[Lldb-commits] [lldb] 1f47352 - Document some of the clang-specific DWARF extensions supported by LLDB

[Adrian Prantl via lldb-commits]

Author: Adrian Prantl
Date: 2022-09-09T17:49:11-07:00
New Revision: 1f47352ce7e84b2d2692aecdab19932f7abff589

URL: https://github.com/llvm/llvm-project/commit/1f47352ce7e84b2d2692aecdab19932f7abff589
DIFF: https://github.com/llvm/llvm-project/commit/1f47352ce7e84b2d2692aecdab19932f7abff589.diff

LOG: Document some of the clang-specific DWARF extensions supported by LLDB

This patch adds a new page to the LLDB documentation that documents,
among other things the -gmodules debug info format.

Differential Revision: https://reviews.llvm.org/D133519

Added: 
    lldb/docs/use/extensions.rst

Modified: 
    lldb/docs/index.rst

Removed: 
    


################################################################################
diff  --git a/lldb/docs/index.rst b/lldb/docs/index.rst
index 0d873189759d7..02d446573900a 100644
--- a/lldb/docs/index.rst
+++ b/lldb/docs/index.rst
@@ -133,6 +133,7 @@ interesting areas to contribute to lldb.
    use/variable
    use/symbolication
    use/symbols
+   use/extensions
    use/python
    use/python-reference
    use/remote

diff  --git a/lldb/docs/use/extensions.rst b/lldb/docs/use/extensions.rst
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..4a3f1ac177abc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lldb/docs/use/extensions.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,135 @@
+DWARF Extensions supported by LLDB
+==================================
+
+LLDB supports some DWARF extensions produced by Clang.
+
+Clang ``-gmodules`` debug info
+------------------------------
+
+On Darwin platforms, including Apple macOS and iOS, Clang can emit
+DWARF debug info for types found in `Clang
+modules<https://clang.llvm.org/docs/Modules.html>`_ more efficiently.
+
+From an on-disk storage perspective, Clang modules are precompiled
+header files that contain serialized Clang ASTs of all the
+declarations found in a Clang module. In traditional DWARF debug info,
+two object files that were built from sources that imported the same
+header file will both contain DWARF debug type info for types in that
+header file. This can lead to a lot of redundant `debug
+info<https://llvm.org/devmtg/2015-10/#talk19>`_.
+
+When Clang compiles a Clang module or precompiled header with the
+``-gmodules`` option, the precompiled header (``.pch``) or module
+(``.pcm``) files become object file containers (on Darwin: Mach-O)
+that hold a ``__clang_ast`` section with the serialized Clang AST and
+various DWARF sections containing debug info for the type declarations
+found in the header or module.
+
+This allows Clang to omit these type definitions from the object
+(``.o``) files and replace them with forward declarations to save
+space. Type declarations in a Clang module are nested inside one
+``DW_TAG_module``, or -- in the case of submodules -- multiple levels
+of ``DW_TAG_module``. If a DWARF DIE needs to reference a type DIE
+from another module, Clang emits a forward declaration of the
+referenced DIE into a ``DW_TAG_module`` inside the same compile unit.
+
+When a consumer sees a forward declaration that is nested inside a
+``DW_TAG_module``, it knows that it can find the full type declaration
+in an external ``.pcm`` or ``.pch`` file. To facilitate locating these
+external dependencies, Clang emits skeleton CUs into each object file
+that references external modules. Clang uses the same mechanism that
+is used to locate external ``.dwo`` files on ELF-based platforms. The
+``DW_AT_GNU_dwo_name`` contains the absolute path to the ``.pcm``
+file, and the ``DW_AT_GNU_dwo_id`` is a hash of the contents that is
+repeated in the ``DW_TAG_compile_unit`` of the ``.pcm`` file.
+
+For example:
+
+M.h
+
+::
+
+   struct A {
+     int x;
+   };
+
+
+M.pcm
+
+::
+   DW_TAG_compile_unit
+     DW_AT_GNU_dwo_id  (0xabcdef)
+     DW_TAG_module
+       DW_AT_name "M"
+       DW_TAG_structure
+         DW_AT_name "A"
+         DW_TAG_member
+           DW_AT_name "x"
+   
+A.c
+   
+::
+   A a;
+
+A.o
+
+::
+   DW_TAG_compile_unit
+     DW_TAG_module
+       DW_AT_name "M"
+       DW_TAG_structure
+         DW_AT_name "A"
+         DW_AT_declaration (true)
+     DW_TAG_variable
+       DW_AT_name "a"
+       DW_AT_type (local ref to fwd decl "A")
+
+   DW_TAG_compile_unit
+     DW_AT_GNU_dwo_id  (0xabcdef)
+     DW_AT_GNU_dwo_name    ("M.pcm")
+   
+The debug info inside a ``.pcm`` file may recursively reference
+further external types that are defined in other ``.pcm`` files. Clang
+generates external references (and debug info inside the modules) for
+the following types:
+
+C:
+
+- ``struct``
+- ``union``
+- ``enum``
+- ``typedef``
+
+Objective-C:
+
+- all the C types listed above
+- ``@interface``
+
+C++:
+
+- all the C types listed above
+- ``namespace``
+- any explicit ``extern template`` specializations
+
+LLDB supports this DWARF extension only when debugging from ``.o``
+files. The ``dsymutil`` debug info linker also understands this format
+and will resolve all module type references to point straight to the
+underlying defining declaration. Because of this a ``.dSYM`` bundle
+will never contain any ``-gmodules``-style references.
+
+Apple SDK information
+---------------------
+
+Clang and the Swift compiler emit information about the Xcode SDK that
+was used to build a translation unit into the ``DW_TAG_compile_unit``.
+The ``DW_AT_LLVM_sysroot`` attribute points to the SDK root
+(equivalent to Clang's ``-isysroot`` option). The ``DW_AT_APPLE_sdk``
+attribute contains the name of the SDK, for example ``MacOSX.sdk``.
+
+Objective-C runtime
+-------------------
+
+Clang emits the Objective-C runtime version into the
+``DW_TAG_compile_unit`` using the
+``DW_AT_APPLE_major_runtime_version`` attribute. The value 2 stands
+for Objective-C 2.0.