gbdk-releases/sdcc/doc/sdccman.txt
2015-01-10 16:25:09 +01:00

3222 lines
102 KiB
Plaintext

SDCC Compiler User Guide
Table of Contents
Introduction
About SDCC
Open Source
Typographic conventions
Compatibility with previous versions
System Requirements
Other Resources
Wishes for the future
Installation
Linux/Unix Installation
Windows Installation
Windows Install Using a Binary Package
Windows Install Using Cygwin
Testing out the SDCC Compiler
Install Trouble-shooting
SDCC cannot find libraries or header files.
SDCC does not compile correctly.
What the ./configure does
What the make does.
What the make install command does.
Additional Information for Windows Users
Getting started with Cygwin
Running SDCC as Native Compiled Executables
SDCC on Other Platforms
Advanced Install Options
Components of SDCC
sdcc - The Compiler
sdcpp (C-Preprocessor)
asx8051, as-z80, as-gbz80, aslink, link-z80, link-gbz80 (The Assemblers and Linkage Editors)
s51 - Simulator
sdcdb - Source Level Debugger
Using SDCC
Compiling
Single Source File Projects
Projects with Multiple Source Files
Projects with Additional Libraries
Command Line Options
Processor Selection Options
Preprocessor Options
Linker Options
MCS51 Options
DS390 Options
Optimization Options
Other Options
Intermediate Dump Options
MCS51/DS390 Storage Class Language Extensions
xdata
data
idata
bit
sfr / sbit
Pointers
Parameters & Local Variables
Overlaying
Interrupt Service Routines
Critical Functions
Naked Functions
Functions using private banks
Absolute Addressing
Startup Code
Inline Assembler Code
int(16 bit) and long (32 bit) Support
Floating Point Support
MCS51 Memory Models
DS390 Memory Models
Defines Created by the Compiler
SDCC Technical Data
Optimizations
Sub-expression Elimination
Dead-Code Elimination
Copy-Propagation
Loop Optimizations
Loop Reversing
Algebraic Simplifications
'switch' Statements
Bit-shifting Operations.
Bit-rotation
Highest Order Bit
Peep-hole Optimizer
Pragmas
<pending: this is messy and incomplete> Library Routines
Interfacing with Assembly Routines
Global Registers used for Parameter Passing
Assembler Routine(non-reentrant)
Assembler Routine(reentrant)
External Stack
ANSI-Compliance
Cyclomatic Complexity
TIPS
Notes on MCS51 memory layout
Retargetting for other MCUs.
SDCDB - Source Level Debugger
Compiling for Debugging
How the Debugger Works
Starting the Debugger
Command Line Options.
Debugger Commands.
break [line | file:line | function | file:function]
clear [line | file:line | function | file:function ]
continue
finish
delete [n]
info [break | stack | frame | registers ]
step
next
run
ptype variable
print variable
file filename
frame
set srcmode
! simulator command
quit.
Interfacing with XEmacs.
Other Processors
The Z80 and gbz80 port
Support
Reporting Bugs
Acknowledgments
Introduction
About SDCC
SDCC is a Freeware, retargettable, optimizing ANSI-C compiler
by Sandeep Dutta designed for 8 bit Microprocessors. The
current version targets Intel MCS51 based Microprocessors(8051,8052,
etc), Zilog Z80 based MCUs, and the Dallas DS80C390 variant.
It can be retargetted for other microprocessors, support
for PIC, AVR and 186 is under development. The entire source
code for the compiler is distributed under GPL. SDCC uses
ASXXXX & ASLINK, a Freeware, retargettable assembler & linker.
SDCC has extensive language extensions suitable for utilizing
various microcontrollers and underlying hardware effectively.
In addition to the MCU specific optimizations SDCC also does
a host of standard optimizations like:
global sub expression elimination,
loop optimizations (loop invariant, strength reduction
of induction variables and loop reversing),
constant folding & propagation,
copy propagation,
dead code elimination
jumptables for switch statements.
For the back-end SDCC uses a global register allocation scheme
which should be well suited for other 8 bit MCUs.
The peep hole optimizer uses a rule based substitution mechanism
which is MCU independent.
Supported data-types are:
char (8 bits, 1 byte),
short and int (16 bits, 2 bytes),
long (32 bit, 4 bytes)
float (4 byte IEEE).
The compiler also allows inline assembler code to be embedded
anywhere in a function. In addition, routines developed
in assembly can also be called.
SDCC also provides an option (--cyclomatic) to report the
relative complexity of a function. These functions can then
be further optimized, or hand coded in assembly if needed.
SDCC also comes with a companion source level debugger SDCDB,
the debugger currently uses ucSim a freeware simulator for
8051 and other micro-controllers.
The latest version can be downloaded from [http://sdcc.sourceforge.net/].
Open Source
All packages used in this compiler system are opensource
and freeware; source code for all the sub-packages (asxxxx
assembler/linker, pre-processor) is distributed with the
package. This documentation is maintained using a freeware
word processor (LyX).
This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License
as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version
2, or (at your option) any later version. This program is
distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT
ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY
or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General
Public License for more details. You should have received
a copy of the GNU General Public License along with this
program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation,
59 Temple Place - Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307, USA.
In other words, you are welcome to use, share and improve
this program. You are forbidden to forbid anyone else to
use, share and improve what you give them. Help stamp out
software-hoarding!
Typographic conventions
Throughout this manual, we will use the following convention.
Commands you have to type in are printed in "sans serif".
Code samples are printed in typewriter font. Interesting
items and new terms are printed in italicised type.
Compatibility with previous versions
This version has numerous bug fixes compared with the previous
version. But we also introduced some incompatibilities with
older versions. Not just for the fun of it, but to make
the compiler more stable, efficient and ANSI compliant.
short is now equivalent to int (16 bits), it used to be
equivalent to char (8 bits)
the default directory where include, library and documention
files are stored is no in /usr/local/share
char type parameters to vararg functions are casted to
int unless explicitly casted, e.g.:
char a=3;
printf ("%d %c\n", a, (char)a);
will push a as an int and as a char resp.
option --regextend has been removed
option --noreparms has been removed
<pending: more incompatibilities?>
System Requirements
What do you need before you start installation of SDCC? A
computer, and a desire to compute. The preferred method
of installation is to compile SDCC from source using GNU
gcc and make. For Windows some pre-compiled binary distributions
are available for your convenience. You should have some
experience with command line tools and compiler use.
Other Resources
The SDCC home page at [http://sdcc.sourceforge.net/]
is a great place to find distribution sets. You can also
find links to the user mailing lists that offer help or
discuss SDCC with other SDCC users. Web links to other SDCC
related sites can also be found here. This document can
be found in the DOC directory of the source package as a
text or HTML file. Some of the other tools (simulator and
assembler) included with SDCC contain their own documentation
and can be found in the source distribution. If you want
the latest unreleased software, the complete source package
is available directly by anonymous CVS on cvs.sdcc.sourceforge.net.
Wishes for the future
There are (and always will be) some things that could be
done. Here are some I can think of:
sdcc -c --model-large -o large _atoi.c (where large could
be a different basename or a directory)
char KernelFunction3(char p) at 0x340;
If you can think of some more, please send them to the list.
<pending: And then of course a proper index-table>
Installation
Linux/Unix Installation
Download the source package, it will be named something
like sdcc-2.x.x.tgz.
Bring up a command line terminal, such as xterm.
Unpack the file using a command like: "tar -xzf sdcc-2.x.x.tgz",
this will create a sub-directory called sdcc with all
of the sources.
Change directory into the main SDCC directory, for example
type: "cd sdcc".
Type "./configure". This configures the package for compilation
on your system.
Type "make". All of the source packages will compile, this
can take a while.
Type "make install" as root. This copies the binary executables,
the include files, the libraries and the documentation
to the install directories.
Windows Installation
<pending: is this complete? where is borland, mingw>
For installation under Windows you first need to pick between
a pre-compiled binary package, or installing the source
package along with the Cygwin package. The binary package
is the quickest to install, while the Cygwin package includes
all of the open source power tools used to compile the complete
SDCC source package in the Windows environment. If you are
not familiar with the Unix command line environment, you
may want to read the section on additional information for
Windows users prior to your initial installation.
Windows Install Using a Binary Package
Download the binary package and unpack it using your favorite
unpacking tool (gunzip, WinZip, etc). This should unpack
to a group of sub-directories. An example directory structure
after unpacking is: c:\usr\local\bin for the executables,
c:\usr\local\share\sdcc\include and c:\usr\local\share\sdcc\lib
for the include and libraries.
Adjust your environment PATH to include the location of
the bin directory. For example, make a setsdcc.bat file
with the following: set PATH=c:\usr\local\bin;%PATH%
When you compile with sdcc, you may need to specify the
location of the lib and include folders. For example,
sdcc -I c:\usr\local\share\sdcc\include -L c:\usr\local\share\sdcc\lib\small
test.c
Windows Install Using Cygwin
Download and install the cygwin package from the redhat
site[http://sources.redhat.com/cygwin/]. Currently,
this involved downloading a small install program which
then automates downloading and installing selected parts
of the package (a large 80M byte sized dowload for the
whole thing).
Bring up a Unix/Bash command line terminal from the Cygwin
menu.
Follow the instructions in the preceding Linux/Unix installation
section.
Testing out the SDCC Compiler
The first thing you should do after installing your SDCC
compiler is to see if it runs. Type "sdcc --version" at
the prompt, and the program should run and tell you the
version. If it doesn't run, or gives a message about not
finding sdcc program, then you need to check over your installation.
Make sure that the sdcc bin directory is in your executable
search path defined by the PATH environment setting (see
the Trouble-shooting section for suggestions). Make sure
that the sdcc program is in the bin folder, if not perhaps
something did not install correctly.
SDCC binaries are commonly installed in a directory arrangement
like this:
+--------------------------------+-------------------------------------------+
| /usr/local/bin | Holds executables(sdcc, s51, aslink, ...) |
+--------------------------------+-------------------------------------------+
+--------------------------------+-------------------------------------------+
| /usr/local/share/sdcc/lib | Holds common C libraries |
+--------------------------------+-------------------------------------------+
| /usr/local/share/sdcc/include | Holds common C header files |
+--------------------------------+-------------------------------------------+
Make sure the compiler works on a very simple example. Type
in the following test.c program using your favorite editor:
int test(int t) {
return t+3;
}
Compile this using the following command: "sdcc -c test.c".
If all goes well, the compiler will generate a test.asm
and test.rel file. Congratulations, you've just compiled
your first program with SDCC. We used the -c option to tell
SDCC not to link the generated code, just to keep things
simple for this step.
The next step is to try it with the linker. Type in "sdcc
test.c". If all goes well the compiler will link with the
libraries and produce a test.ihx output file. If this step
fails (no test.ihx, and the linker generates warnings),
then the problem is most likely that sdcc cannot find the
/usr/local/share/sdcc/lib directory (see the Install trouble-shooting
section for suggestions).
