[LLVMdev] [RFC] MCJIT usage models

[Filip Pizlo]

On Dec 9, 2013, at 11:08 AM, Kaylor, Andrew <andrew.kaylor at intel.com> wrote:

> Below is an outline of various usage models for MCJIT that I put together based on conversations at last month’s LLVM Developer Meeting.  If you’re using or thinking about using MCJIT and your use case doesn’t seem to fit in one of the categories below then either I didn’t talk to you or I didn’t understand what you’re doing.
>  
> In any case, I’d like to see this get worked into a shape suitable for inclusion in the LLVM documentation.  I imagine it serving as a guide both to those who are new to using MCJIT and to those who are developing and maintaining MCJIT.  If you’re using MCJIT the latter (yes, the latter) case is particularly important to you right now as having your use case properly represented in this document is the best way to ensure that it is adequately considered when changes are made to MCJIT and when the decision is made as to when we are ready to deprecate the old JIT engine (probably in the 3.5 release, BTW).
>  
> So here’s what I’m asking for: if you are currently using MCJIT or considering using MCJIT, can you please find the use case that best fits your program and comment on how well the outline describes it.  If you understand what I’m saying below but you see something that is missing, please let me know.  If you aren’t sure what I’m saying or you don’t know how MCJIT might address your particular issues, please let me know that too.  If you think my outline is too sketchy and you need me to elaborate before you can provide meaningful feedback, please let me know about that.  If you think it’s the best piece of documentation you’ve read all year and you can’t wait to read it again, that’s good information too.
>  
> Thanks in advance for any and all feedback.
>  
> -Andy
>  
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>  
> Models for MCJIT use
>  
> 1. Interactive dynamic code generation
>     - user types code which is compiled as needed for execution
>     - example: Kaleidoscope
>     - compilation speed probably isn't critical
>     - use one MCJIT instance with many modules
>     - create new modules on compilation
>     - MCJIT handles linking between modules
>         - external references still need prototypes
>         - we can at least provide a module pass to automate it
>     - memory overhead may be an issue but MCJIT can fix that
>     - see model 2 for pre-defined library
>     - if processing a large script pre-optimize before passing modules to MCJIT
>  
> 2. Code generation for external target execution
>     - client generates code to be injected into an external process
>     - example: LLDB expression evaluation
>     - target may be another local or remote
>     - target architecture may not match host architecture
>     - may use one or more instances of MCJIT (client preference)
>     - MCJIT handles address remapping on request
>     - custom memory manager handles code/data transfer
>     - speed/memory requirements may vary
>  
> 3. Large pre-defined module compilation and execution
>     - code/IR is loaded from disk and prepared for execution
>     - example: Intel(R) OpenCL SDK
>     - compilation speed matters but isn't critical
>     - initial startup time is somewhat important
>     - execution speed is critical
>     - memory consumption isn't an issue
>     - tool integration may be important
>     - use one MCJIT instance with multiple (but usually) few modules
>     - use object caching for commonly used code
>     - for very large, sparsely used libraries pre-link modules
>     - object and archive support may be useful
>  
> 4. Hot function replacement
>     - client uses MCJIT to optimize frequently executed code
>     - example: WebKit
>     - compilation time is not critical
>     - execution speed is critical
>     - steady state memory consumption is very important
>     - client handles pre-JIT interpretation/execution
>     - MCJIT instances may be created as needed
>     - custom memory manager transfers code memory ownership after compilation
>     - MCJIT instance is deleted when no longer needed
>     - client handles function replacement and lifetime management

This part LGTM.

Not sure if this is useful, but something that is also interesting in this case is that the LLVM IR never calls declared functions except for intrinsics.  All function calls involve a pointer constant planted in IR and then bitcast to the appropriate function pointer type.  This implies that the client does all linking, and in WebKit's case, it means that we rely on the patchpoint intrinsic for doing our own relocation magic, separate from RuntimeDyld.

>  
> 5. On demand "one-time" execution
>     - client provides a library of code which is used by small, disposable functions
>     - example: database query?
>     - initial load time isn't important
>     - execution time is critical
>     - if library code is fixed, load as shared library
>     - if library code must be generated use a separate instance of MCJIT to hold the library
>         - this instance can support multiple modules
>         - use a custom memory manager to link with functions in this module
>         - object caching and archive support may be useful in this case
>     - if inlining/lto is more important than compile time keep library in an IR module and pre-link just before invoking MCJIT
>     - create one instance of MCJIT as needed and destroy after execution
> _______________________________________________
> LLVM Developers mailing list
> LLVMdev at cs.uiuc.edu         http://llvm.cs.uiuc.edu
> http://lists.cs.uiuc.edu/mailman/listinfo/llvmdev

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.llvm.org/pipermail/llvm-dev/attachments/20131209/5a9b92c3/attachment.html>