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<p class="MsoNormal">I produce a mathematical modelling library on several platforms, including iOS, macOS and Android, all of which use Clang. Where the hardware can generate floating-point traps, I prefer to run testing with traps for Invalid Operation, Divide-by-Zero
and Overflow turned on, since that finds me problem sites more quickly than working backwards from “this test case failed.”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">However, I had a problem with Apple Clang 8.x, which I believe was LLVM 3.9, targeting x86-64, in that the optimiser was assuming that floating-point traps were turned off. This was shown, for example, by the way it hoisted floating-point
divides above tests of the divisor that were meant to safeguard the divides. <o:p>
</o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">After a long support case with Apple, they gave me some Clang command-line options for LLVM that suppressed the problem:
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:36.0pt">-mllvm -speculate-one-expensive-inst=false
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:36.0pt">-mllvm -bonus-inst-threshold=0<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I appreciate that this costs some performance, and I can accept that. These options worked fine for Apple Clang 9.x, whose various versions seem to have been based on LLVM 4.x and 5.x.
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Now I’ve come to Apple Clang 10.0, which seems to be based on LLVM 6.0.1, and I have lots of floating-point traps again in optimised x86-64 code. It seems possible that I need some further LLVM options: does this seem plausible?
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I’m not familiar with the LLVM codebase, and while I can find the source files that list the options I can use with -mllvm, I’d be guessing at which options are worth trying. Can anyone make suggestions?
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Thanks very much, <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">--
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">John Dallman<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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Siemens Industry Software Limited is a limited company registered in England and Wales.<br>
Registered number: 3476850.<br>
Registered office: Faraday House, Sir William Siemens Square, Frimley, Surrey, GU16 8QD.
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