The final test is to ensure sdcc can use the standard header
files and libraries. Edit test.c and change it to the following:
#include <string.h>
main() {
char str1[10];
strcpy(str1, "testing");
}
Compile this by typing "sdcc test.c". This should generate
a test.ihx output file, and it should give no warnings such
as not finding the string.h file. If it cannot find the
string.h file, then the problem is that sdcc cannot find
the /usr/local/share/sdcc/include directory (see the Install
trouble-shooting section for suggestions).
Install Trouble-shooting
SDCC cannot find libraries or header files.
The default installation assumes the libraries and header
files are located at "/usr/local/share/sdcc/lib"
and "/usr/local/share/sdcc/include".
An alternative is to specify these locations as compiler
options like this: "sdcc -L /usr/local/sdcc/lib/small -I /usr/local/sdcc/include test.c".
SDCC does not compile correctly.
A thing to try is starting from scratch by unpacking the
.tgz source package again in an empty directory. Confure
it again and build like:
make 2&>1 | tee make.log
After this you can review the make.log file to locate the
problem. Or a relevant part of this be attached to an email
that could be helpful when requesting help from the mailing
list.
What the "./configure"
does
The "./configure" command is a script
that analyzes your system and performs some configuration
to ensure the source package compiles on your system. It
will take a few minutes to run, and will compile a few tests
to determine what compiler features are installed.
What the "make" does.
This runs the GNU make tool, which automatically compiles
all the source packages into the final installed binary
executables.
What the "make install"
command does.
This will install the compiler, other executables and libraries
in to the appropriate system directories. The default is
to copy the executables to /usr/local/bin and the libraries
and header files to /usr/local/share/sdcc/lib and /usr/local/share/sdcc/include.
Additional Information for Windows Users
<pending: is this up to date?>
The standard method of installing on a Unix system involves
compiling the source package. This is easily done under
Unix, but under Windows it can be a more difficult process.
The Cygwin is a large package to download, and the compilation
runs considerably slower under Windows due to the overhead
of the Cygwin tool set. An alternative is to install a pre-compiled
Windows binary package. There are various trade-offs between
each of these methods.
The Cygwin package allows a Windows user to run a Unix command
line interface (bash shell) and also implements a Unix like
file system on top of Windows. Included are many of the
famous GNU software development tools which can augment
the SDCC compiler.This is great if you have some experience
with Unix command line tools and file system conventions,
if not you may find it easier to start by installing a binary
Windows package. The binary packages work with the Windows
file system conventions.
Getting started with Cygwin
SDCC is typically distributed as a tarred/gzipped file (.tgz).
This is a packed file similar to a .zip file. Cygwin includes
the tools you will need to unpack the SDCC distribution
(tar and gzip). To unpack it, simply follow the instructions
under the Linux/Unix install section. Before you do this
you need to learn how to start a cygwin shell and some of
the basic commands used to move files, change directory,
run commands and so on. The change directory command is
"cd", the move command is "mv".
To print the current working directory, type "pwd".
To make a directory, use "mkdir".
There are some basic differences between Unix and Windows
file systems you should understand. When you type in directory
paths, Unix and the Cygwin bash prompt uses forward slashes
'/' between directories while Windows traditionally uses
'\' backward slashes. So when you work at the Cygwin bash
prompt, you will need to use the forward '/' slashes. Unix
does not have a concept of drive letters, such as "c:",
instead all files systems attach and appear as directories.
Running SDCC as Native Compiled Executables
If you use the pre-compiled binaries, the install directories
for the libraries and header files may need to be specified
on the sdcc command line like this: "sdcc -L c:\usr\local\sdcc\lib\small
-I c:\usr\local\sdcc\include test.c" if you are running outside
of a Unix bash shell.
If you have successfully installed and compiled SDCC with
the Cygwin package, it is possible to compile into native
.exe files by using the additional makefiles included for
this purpose. For example, with the Borland 32-bit compiler
you would run "make -f Makefile.bcc". A command line version
of the Borland 32-bit compiler can be downloaded from the
Inprise web site.
SDCC on Other Platforms
FreeBSD and other non-GNU Unixes - Make sure the GNU make
is installed as the default make tool.
SDCC has been ported to run under a variety of operating
systems and processors. If you can run GNU GCC/make then
chances are good SDCC can be compiled and run on your
system.
Advanced Install Options
The "configure" command has several options.
The most commonly used option is --prefix=<directory name>,
where <directory name> is the final location for the sdcc
executables and libraries, (default location is /usr/local).
The installation process will create the following directory
structure under the <directory name> specified (if they
do not already exist).
bin/ - binary exectables (add to PATH environment variable)
bin/share/
bin/share/sdcc/include/ - include header files
bin/share/sdcc/lib/
bin/share/sdcc/lib/small/ - Object & library files for small
model library
bin/share/sdcc/lib/large/ - Object & library files for large
model library
bin/share/sdcc/lib/ds390/ - Object & library files forDS80C390
library
The command "./configure --prefix=/usr/local"
will configure the compiler to be installed in directory
/usr/local.
Components of SDCC
SDCC is not just a compiler, but a collection of tools by
various developers. These include linkers, assemblers, simulators
and other components. Here is a summary of some of the components.
Note that the included simulator and assembler have separate
documentation which you can find in the source package in
their respective directories. As SDCC grows to include support
for other processors, other packages from various developers
are included and may have their own sets of documentation.
You might want to look at the files which are installed in
<installdir>. At the time of this writing, we find the following
programs:
In <installdir>/bin:
sdcc - The compiler.
sdcpp - The C preprocessor.
asx8051 - The assembler for 8051 type processors.
as-z80, as-gbz80 - The Z80 and GameBoy Z80 assemblers.
aslink -The linker for 8051 type processors.
link-z80, link-gbz80 - The Z80 and GameBoy Z80 linkers.
s51 - The ucSim 8051 simulator.
sdcdb - The source debugger.
packihx - A tool to pack Intel hex files.
In <installdir>/share/sdcc/include
the include files
In <installdir>/share/sdcc/lib
the sources of the runtime library and the subdirs small
large and ds390 with the precompiled relocatables.
In <installdir>/share/sdcc/doc
the documentation
As development for other processors proceeds, this list will
expand to include executables to support processors like
AVR, PIC, etc.
sdcc - The Compiler
This is the actual compiler, it in turn uses the c-preprocessor
and invokes the assembler and linkage editor.
sdcpp (C-Preprocessor)
The preprocessor is a modified version of the GNU preprocessor.
The C preprocessor is used to pull in #include sources,
process #ifdef statements, #defines and so on.
asx8051, as-z80, as-gbz80, aslink, link-z80, link-gbz80
(The Assemblers and Linkage Editors)
This is retargettable assembler & linkage editor, it was
developed by Alan Baldwin. John Hartman created the version
for 8051, and I (Sandeep) have made some enhancements and
bug fixes for it to work properly with the SDCC.
s51 - Simulator
S51 is a freeware, opensource simulator developed by Daniel
Drotos ([mailto:drdani@mazsola.iit.uni-miskolc.hu]).
The simulator is built as part of the build process. For
more information visit Daniel's website at: [http://mazsola.iit.uni-miskolc.hu/~drdani/embedded/s51] .
sdcdb - Source Level Debugger
Sdcdb is the companion source level debugger. The current
version of the debugger uses Daniel's Simulator S51, but
can be easily changed to use other simulators.
Using SDCC
Compiling
Single Source File Projects
For single source file 8051 projects the process is very
simple. Compile your programs with the following command
"sdcc sourcefile.c". This will compile, assemble and link
your source file. Output files are as follows
sourcefile.asm - Assembler source file created by the compiler
sourcefile.lst - Assembler listing file created by the Assembler
sourcefile.rst - Assembler listing file updated with linkedit
information, created by linkage editor
sourcefile.sym - symbol listing for the sourcefile, created
by the assembler
sourcefile.rel - Object file created by the assembler, input
to Linkage editor
sourcefile.map - The memory map for the load module, created
by the Linker
sourcefile.ihx - The load module in Intel hex format (you
can select the Motorola S19 format with --out-fmt-s19)
sourcefile.cdb - An optional file (with --debug) containing
debug information
Projects with Multiple Source Files
SDCC can compile only ONE file at a time. Let us for example
assume that you have a project containing the following
files:
foo1.c (contains some functions)
foo2.c (contains some more functions)
foomain.c (contains more functions and the function main)
The first two files will need to be compiled separately with
the commands:
sdcc -c foo1.c
sdcc -c foo2.c
Then compile the source file containing the main() function
and link the files together with the following command:
sdcc foomain.c foo1.rel foo2.rel
Alternatively, foomain.c can be separately compiled as well:
sdcc -c foomain.c
sdcc foomain.rel foo1.rel foo2.rel
The file containing the main() function must be the first
file specified in the command line, since the linkage editor
processes file in the order they are presented to it.
Projects with Additional Libraries
Some reusable routines may be compiled into a library, see
the documentation for the assembler and linkage editor (which
are in <installdir>/share/sdcc/doc) for how to create a
.lib library file. Libraries created in this manner can
be included in the command line. Make sure you include the
-L <library-path> option to tell the linker where to look
for these files if they are not in the current directory.
Here is an example, assuming you have the source file foomain.c
and a library foolib.lib in the directory mylib (if that
is not the same as your current project):
sdcc foomain.c foolib.lib -L mylib
Note here that mylib must be an absolute path name.
The most efficient way to use libraries is to keep seperate
modules in seperate source files. The lib file now should
name all the modules.rel files. For an example see the standard
library file libsdcc.lib in the directory <installdir>/share/lib/small.
Command Line Options
Processor Selection Options
-mmcs51 Generate code for the MCS51 (8051) family of processors.
This is the default processor target.
-mds390 Generate code for the DS80C390 processor.
-mz80 Generate code for the Z80 family of processors.
-mgbz80 Generate code for the GameBoy Z80 processor.
-mavr Generate code for the Atmel AVR processor(In development,
not complete).
-mpic14 Generate code for the PIC 14-bit processors(In development,
not complete).
-mtlcs900h Generate code for the Toshiba TLCS-900H processor(In
development, not complete).
Preprocessor Options
-I<path> The additional location where the pre processor
will look for <..h> or "..h"
files.
-D<macro[=value]> Command line definition of macros. Passed
to the pre processor.
-M Tell the preprocessor to output a rule suitable for make
describing the dependencies of each object file. For each
source file, the preprocessor outputs one make-rule whose
target is the object file name for that source file and
whose dependencies are all the files `#include'd in it.
This rule may be a single line or may be continued with
`\'-newline if it is long. The list of rules is printed on
standard output instead of the preprocessed C program. `-M'
implies `-E'.
-C Tell the preprocessor not to discard comments. Used with
the `-E' option.
