot be expressed in a
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single rule.
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.. note::
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The macros ``DEF_RULE`` and ``DEF_RULE_NC`` take other arguments. For an in-depth understanding of
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supported parameters, see `py/grammar.h <https://github.com/micropython/micropython/blob/master/py/grammar.h>`_.
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Adding a lexical token
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----------------------
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Every rule defined in the grammar should have a token associated with it that is defined in ``py/lexer.h``.
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Add this token by editing the ``_mp_token_kind_t`` enum:
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.. code-block:: c
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:emphasize-lines: 12
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typedef enum _mp_token_kind_t {
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...
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MP_TOKEN_KW_OR,
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MP_TOKEN_KW_PASS,
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MP_TOKEN_KW_RAISE,
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MP_TOKEN_KW_RETURN,
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MP_TOKEN_KW_TRY,
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MP_TOKEN_KW_WHILE,
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MP_TOKEN_KW_WITH,
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MP_TOKEN_KW_YIELD,
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MP_TOKEN_KW_ADD1,
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...
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} mp_token_kind_t;
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Then also edit ``py/lexer.c`` to add the new keyword literal text:
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.. code-block:: c
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:emphasize-lines: 12
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STATIC const char *const tok_kw[] = {
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...
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"or",
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"pass",
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"raise",
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"return",
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"try",
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"while",
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"with",
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"yield",
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"add1",
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...
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};
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Notice the keyword is named depending on what you want it to be. For consistency, maintain the
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naming standard accordingly.
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.. note::
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The order of these keywords in ``py/lexer.c`` must match the order of tokens in the enum
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defined in ``py/lexer.h``.
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Parsing
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-------
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In the parsing stage the parser takes the tokens produced by the lexer and converts them to an abstract syntax tree (AST) or
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*parse tree*. The implementation for the parser is defined in `py/parse.c <https://github.com/micropython/micropython/blob/master/py/parse.c>`_.
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The parser also maintains a table of constants for use in different aspects of parsing, similar to what a
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`symbol table <https://steemit.com/programming/@drifter1/writing-a-simple-compiler-on-my-own-symbol-table-basic-structure>`_
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does.
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Several optimizations like `constant folding <http://compileroptimizations.com/category/constant_folding.htm>`_
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on integers for most operations e.g. logical, binary, unary, etc, and optimizing enhancements on parenthesis
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around expressions are performed during this phase, along with some optimizations on strings.
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It's worth noting that *docstrings* are discarded and not accessible to the compiler.
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Even optimizations like `string interning <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/String_interning>`_ are
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not applied to *docstrings*.
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Compiler passes
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---------------
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Like many compilers, MicroPython compiles all code to MicroPython bytecode or native code. The functionality
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that achieves this is implemented in `py/compile.c <https://github.com/micropython/micropython/blob/master/py/compile.c>`_.
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The most relevant method you should know about is this:
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.. code-block:: c
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mp_obj_t mp_compile(mp_parse_tree_t *parse_tree, qstr source_file, bool is_repl) {
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// Create a context for this module, and set its globals dict.
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mp_module_context_t *context = m_new_obj(mp_module_context_t);
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context->module.globals = mp_globals_get();
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// Compile the input parse_tree to a raw-code structure.
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mp_compiled_module_t cm;
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cm.context = context;
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mp_compile_to_raw_code(parse_tree, source_file, is_repl, &cm);
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// Create and return a function object that executes the outer module.
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return mp_make_function_from_raw_code(cm.rc, cm.context, NULL);
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}
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The compiler compiles the code in four passes: scope, stack size, code size and emit.
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Each pass runs the same C code over the same AST data structure, with different things
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being computed each time based on the results of the previous pass.
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First pass
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~~~~~~~~~~
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In the first pass, the compiler learns about the known identifiers (variables) and
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their scope, being global, local, closed over, etc. In the same pass the emitter
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(bytecode or native code) also computes the number of labels needed for the emitted
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code.
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.. code-block:: c
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// Compile pass 1.
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comp->emit = emit_bc;
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comp->emit_method_table = &emit_bc_method_table;
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uint max_num_labels = 0;
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for (scope_t *s = comp->scope_head; s != NULL && comp->compile_error == MP_OBJ_NULL; s = s->next) {
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if (s->emit_options == MP_EMIT_OPT_ASM) {
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compile_scope_inline_asm(comp, s, MP_PASS_SCOPE);
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} else {
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compile_scope(comp, s, MP_PASS_SCOPE);
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// Check if any implicitly declared variables should be closed over.
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for (size_t i = 0; i < s->id_info_len; ++i) {
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id_info_t *id = &s->id_info[i];
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if (id->kind == ID_INFO_KIND_GLOBAL_IMPLICIT) {
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scope_check_to_close_over(s, id);
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}
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}
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}
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...
