Tutorial: How To Write An LLVM Register Allocator

[Natanael Ramos via llvm-commits]

Thank you for the suggestions Sean, I really needed suggestions like that
when I was writing the document.
When I was writing the document, as it is a product of my bachelor thesis,
I was running out of time, so I end up losing myself on how to make the
best organization.

2016-02-10 3:37 GMT-02:00 Sean Silva <chisophugis at gmail.com>:

> caveat: I'm not an expert in register allocation
> caveat to the caveat: that means that I'm the audience of this document
> presumably, so the issues I see are probably representative
>
> I just got around to reading through your document, and the major thing I
> see is that there is not a clear organization and is missing the
> "walkthrough" nature of a true HowTo.
>
> I would recommend splitting the document into two sections: "concepts" and
> "walkthrough".
> - The "concepts" covers the background needed to understand the
> walkthrough.
> - The walkthrough is a numbered list of steps. Each step gives specific
> instructions for what the reader should do next and advice for how to do it
> (tips, caveats, etc.). This is a careful balance between just saying "paste
> this code in" and providing high level details/clarifications. In the case
> of this document, focus on the things that a reader cannot infer from just
> reading RegAllocBasic. Having a section "How To Start" at the end under
> "Tips" which just says "go look at RegAllocBasic" is confusing: the whole
> point of a HowTo is to describe how to start! You may want "copy
> RegAllocBasic into RegAllocMyAlloc" as step one of the walkthrough though.
>
> You already have a lot of the content you need, it's just a matter of
> organizing it into a clear walkthrough style. Organization is actually
> *hugely* important for documentation: real documentation reading is highly
> non-linear (for example, looking back at something earlier in the document,
> or not understanding something and skimming ahead to see if there is
> something that helps it make sense). If the reader does not have a clear
> "map" in their head they will have a very hard time. For example, having
> explicit numbered steps is actually not necessarily about having somebody
> read them in that order! It is moreso so that the person reading *knows
> where they are* in the order.
>
> -- Sean Silva
>
>
>
>
> On Fri, Feb 5, 2016 at 3:50 PM, Natanael Ramos via llvm-commits <
> llvm-commits at lists.llvm.org> wrote:
>
>> Hello
>>
>> My name is Natanael Ramos, I'm a  student of bachelor degree on Computer
>> Science Course, here on Brazil.
>>
>> Recently I have worked with LLVM for my undergraduate thesis (I don't
>> really know how is called in other countries, here is called Completion
>> of course work), in my work I have implemented an register allocator
>> using LLVM and have tested him with the built-in allocators in LLVM
>> (Probably I'll publish a paper soon, if all goes as expected).
>>
>> As another product of my work, I have created a tutorial of how to write
>> an LLVM register allocator, extending the RegAllocBase interface, this
>> tutorial is based on my understanding of the LLVM framework for working
>> with the register allocation pass.
>>
>> The tutorial have been written in reStructuredText following the LLVM
>> instructions and orientations (
>> http://www.llvm.org/docs/SphinxQuickstartTemplate.html). As it's
>> suggested, I'm sending the tutorial to this mailing list in order to contribute
>> to the community of developers, which use LLLVM.
>>
>> Any suggestions, please let me know.
>>
>> --
>> Natanael Ramos
>> Membro do corpo discente de Ciência da Computação pelo Instituto Federal
>> de
>> Minas Gerais - Campus Formiga
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> llvm-commits mailing list
>> llvm-commits at lists.llvm.org
>> http://lists.llvm.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/llvm-commits
>>
>>
>


-- 
Natanael Ramos
Membro do corpo discente de Ciência da Computação pelo Instituto Federal de
Minas Gerais - Campus Formiga
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