-MM Like `-M' but the output mentions only the user header
files included with `#include "file"'.
System header files included with `#include <file>' are
omitted.
-Aquestion(answer) Assert the answer answer for question,
in case it is tested with a preprocessor conditional such
as `#if #question(answer)'. `-A-' disables the standard
assertions that normally describe the target machine.
-Aquestion (answer) Assert the answer answer for question,
in case it is tested with a preprocessor conditional such
as `#if #question(answer)'. `-A-' disables the standard
assertions that normally describe the target machine.
-Umacro Undefine macro macro. `-U' options are evaluated
after all `-D' options, but before any `-include' and `-imacros'
options.
-dM Tell the preprocessor to output only a list of the macro
definitions that are in effect at the end of preprocessing.
Used with the `-E' option.
-dD Tell the preprocessor to pass all macro definitions into
the output, in their proper sequence in the rest of the
output.
-dN Like `-dD' except that the macro arguments and contents
are omitted. Only `#define name' is included in the output.
Linker Options
-L --lib-path <absolute path to additional libraries> This
option is passed to the linkage editor's additional libraries
search path. The path name must be absolute. Additional
library files may be specified in the command line. See
section Compiling programs for more details.
--xram-loc<Value> The start location of the external ram,
default value is 0. The value entered can be in Hexadecimal
or Decimal format, e.g.: --xram-loc 0x8000 or --xram-loc
32768.
--code-loc<Value> The start location of the code segment,
default value 0. Note when this option is used the interrupt
vector table is also relocated to the given address. The
value entered can be in Hexadecimal or Decimal format, e.g.:
--code-loc 0x8000 or --code-loc 32768.
--stack-loc<Value> The initial value of the stack pointer.
The default value of the stack pointer is 0x07 if only register
bank 0 is used, if other register banks are used then the
stack pointer is initialized to the location above the highest
register bank used. eg. if register banks 1 & 2 are used
the stack pointer will default to location 0x18. The value
entered can be in Hexadecimal or Decimal format, eg. --stack-loc
0x20 or --stack-loc 32. If all four register banks are used
the stack will be placed after the data segment (equivalent
to --stack-after-data)
--stack-after-data This option will cause the stack to be
located in the internal ram after the data segment.
--data-loc<Value> The start location of the internal ram
data segment, the default value is 0x30.The value entered
can be in Hexadecimal or Decimal format, eg. --data-loc
0x20 or --data-loc 32.
--idata-loc<Value> The start location of the indirectly addressable
internal ram, default value is 0x80. The value entered can
be in Hexadecimal or Decimal format, eg. --idata-loc 0x88
or --idata-loc 136.
--out-fmt-ihx The linker output (final object code) is in
Intel Hex format. (This is the default option).
--out-fmt-s19 The linker output (final object code) is in
Motorola S19 format.
MCS51 Options
--model-large Generate code for Large model programs see
section Memory Models for more details. If this option is
used all source files in the project should be compiled
with this option. In addition the standard library routines
are compiled with small model, they will need to be recompiled.
--model-small Generate code for Small Model programs see
section Memory Models for more details. This is the default
model.
DS390 Options
--model-flat24 Generate 24-bit flat mode code. This is the
one and only that the ds390 code generator supports right
now and is default when using -mds390. See section Memory
Models for more details.
--stack-10bit Generate code for the 10 bit stack mode of
the Dallas DS80C390 part. This is the one and only that
the ds390 code generator supports right now and is default
when using -mds390. In this mode, the stack is located in
the lower 1K of the internal RAM, which is mapped to 0x400000.
Note that the support is incomplete, since it still uses
a single byte as the stack pointer. This means that only
the lower 256 bytes of the potential 1K stack space will
actually be used. However, this does allow you to reclaim
the precious 256 bytes of low RAM for use for the DATA and
IDATA segments. The compiler will not generate any code
to put the processor into 10 bit stack mode. It is important
to ensure that the processor is in this mode before calling
any re-entrant functions compiled with this option. In principle,
this should work with the --stack-auto option, but that
has not been tested. It is incompatible with the --xstack
option. It also only makes sense if the processor is in
24 bit contiguous addressing mode (see the --model-flat24
option).
Optimization Options
--nogcse Will not do global subexpression elimination, this
option may be used when the compiler creates undesirably
large stack/data spaces to store compiler temporaries. A
warning message will be generated when this happens and
the compiler will indicate the number of extra bytes it
allocated. It recommended that this option NOT be used,
#pragma NOGCSE can be used to turn off global subexpression
elimination for a given function only.
--noinvariant Will not do loop invariant optimizations, this
may be turned off for reasons explained for the previous
option. For more details of loop optimizations performed
see section Loop Invariants.It recommended that this option
NOT be used, #pragma NOINVARIANT can
be used to turn off invariant optimizations for a given
function only.
--noinduction Will not do loop induction optimizations, see
section strength reduction for more details.It is recommended
that this option is NOT used, #pragma NOINDUCTION
can be used to turn off induction optimizations for a given
function only.
--nojtbound Will not generate boundary condition check when
switch statements are implemented using jump-tables. See
section Switch Statements for more details. It is recommended
that this option is NOT used, #pragma NOJTBOUND
can be used to turn off boundary checking for jump tables
for a given function only.
--noloopreverse Will not do loop reversal optimization.
Other Options
-c --compile-only will compile and assemble the source,
but will not call the linkage editor.
-E Run only the C preprocessor. Preprocess all the C source
files specified and output the results to standard output.
--stack-auto All functions in the source file will be compiled
as reentrant, i.e. the parameters and local variables will
be allocated on the stack. see section Parameters and Local
Variables for more details. If this option is used all source
files in the project should be compiled with this option.
--xstack Uses a pseudo stack in the first 256 bytes in the
external ram for allocating variables and passing parameters.
See section on external stack for more details.
--callee-saves function1[,function2][,function3].... The
compiler by default uses a caller saves convention for register
saving across function calls, however this can cause unneccessary
register pushing & popping when calling small functions
from larger functions. This option can be used to switch
the register saving convention for the function names specified.
The compiler will not save registers when calling these
functions, no extra code will be generated at the entry
& exit for these functions to save & restore the registers
used by these functions, this can SUBSTANTIALLY reduce code
& improve run time performance of the generated code. In
the future the compiler (with interprocedural analysis)
will be able to determine the appropriate scheme to use
for each function call. DO NOT use this option for built-in
functions such as _muluint..., if this option is used for
a library function the appropriate library function needs
to be recompiled with the same option. If the project consists
of multiple source files then all the source file should
be compiled with the same --callee-saves option string.
Also see #pragma CALLEE-SAVES.
--debug When this option is used the compiler will generate
debug information, that can be used with the SDCDB. The
debug information is collected in a file with .cdb extension.
For more information see documentation for SDCDB.
--regextend This option is obsolete and isn't supported
anymore.
--noregparms This option is obsolete and isn't supported
anymore.
--peep-file<filename> This option can be used to use additional
rules to be used by the peep hole optimizer. See section
Peep Hole optimizations for details on how to write these
rules.
-S Stop after the stage of compilation proper; do not assemble.
The output is an assembler code file for the input file
specified.
-Wa_asmOption[,asmOption]... Pass the asmOption to the assembler.
-Wl_linkOption[,linkOption]... Pass the linkOption to the
linker.
--int-long-reent Integer (16 bit) and long (32 bit) libraries
have been compiled as reentrant. Note by default these libraries
are compiled as non-reentrant. See section Installation
for more details.
--cyclomatic This option will cause the compiler to generate
an information message for each function in the source file.
The message contains some important information about the
function. The number of edges and nodes the compiler detected
in the control flow graph of the function, and most importantly
the cyclomatic complexity see section on Cyclomatic Complexity
for more details.
--float-reent Floating point library is compiled as reentrant.See
section Installation for more details.
--nooverlay The compiler will not overlay parameters and
local variables of any function, see section Parameters
and local variables for more details.
--main-return This option can be used when the code generated
is called by a monitor program. The compiler will generate
a 'ret' upon return from the 'main' function. The default
option is to lock up i.e. generate a 'ljmp '.
--no-peep Disable peep-hole optimization.
--peep-asm Pass the inline assembler code through the peep
hole optimizer. This can cause unexpected changes to inline
assembler code, please go through the peephole optimizer
rules defined in the source file tree '<target>/peeph.def'
before using this option.
--iram-size<Value> Causes the linker to check if the interal
ram usage is within limits of the given value.
--nostdincl This will prevent the compiler from passing on
the default include path to the preprocessor.
--nostdlib This will prevent the compiler from passing on
the default library path to the linker.
--verbose Shows the various actions the compiler is performing.
-V Shows the actual commands the compiler is executing.
Intermediate Dump Options
The following options are provided for the purpose of retargetting
and debugging the compiler. These provided a means to dump
the intermediate code (iCode) generated by the compiler
in human readable form at various stages of the compilation
process.
--dumpraw This option will cause the compiler to dump the
intermediate code into a file of named <source filename>.dumpraw
just after the intermediate code has been generated for
a function, i.e. before any optimizations are done. The
basic blocks at this stage ordered in the depth first number,
so they may not be in sequence of execution.
--dumpgcse Will create a dump of iCode's, after global subexpression
elimination, into a file named <source filename>.dumpgcse.
--dumpdeadcode Will create a dump of iCode's, after deadcode
elimination, into a file named <source filename>.dumpdeadcode.
--dumploop Will create a dump of iCode's, after loop optimizations,
into a file named <source filename>.dumploop.
--dumprange Will create a dump of iCode's, after live range
analysis, into a file named <source filename>.dumprange.
--dumlrange Will dump the life ranges for all symbols.
--dumpregassign Will create a dump of iCode's, after register
assignment, into a file named <source filename>.dumprassgn.
--dumplrange Will create a dump of the live ranges of iTemp's
--dumpall Will cause all the above mentioned dumps to be
created.
MCS51/DS390 Storage Class Language Extensions
In addition to the ANSI storage classes SDCC allows the following
MCS51 specific storage classes.
xdata
Variables declared with this storage class will be placed
in the extern RAM. This is the default storage class for
Large Memory model, e.g.:
xdata unsigned char xduc;
data
This is the default storage class for Small Memory model.
Variables declared with this storage class will be allocated
in the internal RAM, e.g.:
data int iramdata;
idata
Variables declared with this storage class will be allocated
into the indirectly addressable portion of the internal
ram of a 8051, e.g.:
idata int idi;
bit
This is a data-type and a storage class specifier. When a
variable is declared as a bit, it is allocated into the
bit addressable memory of 8051, e.g.:
bit iFlag;
sfr / sbit
Like the bit keyword, sfr / sbit signifies both a data-type
and storage class, they are used to describe the special
function registers and special bit variables of a 8051,
eg:
sfr at 0x80 P0; /* special function register P0 at location
0x80 */
sbit at 0xd7 CY; /* CY (Carry Flag) */
Pointers
SDCC allows (via language extensions) pointers to explicitly
point to any of the memory spaces of the 8051. In addition
to the explicit pointers, the compiler also allows a _generic
class of pointers which can be used to point to any of the
memory spaces.
