[LLVMdev] Register variables

[Török Edwin]

On 2009-02-06 11:28, Tom Primožič wrote:
> Hello!
>
> I have been considering using LLVM for my compiler project for some
> time now, and have been extensively researching its capabilities.
> However, I have come to a sticking point that I cannot solve.
>
> My language is a multi paradigm language, but with the emphasis on
> "functional". As such, it is expected that programs will allocate a
> lot of small, short-lived data. This means, in particular, that
> allocations have to be very fast - increase the heap pointer and check
> for heap overflow. However, I have not yet found a way to tell the
> LLVM compiler to keep a global variable in a register at all times
> (except when using some foreign calling convention, when all registers
> are saved on the stack). Another reason that I would like to keep the
> current heap pointer in processor registers is that my language will
> support multi-threading, with every thread having its own heap (there
> will be a global heap, too, but allocations will be more expensive).
> Therefore, I cannot use a global memory location for the heap pointer,
> as it has to be different for every thread on the system.
>
> If any of you has any ideas how to solve this issue, please tell me. I
> have also looked at some other projects (C--, and some other
> implementations of compilers for functional languages), but have not
> yet found anything useful.

Wouldn't a thread-local global variable solve your problem?

Best regards,
--Edwin