[cfe-dev] Clang assembler missed features

[Peter Smith via cfe-dev]

>
> Hi,
>
>
> I work in arm in an open source project called TF [1], and we support
> compilation with clang.  We want to get rid of GNU tools when a clang
> toolchain is used, but we found some problems when we try to use the
> clang assembler:
>
>          - .func, .endfunc and .struct  directives are not supported
>          - substraction of relative labels doesn't produce absolute
>            values
>
>                  .if (. - \begin) > 32)
>
>                  generates 'error: expected absolute expression' message
>
> Is clang going to support these features?
>
> Best regards,
>
>
> [1] https://github.com/ARM-software/arm-trusted-firmware

Hello Roberto,

Although I can't speak for the whole community, my predictions:
- .func and .endfunc are unlikely as this is documented only to do
something when the stabs debugging is enabled and clang is unlikely to
support stabs. See https://sourceforge.net/p/libjpeg-turbo/bugs/72/

- .struct seems feasible, but I don't know if anyone has any plans to
implement it.

- Subtraction of relative labels is unlikely in a .if statement. MC
can produce absolute values for relative labels in some cases but it
requires a layout. Instruction relaxation, such as turning a 16-bit
Thumb branch into a 32-bit Thumb 2 branch if the distance requires it,
means that the distance between 2 labels isn't known until the layout
finalises. For .if the expression evaluation needs to occur before
relaxation as the result of the .if could affect relaxation. In theory
it could be possible to alter the assembler to calculate part of the
layout inline and handle some expressions, but I don't think that the
disruption to the implementation would be worth it.

Peter