Pointer declaration examples:
/* pointer physically in xternal ram pointing to object in
internal ram */
data unsigned char * xdata p;
/* pointer physically in code rom pointing to data in xdata
space */
xdata unsigned char * code p;
/* pointer physically in code space pointing to data in code
space */
code unsigned char * code p;
/* the folowing is a generic pointer physically located in
xdata space */
char * xdata p;
Well you get the idea.
For compatibility with the previous version of the compiler,
the following syntax for pointer declaration is still supported
but will disappear int the near future.
unsigned char _xdata *ucxdp; /* pointer to data in external
ram */
unsigned char _data *ucdp ; /* pointer
to data in internal ram */
unsigned char _code *uccp ; /* pointer
to data in R/O code space */
unsigned char _idata *uccp; /*
pointer to upper 128 bytes of ram */
All unqualified pointers are treated as 3-byte (4-byte for
the ds390) generic pointers. These type of pointers can
also to be explicitly declared.
unsigned char _generic *ucgp;
The highest order byte of the generic pointers contains the
data space information. Assembler support routines are called
whenever data is stored or retrieved using generic pointers.
These are useful for developing reusable library routines.
Explicitly specifying the pointer type will generate the
most efficient code. Pointers declared using a mixture of
OLD and NEW style could have unpredictable results.
Parameters & Local Variables
Automatic (local) variables and parameters to functions can
either be placed on the stack or in data-space. The default
action of the compiler is to place these variables in the
internal RAM (for small model) or external RAM (for Large
model). This in fact makes them static so by default functions
are non-reentrant.
They can be placed on the stack either by using the --stack-auto
compiler option or by using the reentrant keyword in the
function declaration, e.g.:
unsigned char foo(char i) reentrant
{
...
}
Since stack space on 8051 is limited, the reentrant keyword
or the --stack-auto option should be used sparingly. Note
that the reentrant keyword just means that the parameters
& local variables will be allocated to the stack, it does
not mean that the function is register bank independent.
Local variables can be assigned storage classes and absolute
addresses, e.g.:
unsigned char foo() {
xdata unsigned char i;
bit bvar;
data at 0x31 unsiged char j;
...
}
In the above example the variable i will be allocated in
the external ram, bvar in bit addressable space and j in
internal ram. When compiled with --stack-auto or when a
function is declared as reentrant this can only be done
for static variables.
Parameters however are not allowed any storage class, (storage
classes for parameters will be ignored), their allocation
is governed by the memory model in use, and the reentrancy
options.
Overlaying
For non-reentrant functions SDCC will try to reduce internal
ram space usage by overlaying parameters and local variables
of a function (if possible). Parameters and local variables
of a function will be allocated to an overlayable segment
if the function has no other function calls and the function
is non-reentrant and the memory model is small. If an explicit
storage class is specified for a local variable, it will
NOT be overlayed.
Note that the compiler (not the linkage editor) makes the
decision for overlaying the data items. Functions that are
called from an interrupt service routine should be preceded
by a #pragma NOOVERLAY if they are not reentrant.
Also note that the compiler does not do any processing of
inline assembler code, so the compiler might incorrectly
assign local variables and parameters of a function into
the overlay segment if the inline assembler code calls other
c-functions that might use the overlay. In that case the
#pragma NOOVERLAY should be used.
Parameters and Local variables of functions that contain
16 or 32 bit multiplication or division will NOT be overlayed
since these are implemented using external functions, e.g.:
#pragma SAVE
#pragma NOOVERLAY
void set_error(unsigned char errcd)
{
P3 = errcd;
}
#pragma RESTORE
void some_isr () interrupt 2 using 1
{
...
set_error(10);
...
}
In the above example the parameter errcd for the function
set_error would be assigned to the overlayable segment if
the #pragma NOOVERLAY was not present, this could
cause unpredictable runtime behavior when called from an
ISR. The #pragma NOOVERLAY ensures that
the parameters and local variables for the function are
NOT overlayed.
Interrupt Service Routines
SDCC allows interrupt service routines to be coded in C,
with some extended keywords.
void timer_isr (void) interrupt 2 using 1
{
..
}
The number following the interrupt keyword is the interrupt
number this routine will service. The compiler will insert
a call to this routine in the interrupt vector table for
the interrupt number specified. The using keyword is used
to tell the compiler to use the specified register bank
(8051 specific) when generating code for this function.
Note that when some function is called from an interrupt
service routine it should be preceded by a #pragma NOOVERLAY
if it is not reentrant. A special note here, int (16 bit)
and long (32 bit) integer division, multiplication & modulus
operations are implemented using external support routines
developed in ANSI-C, if an interrupt service routine needs
to do any of these operations then the support routines
(as mentioned in a following section) will have to be recompiled
using the --stack-auto option and the source file will need
to be compiled using the --int-long-rent compiler option.
If you have multiple source files in your project, interrupt
service routines can be present in any of them, but a prototype
of the isr MUST be present or included in the file that
contains the function main.
Interrupt Numbers and the corresponding address & descriptions
for the Standard 8051 are listed below. SDCC will automatically
adjust the interrupt vector table to the maximum interrupt
number specified.
+--------------+--------------+----------------+
| Interrupt # | Description | Vector Address |
+--------------+--------------+----------------+
+--------------+--------------+----------------+
| 0 | External 0 | 0x0003 |
+--------------+--------------+----------------+
| 1 | Timer 0 | 0x000B |
+--------------+--------------+----------------+
| 2 | External 1 | 0x0013 |
+--------------+--------------+----------------+
| 3 | Timer 1 | 0x001B |
+--------------+--------------+----------------+
| 4 | Serial | 0x0023 |
+--------------+--------------+----------------+
If the interrupt service routine is defined without using
a register bank or with register bank 0 (using 0), the compiler
will save the registers used by itself on the stack upon
entry and restore them at exit, however if such an interrupt
service routine calls another function then the entire register
bank will be saved on the stack. This scheme may be advantageous
for small interrupt service routines which have low register
usage.
If the interrupt service routine is defined to be using a
specific register bank then only a, b & dptr are save and
restored, if such an interrupt service routine calls another
function (using another register bank) then the entire register
bank of the called function will be saved on the stack.
This scheme is recommended for larger interrupt service
routines.
Calling other functions from an interrupt service routine
is not recommended, avoid it if possible.
Also see the _naked modifier.
Critical Functions
A special keyword may be associated with a function declaring
it as critical. SDCC will generate code to disable all interrupts
upon entry to a critical function and enable them back before
returning. Note that nesting critical functions may cause
unpredictable results.
int foo () critical
{
...
...
}
The critical attribute maybe used with other attributes like
reentrant.
Naked Functions
A special keyword may be associated with a function declaring
it as _naked. The _naked function modifier attribute prevents
the compiler from generating prologue and epilogue code
for that function. This means that the user is entirely
responsible for such things as saving any registers that
may need to be preserved, selecting the proper register
bank, generating the return instruction at the end, etc.
Practically, this means that the contents of the function
must be written in inline assembler. This is particularly
useful for interrupt functions, which can have a large (and
often unnecessary) prologue/epilogue. For example, compare
the code generated by these two functions:
data unsigned char counter;
void simpleInterrupt(void) interrupt 1
{
counter++;
}
void nakedInterrupt(void) interrupt 2 _naked
{
_asm
inc _counter
reti ;
MUST explicitly include ret in _naked function.
_endasm;
}
For an 8051 target, the generated simpleInterrupt looks like:
_simpleIterrupt:
push acc
push b
push dpl
push dph
push psw
mov psw,#0x00
inc _counter
pop psw
pop dph
pop dpl
pop b
pop acc
reti
whereas nakedInterrupt looks like:
_nakedInterrupt:
inc _counter
reti ; MUST explicitly
include ret(i) in _naked function.
While there is nothing preventing you from writing C code
inside a _naked function, there are many ways to shoot yourself
in the foot doing this, and is is recommended that you stick
to inline assembler.
Functions using private banks
The using attribute (which tells the compiler to use a register
bank other than the default bank zero) should only be applied
to interrupt functions (see note 1 below). This will in
most circumstances make the generated ISR code more efficient
since it will not have to save registers on the stack.
The using attribute will have no effect on the generated
code for a non-interrupt function (but may occasionally
be useful anyway([footnote] possible exception: if a function is called ONLY
from 'interrupt' functions using a particular bank, it can
be declared with the same 'using' attribute as the calling
'interrupt' functions. For instance, if you have several
ISRs using bank one, and all of them call memcpy(), it might
make sense to create a specialized version of memcpy() 'using
1', since this would prevent the ISR from having to save
bank zero to the stack on entry and switch to bank zero
before calling the function) ).
(pending: I don't think this has been done yet)
An interrupt function using a non-zero bank will assume that
it can trash that register bank, and will not save it. Since
high-priority interrupts can interrupt low-priority ones
on the 8051 and friends, this means that if a high-priority
ISR using a particular bank occurs while processing a low-priority
ISR using the same bank, terrible and bad things can happen.
To prevent this, no single register bank should be used
by both a high priority and a low priority ISR. This is
probably most easily done by having all high priority ISRs
use one bank and all low priority ISRs use another. If you
have an ISR which can change priority at runtime, you're
on your own: I suggest using the default bank zero and taking
the small performance hit.
It is most efficient if your ISR calls no other functions.
If your ISR must call other functions, it is most efficient
if those functions use the same bank as the ISR (see note
1 below); the next best is if the called functions use bank
zero. It is very inefficient to call a function using a
different, non-zero bank from an ISR.
Absolute Addressing
Data items can be assigned an absolute address with the at
<address> keyword, in addition to a storage class, e.g.:
xdata at 0x8000 unsigned char PORTA_8255 ;
In the above example the PORTA_8255 will be allocated to
the location 0x8000 of the external ram. Note that this
feature is provided to give the programmer access to memory
mapped devices attached to the controller. The compiler
does not actually reserve any space for variables declared
in this way (they are implemented with an equate in the
assembler). Thus it is left to the programmer to make sure
there are no overlaps with other variables that are declared
without the absolute address. The assembler listing file
(.lst) and the linker output files (.rst) and (.map) are
a good places to look for such overlaps.
Absolute address can be specified for variables in all storage
classes, e.g.:
bit at 0x02 bvar;
The above example will allocate the variable at offset 0x02
in the bit-addressable space. There is no real advantage
to assigning absolute addresses to variables in this manner,
unless you want strict control over all the variables allocated.