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}
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Second and third passes
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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The second and third passes involve computing the Python stack size and code size
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for the bytecode or native code. After the third pass the code size cannot change,
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otherwise jump labels will be incorrect.
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.. code-block:: c
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for (scope_t *s = comp->scope_head; s != NULL && comp->compile_error == MP_OBJ_NULL; s = s->next) {
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...
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// Pass 2: Compute the Python stack size.
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compile_scope(comp, s, MP_PASS_STACK_SIZE);
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// Pass 3: Compute the code size.
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if (comp->compile_error == MP_OBJ_NULL) {
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compile_scope(comp, s, MP_PASS_CODE_SIZE);
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}
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...
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}
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Just before pass two there is a selection for the type of code to be emitted, which can
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either be native or bytecode.
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.. code-block:: c
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// Choose the emitter type.
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switch (s->emit_options) {
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case MP_EMIT_OPT_NATIVE_PYTHON:
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case MP_EMIT_OPT_VIPER:
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if (emit_native == NULL) {
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emit_native = NATIVE_EMITTER(new)(&comp->compile_error, &comp->next_label, max_num_labels);
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}
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comp->emit_method_table = NATIVE_EMITTER_TABLE;
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comp->emit = emit_native;
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break;
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default:
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comp->emit = emit_bc;
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comp->emit_method_table = &emit_bc_method_table;
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break;
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}
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The bytecode option is the default but something unique to note for the native
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code option is that there is another option via ``VIPER``. See the
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:ref:`Emitting native code <emitting_native_code>` section for more details on
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viper annotations.
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There is also support for *inline assembly code*, where assembly instructions are
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written as Python function calls but are emitted directly as the corresponding
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machine code. This assembler has only three passes (scope, code size, emit)
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and uses a different implementation, not the ``compile_scope`` function.
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See the `inline assembler tutorial <https://docs.micropython.org/en/latest/pyboard/tutorial/assembler.html#pyboard-tutorial-assembler>`_
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for more details.
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Fourth pass
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~~~~~~~~~~~
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The fourth pass emits the final code that can be executed, either bytecode in
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the virtual machine, or native code directly by the CPU.
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.. code-block:: c
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for (scope_t *s = comp->scope_head; s != NULL && comp->compile_error == MP_OBJ_NULL; s = s->next) {
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...
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// Pass 4: Emit the compiled bytecode or native code.
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if (comp->compile_error == MP_OBJ_NULL) {
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compile_scope(comp, s, MP_PASS_EMIT);
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}
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}
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Emitting bytecode
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-----------------
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Statements in Python code usually correspond to emitted bytecode, for example ``a + b``
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generates "push a" then "push b" then "binary op add". Some statements do not emit
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anything but instead affect other things like the scope of variables, for example
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``global a``.
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The implementation of a function that emits bytecode looks similar to this:
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.. code-block:: c
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void mp_emit_bc_unary_op(emit_t *emit, mp_unary_op_t op) {
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emit_write_bytecode_byte(emit, 0, MP_BC_UNARY_OP_MULTI + op);
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}
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We use the unary operator expressions for an example here but the implementation
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details are similar for other statements/expressions. The method ``emit_write_bytecode_byte()``
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is a wrapper around the main function ``emit_get_cur_to_write_bytecode()`` that all
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functions must call to emit bytecode.
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.. _emitting_native_code:
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Emitting native code
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---------------------
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Similar to how bytecode is generated, there should be a corresponding function in ``py/emitnative.c`` for each
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code statement:
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.. code-block:: c
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STATIC void emit_native_unary_op(emit_t *emit, mp_unary_op_t op) {
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vtype_kind_t vtype;
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emit_pre_pop_reg(emit, &vtype, REG_ARG_2);
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if (vtype == VTYPE_PYOBJ) {
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emit_call_with_imm_arg(emit, MP_F_UNARY_OP, op, REG_ARG_1);
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emit_post_push_reg(emit, VTYPE_PYOBJ, REG_RET);
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} else {
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adjust_stack(emit, 1);
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EMIT_NATIVE_VIPER_TYPE_ERROR(emit,
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MP_ERROR_TEXT("unary op %q not implemented"), mp_unary_op_method_name[op]);
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}
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}
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The difference here is that we have to handle *viper typing*. Viper annotations allow
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us to handle more than one type of variable. By default all variables are Python objects,
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but with viper a variable can also be declared as a machine-typed variable like a native
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integer or pointer. Viper can be thought of as a superset of Python, where normal Python
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objects are handled as usual, while native machine variables are handled in an optimised
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way by using direct machine instructions for the operations. Viper typing may break
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Python equivalence because, for example, integers become native integers and can overflow
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(unlike Python integers which extend automatically to arbitrary precision).
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