diff options
author | Yonghong Song <yhs@fb.com> | 2018-02-01 23:00:11 -0800 |
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committer | Daniel Borkmann <daniel@iogearbox.net> | 2018-02-02 11:14:19 +0100 |
commit | 6215ea6b7ee7bdaf308bd72f01dbf62dec70cdad (patch) | |
tree | 649d5fbffb48d0d8ce031867b5128a6664ee0b3d /Documentation/bpf | |
parent | 65073a67331de3d2cce35607807ddec284e75e81 (diff) |
bpf: add documentation to compare clang "-target bpf" and default target
The added documentation explains how generated codes may differ
between clang bpf target and default target, and when to use
each target.
Signed-off-by: Yonghong Song <yhs@fb.com>
Signed-off-by: Daniel Borkmann <daniel@iogearbox.net>
Diffstat (limited to 'Documentation/bpf')
-rw-r--r-- | Documentation/bpf/bpf_devel_QA.txt | 31 |
1 files changed, 31 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/Documentation/bpf/bpf_devel_QA.txt b/Documentation/bpf/bpf_devel_QA.txt index cefef855dea4..84cbb302f2b5 100644 --- a/Documentation/bpf/bpf_devel_QA.txt +++ b/Documentation/bpf/bpf_devel_QA.txt @@ -516,4 +516,35 @@ A: LLVM has a -mcpu selector for the BPF back end in order to allow the By the way, the BPF kernel selftests run with -mcpu=probe for better test coverage. +Q: In some cases clang flag "-target bpf" is used but in other cases the + default clang target, which matches the underlying architecture, is used. + What is the difference and when I should use which? + +A: Although LLVM IR generation and optimization try to stay architecture + independent, "-target <arch>" still has some impact on generated code: + + - BPF program may recursively include header file(s) with file scope + inline assembly codes. The default target can handle this well, + while bpf target may fail if bpf backend assembler does not + understand these assembly codes, which is true in most cases. + + - When compiled without -g, additional elf sections, e.g., + .eh_frame and .rela.eh_frame, may be present in the object file + with default target, but not with bpf target. + + - The default target may turn a C switch statement into a switch table + lookup and jump operation. Since the switch table is placed + in the global readonly section, the bpf program will fail to load. + The bpf target does not support switch table optimization. + The clang option "-fno-jump-tables" can be used to disable + switch table generation. + + You should use default target when: + + - Your program includes a header file, e.g., ptrace.h, which eventually + pulls in some header files containing file scope host assembly codes. + - You can add "-fno-jump-tables" to work around the switch table issue. + + Otherwise, you can use bpf target. + Happy BPF hacking! |