Startup Code
The compiler inserts a call to the C routine _sdcc__external__startup()
at the start of the CODE area. This routine is in the runtime
library. By default this routine returns 0, if this routine
returns a non-zero value, the static & global variable initialization
will be skipped and the function main will be invoked Other
wise static & global variables will be initialized before
the function main is invoked. You could add a _sdcc__external__startup()
routine to your program to override the default if you need
to setup hardware or perform some other critical operation
prior to static & global variable initialization.
Inline Assembler Code
SDCC allows the use of in-line assembler with a few restriction
as regards labels. All labels defined within inline assembler
code has to be of the form nnnnn$ where nnnn is a number
less than 100 (which implies a limit of utmost 100 inline
assembler labels per function). It is strongly recommended
that each assembly instruction (including labels) be placed
in a separate line (as the example shows). When the --peep-asm
command line option is used, the inline assembler code will
be passed through the peephole optimizer. This might cause
some unexpected changes in the inline assembler code. Please
go throught the peephole optimizer rules defined in file
SDCCpeeph.def carefully before using this option.
_asm
mov b,#10
00001$:
djnz b,00001$
_endasm ;
The inline assembler code can contain any valid code understood
by the assembler, this includes any assembler directives
and comment lines. The compiler does not do any validation
of the code within the _asm ... _endasm; keyword pair.
Inline assembler code cannot reference any C-Labels, however
it can reference labels defined by the inline assembler,
e.g.:
foo() {
/* some c code */
_asm
; some assembler code
ljmp $0003
_endasm;
/* some more c code */
clabel: /* inline assembler cannot reference
this label */
_asm
$0003: ;label (can be reference by inline assembler
only)
_endasm ;
/* some more c code */
}
In other words inline assembly code can access labels defined
in inline assembly within the scope of the funtion.
The same goes the other way, ie. labels defines in inline
assembly CANNOT be accessed by C statements.
int(16 bit) and long (32 bit) Support
For signed & unsigned int (16 bit) and long (32 bit) variables,
division, multiplication and modulus operations are implemented
by support routines. These support routines are all developed
in ANSI-C to facilitate porting to other MCUs, although
some model specific assembler optimations are used. The
following files contain the described routine, all of them
can be found in <installdir>/share/sdcc/lib.
<pending: tabularise this>
_mulsint.c - signed 16 bit multiplication (calls _muluint)
_muluint.c - unsigned 16 bit multiplication
_divsint.c - signed 16 bit division (calls _divuint)
_divuint.c - unsigned 16 bit division
_modsint.c - signed 16 bit modulus (call _moduint)
_moduint.c - unsigned 16 bit modulus
_mulslong.c - signed 32 bit multiplication (calls _mululong)
_mululong.c - unsigned32 bit multiplication
_divslong.c - signed 32 division (calls _divulong)
_divulong.c - unsigned 32 division
_modslong.c - signed 32 bit modulus (calls _modulong)
_modulong.c - unsigned 32 bit modulus
Since they are compiled as non-reentrant, interrupt service
routines should not do any of the above operations. If this
is unavoidable then the above routines will need to be compiled
with the --stack-auto option, after which the source program
will have to be compiled with --int-long-rent option.
Floating Point Support
SDCC supports IEEE (single precision 4bytes) floating point
numbers.The floating point support routines are derived
from gcc's floatlib.c and consists of the following routines:
<pending: tabularise this>
_fsadd.c - add floating point numbers
_fssub.c - subtract floating point numbers
_fsdiv.c - divide floating point numbers
_fsmul.c - multiply floating point numbers
_fs2uchar.c - convert floating point to unsigned char
_fs2char.c - convert floating point to signed char
_fs2uint.c - convert floating point to unsigned int
_fs2int.c - convert floating point to signed int
_fs2ulong.c - convert floating point to unsigned long
_fs2long.c - convert floating point to signed long
_uchar2fs.c - convert unsigned char to floating point
_char2fs.c - convert char to floating point number
_uint2fs.c - convert unsigned int to floating point
_int2fs.c - convert int to floating point numbers
_ulong2fs.c - convert unsigned long to floating point number
_long2fs.c - convert long to floating point number
Note if all these routines are used simultaneously the data
space might overflow. For serious floating point usage it
is strongly recommended that the large model be used.
MCS51 Memory Models
SDCC allows two memory models for MCS51 code, small and large.
Modules compiled with different memory models should never
be combined together or the results would be unpredictable.
The library routines supplied with the compiler are compiled
as both small and large. The compiled library modules are
contained in seperate directories as small and large so
that you can link to either set.
When the large model is used all variables declared without
a storage class will be allocated into the external ram,
this includes all parameters and local variables (for non-reentrant
functions). When the small model is used variables without
storage class are allocated in the internal ram.
Judicious usage of the processor specific storage classes
and the 'reentrant' function type will yield much more efficient
code, than using the large model. Several optimizations
are disabled when the program is compiled using the large
model, it is therefore strongly recommdended that the small
model be used unless absolutely required.
DS390 Memory Models
The only model supported is Flat 24. This generates code
for the 24 bit contiguous addressing mode of the Dallas
DS80C390 part. In this mode, up to four meg of external
RAM or code space can be directly addressed. See the data
sheets at www.dalsemi.com for further information on this
part.
In older versions of the compiler, this option was used with
the MCS51 code generator (-mmcs51). Now, however, the '390
has it's own code generator, selected by the -mds390 switch.
Note that the compiler does not generate any code to place
the processor into 24 bitmode (although tinibios in the
ds390 libraries will do that for you). If you don't use
tinibios, the boot loader or similar code must ensure that
the processor is in 24 bit contiguous addressing mode before
calling the SDCC startup code.
Like the --model-large option, variables will by default
be placed into the XDATA segment.
Segments may be placed anywhere in the 4 meg address space
using the usual --*-loc options. Note that if any segments
are located above 64K, the -r flag must be passed to the
linker to generate the proper segment relocations, and the
Intel HEX output format must be used. The -r flag can be
passed to the linker by using the option -Wl-r on the sdcc
command line. However, currently the linker can not handle
code segments > 64k.
Defines Created by the Compiler
The compiler creates the following #defines.
SDCC - this Symbol is always defined.
SDCC_mcs51 or SDCC_ds390 or SDCC_z80, etc - depending on
the model used (e.g.: -mds390)
__mcs51 or __ds390 or __z80, etc - depending on the model
used (e.g. -mz80)
SDCC_STACK_AUTO - this symbol is defined when --stack-auto
option is used.
SDCC_MODEL_SMALL - when --model-small is used.
SDCC_MODEL_LARGE - when --model-large is used.
SDCC_USE_XSTACK - when --xstack option is used.
SDCC_STACK_TENBIT - when -mds390 is used
SDCC_MODEL_FLAT24 - when -mds390 is used
SDCC Technical Data
Optimizations
SDCC performs a host of standard optimizations in addition
to some MCU specific optimizations.
Sub-expression Elimination
The compiler does local and global common subexpression elimination,
e.g.:
i = x + y + 1;
j = x + y;
will be translated to
iTemp = x + y
i = iTemp + 1
j = iTemp
Some subexpressions are not as obvious as the above example,
e.g.:
a->b[i].c = 10;
a->b[i].d = 11;
In this case the address arithmetic a->b[i] will be computed
only once; the equivalent code in C would be.
iTemp = a->b[i];
iTemp.c = 10;
iTemp.d = 11;
The compiler will try to keep these temporary variables in
registers.
Dead-Code Elimination
int global;
void f () {
int i;
i = 1; /* dead store */
global = 1; /* dead store */
global = 2;
return;
global = 3; /* unreachable */
}
will be changed to
int global; void f ()
{
global = 2;
return;
}
Copy-Propagation
int f() {
int i, j;
i = 10;
j = i;
return j;
}
will be changed to
int f() {
int i,j;
i = 10;
j = 10;
return 10;
}
Note: the dead stores created by this copy propagation will
be eliminated by dead-code elimination.
Loop Optimizations
Two types of loop optimizations are done by SDCC loop invariant
lifting and strength reduction of loop induction variables.
In addition to the strength reduction the optimizer marks
the induction variables and the register allocator tries
to keep the induction variables in registers for the duration
of the loop. Because of this preference of the register
allocator, loop induction optimization causes an increase
in register pressure, which may cause unwanted spilling
of other temporary variables into the stack / data space.
The compiler will generate a warning message when it is
forced to allocate extra space either on the stack or data
space. If this extra space allocation is undesirable then
induction optimization can be eliminated either for the
entire source file (with --noinduction option) or for a
given function only using #pragma NOINDUCTION.
Loop Invariant:
for (i = 0 ; i < 100 ; i ++)
f += k + l;
changed to
itemp = k + l;
for (i = 0; i < 100; i++)
f += itemp;
As mentioned previously some loop invariants are not as apparent,
all static address computations are also moved out of the
loop.
Strength Reduction, this optimization substitutes an expression
by a cheaper expression:
for (i=0;i < 100; i++)
ar[i*5] = i*3;
changed to
itemp1 = 0;
itemp2 = 0;
for (i=0;i< 100;i++) {
ar[itemp1] = itemp2;
itemp1 += 5;
itemp2 += 3;
}
The more expensive multiplication is changed to a less expensive
addition.
Loop Reversing
This optimization is done to reduce the overhead of checking
loop boundaries for every iteration. Some simple loops can
be reversed and implemented using a "decrement
and jump if not zero" instruction. SDCC
checks for the following criterion to determine if a loop
is reversible (note: more sophisticated compilers use data-dependency
analysis to make this determination, SDCC uses a more simple
minded analysis).
The 'for' loop is of the form
for (<symbol> = <expression> ; <sym> [< | <=] <expression>
; [<sym>++ | <sym> += 1])
<for body>
The <for body> does not contain "continue"
or 'break".
All goto's are contained within the loop.
No function calls within the loop.
The loop control variable <sym> is not assigned any value
within the loop
The loop control variable does NOT participate in any arithmetic
operation within the loop.
There are NO switch statements in the loop.
Note djnz instruction can be used for 8-bit values only,
therefore it is advantageous to declare loop control symbols
as char. Ofcourse this may not be possible on all situations.
Algebraic Simplifications
SDCC does numerous algebraic simplifications, the following
is a small sub-set of these optimizations.
i = j + 0 ; /* changed to */ i = j;
i /= 2; /* changed to */ i >>= 1;
i = j - j ; /* changed to */ i = 0;
i = j / 1 ; /* changed to */ i = j;
Note the subexpressions given above are generally introduced
by macro expansions or as a result of copy/constant propagation.
'switch' Statements
SDCC changes switch statements to jump tables when the following
conditions are true.
The case labels are in numerical sequence, the labels need
not be in order, and the starting number need not be one
or zero.
switch(i) {
switch (i) {
case 4:...
case 1: ...
case 5:...
case 2: ...
case 3:...
case 3: ...
case 6:...
case 4: ...
}
}
Both the above switch statements will be implemented using
a jump-table.
The number of case labels is at least three, since it takes
two conditional statements to handle the boundary conditions.
The number of case labels is less than 84, since each label
takes 3 bytes and a jump-table can be utmost 256 bytes
long.
Switch statements which have gaps in the numeric sequence
or those that have more that 84 case labels can be split
into more than one switch statement for efficient code generation,
e.g.:
switch (i) {
case 1: ...
case 2: ...
case 3: ...
case 4: ...
case 9: ...
case 10: ...
case 11: ...
case 12: ...
}
If the above switch statement is broken down into two switch
statements
switch (i) {
case 1: ...
case 2: ...
case 3: ...
case 4: ...
}
and
switch (i) {
case 9: ...
case 10: ...
case 11: ...
case 12: ...
}
then both the switch statements will be implemented using
jump-tables whereas the unmodified switch statement will
not be.
Bit-shifting Operations.
Bit shifting is one of the most frequently used operation
in embedded programming. SDCC tries to implement bit-shift
operations in the most efficient way possible, e.g.:
unsigned char i;
...
i>>= 4;
...
generates the following code:
mov a,_i
swap a
anl a,#0x0f
mov _i,a
In general SDCC will never setup a loop if the shift count
is known. Another example:
unsigned int i;
...
i >>= 9;
...
will generate:
mov a,(_i + 1)
mov (_i + 1),#0x00
clr c
rrc a
mov _i,a
Note that SDCC stores numbers in little-endian format (i.e.
lowest order first).
Bit-rotation
A special case of the bit-shift operation is bit rotation,
SDCC recognizes the following expression to be a left bit-rotation:
unsigned char i;
...
i = ((i << 1) | (i >> 7));
...
will generate the following code:
mov a,_i
rl a
mov _i,a
SDCC uses pattern matching on the parse tree to determine
this operation.Variations of this case will also be recognized
as bit-rotation, i.e.:
i = ((i >> 7) | (i << 1)); /* left-bit rotation */
Highest Order Bit
It is frequently required to obtain the highest order bit
of an integral type (long, int, short or char types). SDCC
recognizes the following expression to yield the highest
order bit and generates optimized code for it, e.g.:
unsigned int gint;
foo () {
unsigned char hob;
...
hob = (gint >> 15) & 1;
..
}
will generate the following code:
61 ; hob.c 7
000A E5*01
62 mov
a,(_gint + 1)
000C 33
63 rlc
a
000D E4
64 clr
a
000E 13
65 rrc
a
000F F5*02
66 mov
_foo_hob_1_1,a
Variations of this case however will not be recognized. It
is a standard C expression, so I heartily recommend this
be the only way to get the highest order bit, (it is portable).
Of course it will be recognized even if it is embedded in
other expressions, e.g.:
xyz = gint + ((gint >> 15) & 1);
will still be recognized.
Peep-hole Optimizer
The compiler uses a rule based, pattern matching and re-writing
mechanism for peep-hole optimization. It is inspired by
copt a peep-hole optimizer by Christopher W. Fraser (cwfraser@microsoft.com).
A default set of rules are compiled into the compiler, additional
rules may be added with the --peep-file <filename> option.
The rule language is best illustrated with examples.
replace {
mov %1,a
mov a,%1
} by {
mov %1,a
}
The above rule will change the following assembly sequence:
mov r1,a
mov a,r1
to
mov r1,a
Note: All occurrences of a %n (pattern variable) must denote
the same string. With the above rule, the assembly sequence:
mov r1,a
mov a,r2
will remain unmodified.
Other special case optimizations may be added by the user
(via --peep-file option). E.g. some variants of the 8051
MCU allow only ajmp and acall. The following two rules will
change all ljmp and lcall to ajmp and acall
replace { lcall %1 } by { acall %1 }
replace { ljmp %1 } by { ajmp %1 }
The inline-assembler code is also passed through the peep
hole optimizer, thus the peephole optimizer can also be
used as an assembly level macro expander. The rules themselves
are MCU dependent whereas the rule language infra-structure
is MCU independent. Peephole optimization rules for other
MCU can be easily programmed using the rule language.
The syntax for a rule is as follows:
rule := replace [ restart ] '{' <assembly sequence> '\n'
'}' by '{' '\n'
<assembly sequence> '\n'
'}' [if <functionName>
] '\n'
<assembly sequence> := assembly instruction (each instruction
including labels must be on a separate line).
The optimizer will apply to the rules one by one from the
top in the sequence of their appearance, it will terminate
when all rules are exhausted. If the 'restart' option is
specified, then the optimizer will start matching the rules
again from the top, this option for a rule is expensive
(performance), it is intended to be used in situations where
a transformation will trigger the same rule again. A good
example of this the following rule:
replace restart {
pop %1
push %1 } by {
; nop
}
Note that the replace pattern cannot be a blank, but can
be a comment line. Without the 'restart' option only the
inner most 'pop' 'push' pair would be eliminated, i.e.:
pop ar1
pop ar2
push ar2
push ar1
would result in:
pop ar1
; nop
push ar1
with the restart option the rule will be applied again to
the resulting code and then all the pop-push pairs will
be eliminated to yield:
; nop
; nop
A conditional function can be attached to a rule. Attaching
rules are somewhat more involved, let me illustrate this
with an example.
replace {
ljmp %5
%2:
} by {
sjmp %5
%2:
} if labelInRange
The optimizer does a look-up of a function name table defined
in function callFuncByName in the source file SDCCpeeph.c,
with the name labelInRange. If it finds a corresponding
entry the function is called. Note there can be no parameters
specified for these functions, in this case the use of %5
is crucial, since the function labelInRange expects to find
the label in that particular variable (the hash table containing
the variable bindings is passed as a parameter). If you
want to code more such functions, take a close look at the
function labelInRange and the calling mechanism in source
file SDCCpeeph.c. I know this whole thing is a little kludgey,
but maybe some day we will have some better means. If you
are looking at this file, you will also see the default
rules that are compiled into the compiler, you can add your
own rules in the default set there if you get tired of specifying
the --peep-file option.
Pragmas
SDCC supports the following #pragma directives. This directives
are applicable only at a function level.
SAVE - this will save all the current options.
RESTORE - will restore the saved options from the last
save. Note that SAVES & RESTOREs cannot be nested. SDCC
uses the same buffer to save the options each time a SAVE
is called.
NOGCSE - will stop global subexpression elimination.
NOINDUCTION - will stop loop induction optimizations.
NOJTBOUND - will not generate code for boundary value checking,
when switch statements are turned into jump-tables.
NOOVERLAY - the compiler will not overlay the parameters
and local variables of a function.
NOLOOPREVERSE - Will not do loop reversal optimization
EXCLUDE NONE | {acc[,b[,dpl[,dph]]] - The exclude pragma
disables generation of pair of push/pop instruction in
ISR function (using interrupt keyword). The directive
should be placed immediately before the ISR function definition
and it affects ALL ISR functions following it. To enable
the normal register saving for ISR functions use #pragma EXCLUDE none.
CALLEE-SAVES function1[,function2[,function3...]] - The
compiler by default uses a caller saves convention for
register saving across function calls, however this can
cause unneccessary register pushing & popping when calling
small functions from larger functions. This option can
be used to switch the register saving convention for the
function names specified. The compiler will not save registers
when calling these functions, extra code will be generated
at the entry & exit for these functions to save & restore
the registers used by these functions, this can SUBSTANTIALLY
reduce code & improve run time performance of the generated
code. In future the compiler (with interprocedural analysis)
will be able to determine the appropriate scheme to use
for each function call. If --callee-saves command line
option is used, the function names specified in #pragma CALLEE-SAVES
is appended to the list of functions specified inthe command
line.
The pragma's are intended to be used to turn-off certain
optimizations which might cause the compiler to generate
extra stack / data space to store compiler generated temporary
variables. This usually happens in large functions. Pragma
directives should be used as shown in the following example,
they are used to control options & optimizations for a given
function; pragmas should be placed before and/or after a
function, placing pragma's inside a function body could
have unpredictable results.
#pragma SAVE /* save the current settings */
#pragma NOGCSE /* turnoff global subexpression elimination
*/
#pragma NOINDUCTION /* turn off induction optimizations */
int foo ()
{
...
/* large code */
...
}
#pragma RESTORE /* turn the optimizations back on */
The compiler will generate a warning message when extra space
is allocated. It is strongly recommended that the SAVE and
RESTORE pragma's be used when changing options for a function.
<pending: this is messy and incomplete> Library Routines
The following library routines are provided for your convenience.
stdio.h - Contains the following functions printf & sprintf
these routines are developed by Martijn van Balen <balen@natlab.research.philips.com>.
%[flags][width][b|B|l|L]type
flags:
- left justify output
in specified field width
+ prefix output with
+/- sign if output is signed type
space prefix output with a blank if
it's a signed positive value
width:
specifies minimum number of characters outputted for numbers
or strings.
- For numbers, spaces are added on the left when needed.
If width starts with a zero character, zeroes and used
instead of spaces.
- For strings, spaces are are added on the left or right
(when
flag '-' is used) when needed.
b/B:
byte argument (used by d, u, o, x, X)
l/L:
long argument (used by d, u, o, x, X)
type:
d decimal number
u unsigned decimal number
o unsigned octal number
x unsigned hexadecimal
number (0-9, a-f)
X unsigned hexadecimal
number (0-9, A-F)
c character
s string (generic pointer)
p generic pointer (I:data/idata,
C:code, X:xdata, P:paged)
f float (still to be
implemented)
Also contains a very simple version of printf (printf_small).
This simplified version of printf supports only the following
formats.
format output type argument-type
%d decimal
short/int
%ld decimal long
%hd decimal char
%x hexadecimal short/int
%lx hexadecimal long
%hx hexadecimal char
%o octal short/int
%lo octal long
%ho octal char
%c character char
%s character _generic
pointer
The routine is very stack intesive, --stack-after-data parameter
should be used when using this routine, the routine also
takes about 1K of code space. It also expects an external
function named putchar(char) to be present (this can be
changed). When using the %s format the string / pointer
should be cast to a generic pointer. eg.
printf_small("my str %s, my int %d\n",(char
_generic *)mystr,myint);
stdarg.h - contains definition for the following macros
to be used for variable parameter list, note that a function
can have a variable parameter list if and only if it is
'reentrant'
va_list, va_start, va_arg, va_end.
setjmp.h - contains defintion for ANSI setjmp & longjmp
routines. Note in this case setjmp & longjmp can be used
between functions executing within the same register bank,
if long jmp is executed from a function that is using
a different register bank from the function issuing the
setjmp function, the results may be unpredictable. The
jump buffer requires 3 bytes of data (the stack pointer
& a 16 byte return address), and can be placed in any
address space.
stdlib.h - contains the following functions.
atoi, atol.
string.h - contains the following functions.
strcpy, strncpy, strcat, strncat, strcmp, strncmp, strchr,
strrchr, strspn, strcspn, strpbrk, strstr, strlen, strtok,
memcpy, memcmp, memset.
ctype.h - contains the following routines.
iscntrl, isdigit, isgraph, islower, isupper, isprint, ispunct,
isspace, isxdigit, isalnum, isalpha.
malloc.h - The malloc routines are developed by Dmitry
S. Obukhov (dso@usa.net). These routines will allocate
memory from the external ram. Here is a description on
how to use them (as described by the author).
//Example:
//
#define DYNAMIC_MEMORY_SIZE 0x2000
//
.....
//
unsigned char xdata dynamic_memory_pool[DYNAMIC_MEMORY_SIZE];
//
unsigned char xdata * current_buffer;
//
.....
//
void main(void)
//
{
//
...
//
init_dynamic_memory(dynamic_memory_pool,DYNAMIC_MEMORY_SIZE);
//
//Now it's possible to use malloc.
//
...
//
current_buffer = malloc(0x100);
//
serial.h - Serial IO routines are also developed by Dmitry
S. Obukhov (dso@usa.net). These routines are interrupt
driven with a 256 byte circular buffer, they also expect
external ram to be present. Please see documentation in
file SDCCDIR/sdcc51lib/serial.c. Note the header file
"serial.h" MUST be included in the file containing
the 'main' function.
ser.h - Alternate serial routine provided by Wolfgang Esslinger
<wolfgang@WiredMinds.com> these routines are more compact
and faster. Please see documentation in file SDCCDIR/sdcc51lib/ser.c
ser_ir.h - Another alternate set of serial routines provided
by Josef Wolf <jw@raven.inka.de>, these routines do not
use the external ram.
reg51.h - contains register definitions for a standard
8051
float.h - contains min, max and other floating point related
stuff.
All library routines are compiled as --model-small, they
are all non-reentrant, if you plan to use the large model
or want to make these routines reentrant, then they will
have to be recompiled with the appropriate compiler option.
Have not had time to do the more involved routines like printf,
will get to them shortly.
Interfacing with Assembly Routines
Global Registers used for Parameter Passing
The compiler always uses the global registers DPL,DPH,B and
ACC to pass the first parameter to a routine. The second
parameter onwards is either allocated on the stack (for
reentrant routines or if --stack-auto is used) or in the
internal / external ram (depending on the memory model).
Assembler Routine(non-reentrant)
In the following example the function cfunc calls an assembler
routine asm_func, which takes two parameters.
extern int asm_func(unsigned char, unsigned char);
int c_func (unsigned char i, unsigned char j)
{
return asm_func(i,j);
}
int main()
{
return c_func(10,9);
}
The corresponding assembler function is:
.globl _asm_func_PARM_2
.globl _asm_func
.area OSEG
_asm_func_PARM_2:
.ds 1
.area CSEG
_asm_func:
mov a,dpl
add a,_asm_func_PARM_2
mov dpl,a
mov dpl,#0x00
ret
Note here that the return values are placed in 'dpl' - One
byte return value, 'dpl' LSB & 'dph' MSB for two byte values.
'dpl', 'dph' and 'b' for three byte values (generic pointers)
and 'dpl','dph','b' & 'acc' for four byte values.
The parameter naming convention is _<function_name>_PARM_<n>,
where n is the parameter number starting from 1, and counting
from the left. The first parameter is passed in "dpl"
for One bye parameter, "dptr"
if two bytes, "b,dptr"
for three bytes and "acc,b,dptr"
for four bytes, the varible name for the second parameter
will be _<function_name>_PARM_2.
Assemble the assembler routine with the following command:
asx8051 -losg asmfunc.asm
Then compile and link the assembler routine to the C source
file with the following command:
sdcc cfunc.c asmfunc.rel
Assembler Routine(reentrant)
In this case the second parameter onwards will be passed
on the stack, the parameters are pushed from right to left
i.e. after the call the left most parameter will be on the
top of the stack. Here is an example:
extern int asm_func(unsigned char, unsigned char);
int c_func (unsigned char i, unsigned char j) reentrant
{
return asm_func(i,j);
}
int main()
{
return c_func(10,9);
}
The corresponding assembler routine is:
.globl _asm_func
_asm_func:
push _bp
mov _bp,sp
mov r2,dpl
mov a,_bp
clr c
add a,#0xfd
mov r0,a
add a,#0xfc
mov r1,a
mov a,@r0
add a,r2
mov dpl,a
mov dph,#0x00
mov sp,_bp
pop _bp
ret
The compiling and linking procedure remains the same, however
note the extra entry & exit linkage required for the assembler
code, _bp is the stack frame pointer and is used to compute
the offset into the stack for parameters and local variables.
External Stack
The external stack is located at the start of the external
ram segment, and is 256 bytes in size. When --xstack option
is used to compile the program, the parameters and local
variables of all reentrant functions are allocated in this
area. This option is provided for programs with large stack
space requirements. When used with the --stack-auto option,
all parameters and local variables are allocated on the
external stack (note support libraries will need to be recompiled
with the same options).
The compiler outputs the higher order address byte of the
external ram segment into PORT P2, therefore when using
the External Stack option, this port MAY NOT be used by
the application program.
ANSI-Compliance
Deviations from the compliancy.
functions are not always reentrant.
structures cannot be assigned values directly, cannot be
passed as function parameters or assigned to each other
and cannot be a return value from a function, e.g.:
struct s { ... };
struct s s1, s2;
foo()
{
...
s1 = s2 ; /* is invalid in SDCC although
allowed in ANSI */
...
}
struct s foo1 (struct s parms) /* is invalid in SDCC although
allowed in ANSI */
{
struct s rets;
...
return rets;/* is invalid in SDCC although
allowed in ANSI */
}
'long long' (64 bit integers) not supported.
'double' precision floating point not supported.
No support for setjmp and longjmp (for now).
Old K&R style function declarations are NOT allowed.
foo(i,j) /* this old style of function declarations */
int i,j; /* are valid in ANSI but not valid in SDCC */
{
...
}
functions declared as pointers must be dereferenced during
the call.
int (*foo)();
...
/* has to be called like this */
(*foo)(); /* ansi standard allows calls to be made like
'foo()' */
Cyclomatic Complexity
Cyclomatic complexity of a function is defined as the number
of independent paths the program can take during execution
of the function. This is an important number since it defines
the number test cases you have to generate to validate the
function. The accepted industry standard for complexity
number is 10, if the cyclomatic complexity reported by SDCC
exceeds 10 you should think about simplification of the
function logic. Note that the complexity level is not related
to the number of lines of code in a function. Large functions
can have low complexity, and small functions can have large
complexity levels.
SDCC uses the following formula to compute the complexity:
complexity = (number of edges in control flow graph) - (number
of nodes in control flow graph) + 2;
Having said that the industry standard is 10, you should
be aware that in some cases it be may unavoidable to have
a complexity level of less than 10. For example if you have
switch statement with more than 10 case labels, each case
label adds one to the complexity level. The complexity level
is by no means an absolute measure of the algorithmic complexity
of the function, it does however provide a good starting
point for which functions you might look at for further
optimization.
TIPS
Here are a few guidelines that will help the compiler generate
more efficient code, some of the tips are specific to this
compiler others are generally good programming practice.
Use the smallest data type to represent your data-value.
If it is known in advance that the value is going to be
less than 256 then use a 'char' instead of a 'short' or
'int'.
Use unsigned when it is known in advance that the value
is not going to be negative. This helps especially if
you are doing division or multiplication.
NEVER jump into a LOOP.
Declare the variables to be local whenever possible, especially
loop control variables (induction).
Since the compiler does not do implicit integral promotion,
the programmer should do an explicit cast when integral
promotion is required.
Reducing the size of division, multiplication & modulus
operations can reduce code size substantially. Take the
following code for example.
foobar(unsigned int p1, unsigned char ch)
{
unsigned char ch1 = p1 % ch ;
....
}
For the modulus operation the variable ch will be promoted
to unsigned int first then the modulus operation will
be performed (this will lead to a call to support routine
_muduint()), and the result will be casted to an int.
If the code is changed to
foobar(unsigned int p1, unsigned char ch)
{
unsigned char ch1 = (unsigned char)p1 % ch ;
....
}
It would substantially reduce the code generated (future
versions of the compiler will be smart enough to detect
such optimization oppurtunities).
Notes on MCS51 memory layout
The 8051 family of micro controller have a minimum of 128
bytes of internal memory which is structured as follows
- Bytes 00-1F - 32 bytes to hold up to 4 banks of the registers
R7 to R7
- Bytes 20-2F - 16 bytes to hold 128 bit variables and
- Bytes 30-7F - 60 bytes for general purpose use.
Normally the SDCC compiler will only utilise the first bank
of registers, but it is possible to specify that other banks
of registers should be used in interrupt routines. By default,
the compiler will place the stack after the last bank of
used registers, i.e. if the first 2 banks of registers are
used, it will position the base of the internal stack at
address 16 (0X10). This implies that as the stack grows,
it will use up the remaining register banks, and the 16
bytes used by the 128 bit variables, and 60 bytes for general
purpose use.
By default, the compiler uses the 60 general purpose bytes
to hold "near data". The compiler/optimiser may also declare
some Local Variables in this area to hold local data.
If any of the 128 bit variables are used, or near data is
being used then care needs to be taken to ensure that the
stack does not grow so much that it starts to over write
either your bit variables or "near data". There is no runtime
checking to prevent this from happening.
The amount of stack being used is affected by the use of
the "internal stack" to save registers before a subroutine
call is made (--stack-auto will declare parameters and local
variables on the stack) and the number of nested subroutines.
If you detect that the stack is over writing you data, then
the following can be done. --xstack will cause an external
stack to be used for saving registers and (if --stack-auto
is being used) storing parameters and local variables. However
this will produce more code which will be slower to execute.
--stack-loc will allow you specify the start of the stack,
i.e. you could start it after any data in the general purpose
area. However this may waste the memory not used by the
register banks and if the size of the "near data" increases,
it may creep into the bottom of the stack.
--stack-after-data, similar to the --stack-loc, but it automatically
places the stack after the end of the "near data". Again
this could waste any spare register space.
--data-loc allows you to specify the start address of the
near data. This could be used to move the "near data" further
away from the stack giving it more room to grow. This will
only work if no bit variables are being used and the stack
can grow to use the bit variable space.
Conclusion.
If you find that the stack is over writing your bit variables
or "near data" then the approach which best utilised the
internal memory is to position the "near data" after the
last bank of used registers or, if you use bit variables,
after the last bit variable by using the --data-loc, e.g.
if two register banks are being used and no bit variables,
--data-loc 16, and use the --stack-after-data option.
If bit variables are being used, another method would be
to try and squeeze the data area in the unused register
banks if it will fit, and start the stack after the last
bit variable.
Retargetting for other MCUs.
The issues for retargetting the compiler are far too numerous
to be covered by this document. What follows is a brief
description of each of the seven phases of the compiler
and its MCU dependency.
Parsing the source and building the annotated parse tree.
This phase is largely MCU independent (except for the
language extensions). Syntax & semantic checks are also
done in this phase, along with some initial optimizations
like back patching labels and the pattern matching optimizations
like bit-rotation etc.
The second phase involves generating an intermediate code
which can be easy manipulated during the later phases.
This phase is entirely MCU independent. The intermediate
code generation assumes the target machine has unlimited
number of registers, and designates them with the name
iTemp. The compiler can be made to dump a human readable
form of the code generated by using the --dumpraw option.
This phase does the bulk of the standard optimizations
and is also MCU independent. This phase can be broken
down into several sub-phases:
Break down intermediate code (iCode) into basic blocks.
Do control flow & data flow analysis on the basic blocks.
Do local common subexpression elimination, then global
subexpression elimination
Dead code elimination
Loop optimizations
If loop optimizations caused any changes then do 'global
subexpression elimination' and 'dead code elimination'
again.
This phase determines the live-ranges; by live range I
mean those iTemp variables defined by the compiler that
still survive after all the optimizations. Live range
analysis is essential for register allocation, since these
computation determines which of these iTemps will be assigned
to registers, and for how long.
Phase five is register allocation. There are two parts
to this process.
The first part I call 'register packing' (for lack of a
better term). In this case several MCU specific expression
folding is done to reduce register pressure.
The second part is more MCU independent and deals with
allocating registers to the remaining live ranges. A lot
of MCU specific code does creep into this phase because
of the limited number of index registers available in
the 8051.
The Code generation phase is (unhappily), entirely MCU
dependent and very little (if any at all) of this code
can be reused for other MCU. However the scheme for allocating
a homogenized assembler operand for each iCode operand
may be reused.
As mentioned in the optimization section the peep-hole
optimizer is rule based system, which can reprogrammed
for other MCUs.
SDCDB - Source Level Debugger
SDCC is distributed with a source level debugger. The debugger
uses a command line interface, the command repertoire of
the debugger has been kept as close to gdb (the GNU debugger)
as possible. The configuration and build process is part
of the standard compiler installation, which also builds
and installs the debugger in the target directory specified
during configuration. The debugger allows you debug BOTH
at the C source and at the ASM source level.
Compiling for Debugging
The debug option must be specified for all files
for which debug information is to be generated. The complier
generates a .cdb file for each of these files. The linker
updates the .cdb file with the address information. This
.cdb is used by the debugger.
How the Debugger Works
When the --debug option is specified the compiler generates
extra symbol information some of which are put into the
the assembler source and some are put into the .cdb file,
the linker updates the .cdb file with the address information
for the symbols. The debugger reads the symbolic information
generated by the compiler & the address information generated
by the linker. It uses the SIMULATOR (Daniel's S51) to execute
the program, the program execution is controlled by the
debugger. When a command is issued for the debugger, it
translates it into appropriate commands for the simulator.
Starting the Debugger
The debugger can be started using the following command line.
(Assume the file you are debugging has the file name foo).
sdcdb foo
The debugger will look for the following files.
foo.c - the source file.
foo.cdb - the debugger symbol information file.
foo.ihx - the intel hex format object file.
Command Line Options.
--directory=<source file directory> this option can used
to specify the directory search list. The debugger will
look into the directory list specified for source, cdb
& ihx files. The items in the directory list must be separated
by ':', e.g. if the source files can be in the directories
/home/src1 and /home/src2, the --directory option should
be --directory=/home/src1:/home/src2. Note there can be
no spaces in the option.
-cd <directory> - change to the <directory>.
-fullname - used by GUI front ends.
-cpu <cpu-type> - this argument is passed to the simulator
please see the simulator docs for details.
-X <Clock frequency > this options is passed to the simulator
please see the simulator docs for details.
-s <serial port file> passed to simulator see the simulator
docs for details.
-S <serial in,out> passed to simulator see the simulator
docs for details.
Debugger Commands.
As mention earlier the command interface for the debugger
has been deliberately kept as close the GNU debugger gdb,
as possible. This will help the integration with existing
graphical user interfaces (like ddd, xxgdb or xemacs) existing
for the GNU debugger.
break [line | file:line | function | file:function]
Set breakpoint at specified line or function:
sdcdb>break 100
sdcdb>break foo.c:100
sdcdb>break funcfoo
sdcdb>break foo.c:funcfoo
clear [line | file:line | function | file:function ]
Clear breakpoint at specified line or function:
sdcdb>clear 100
sdcdb>clear foo.c:100
sdcdb>clear funcfoo
sdcdb>clear foo.c:funcfoo
continue
Continue program being debugged, after breakpoint.
finish
Execute till the end of the current function.
delete [n]
Delete breakpoint number 'n'. If used without any option
clear ALL user defined break points.
info [break | stack | frame | registers ]
info break - list all breakpoints
info stack - show the function call stack.
info frame - show information about the current execution
frame.
info registers - show content of all registers.
step
Step program until it reaches a different source line.
next
Step program, proceeding through subroutine calls.
run
Start debugged program.
ptype variable
Print type information of the variable.
print variable
print value of variable.
file filename
load the given file name. Note this is an alternate method
of loading file for debugging.
frame
print information about current frame.
set srcmode
Toggle between C source & assembly source.
! simulator command
Send the string following '!' to the simulator, the simulator
response is displayed. Note the debugger does not interpret
the command being sent to the simulator, so if a command
like 'go' is sent the debugger can loose its execution context
and may display incorrect values.
quit.
"Watch me now. Iam going Down. My name is Bobby Brown"
Interfacing with XEmacs.
Two files (in emacs lisp) are provided for the interfacing
with XEmacs, sdcdb.el and sdcdbsrc.el. These two files can
be found in the $(prefix)/bin directory after the installation
is complete. These files need to be loaded into XEmacs for
the interface to work. This can be done at XEmacs startup
time by inserting the following into your '.xemacs' file
(which can be found in your HOME directory):
(load-file sdcdbsrc.el)
.xemacs is a lisp file so the () around the command is REQUIRED.
The files can also be loaded dynamically while XEmacs is
running, set the environment variable 'EMACSLOADPATH' to
the installation bin directory (<installdir>/bin), then
enter the following command ESC-x load-file sdcdbsrc. To
start the interface enter the following command:
ESC-x sdcdbsrc
You will prompted to enter the file name to be debugged.
The command line options that are passed to the simulator
directly are bound to default values in the file sdcdbsrc.el.
The variables are listed below, these values maybe changed
as required.
sdcdbsrc-cpu-type '51
sdcdbsrc-frequency '11059200
sdcdbsrc-serial nil
The following is a list of key mapping for the debugger interface.
;; Current Listing ::
;;key binding Comment
;;--- ------- -------
;;
;; n
sdcdb-next-from-src SDCDB
next command
;; b
sdcdb-back-from-src SDCDB
back command
;; c
sdcdb-cont-from-src SDCDB
continue command
;; s
sdcdb-step-from-src SDCDB
step command
;; ?
sdcdb-whatis-c-sexp SDCDB
ptypecommand for data at
;;
buffer point
;; x
sdcdbsrc-delete SDCDB
Delete all breakpoints if no arg
;; given
or delete arg (C-u arg x)
;; m
sdcdbsrc-frame SDCDB
Display current frame if no arg,
;; given
or display frame arg
;; buffer
point
;; !
sdcdbsrc-goto-sdcdb Goto
the SDCDB output buffer
;; p
sdcdb-print-c-sexp SDCDB
print command for data at
;;
buffer point
;; g
sdcdbsrc-goto-sdcdb Goto
the SDCDB output buffer
;; t
sdcdbsrc-mode Toggles
Sdcdbsrc mode (turns it off)
;;
;; C-c C-f
sdcdb-finish-from-src SDCDB
finish command
;;
;; C-x SPC
sdcdb-break Set
break for line with point
;; ESC t
sdcdbsrc-mode Toggle
Sdcdbsrc mode
;; ESC m
sdcdbsrc-srcmode
Toggle list mode
;;
Other Processors
The Z80 and gbz80 port
SDCC can target both the Zilog Z80 and the Nintendo Gameboy's
Z80-like gbz80. The port is incomplete - long support is
incomplete (mul, div and mod are unimplimented), and both
float and bitfield support is missing. Apart from that the
code generated is correct.
As always, the code is the authoritave reference - see z80/ralloc.c
and z80/gen.c. The stack frame is similar to that generated
by the IAR Z80 compiler. IX is used as the base pointer,
HL is used as a temporary register, and BC and DE are available
for holding varibles. IY is currently unusued. Return values
are stored in HL. One bad side effect of using IX as the
base pointer is that a functions stack frame is limited
to 127 bytes - this will be fixed in a later version.
Support
SDCC has grown to be a large project. The compiler alone
(without the preprocessor, assembler and linker) is about
40,000 lines of code (blank stripped). The open source nature
of this project is a key to its continued growth and support.
You gain the benefit and support of many active software
developers and end users. Is SDCC perfect? No, that's why
we need your help. The developers take pride in fixing reported
bugs. You can help by reporting the bugs and helping other
SDCC users. There are lots of ways to contribute, and we
encourage you to take part in making SDCC a great software
package.
Reporting Bugs
Send an email to the mailing list at 'user-sdcc@sdcc.sourceforge.net'
or 'devel-sdcc@sdcc.sourceforge.net'. Bugs will be fixed
ASAP. When reporting a bug, it is very useful to include
a small test program which reproduces the problem. If you
can isolate the problem by looking at the generated assembly
code, this can be very helpful. Compiling your program with
the --dumpall option can sometimes be useful in locating
optimization problems.
Acknowledgments
Sandeep Dutta (sandeep.dutta@usa.net) - SDCC, the compiler,
MCS51 code generator, Debugger, AVR port
Alan Baldwin (baldwin@shop-pdp.kent.edu) - Initial version
of ASXXXX & ASLINK.
John Hartman (jhartman@compuserve.com) - Porting ASXXX &
ASLINK for 8051
Dmitry S. Obukhov (dso@usa.net) - malloc & serial i/o routines.
Daniel Drotos (drdani@mazsola.iit.uni-miskolc.hu) - for his
Freeware simulator
Malini Dutta(malini_dutta@hotmail.com) - my wife for her
patience and support.
Unknown - for the GNU C - preprocessor.
Michael Hope - The Z80 and Z80GB port, 186 development
Kevin Vigor - The DS390 port.
Johan Knol - Lots of fixes and enhancements, DS390/TINI libs.
Scott Datallo - The PIC port.
Thanks to all the other volunteer developers who have helped
with coding, testing, web-page creation, distribution sets,
etc. You know who you are :-)
This document was initially written by Sandeep Dutta
All product names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their
respective companies.