[llvm-dev] TableGen - cryptic error messages (~feature request)

[RCU via llvm-dev]

   Hello.
     I started implementing a back end in LLVM (and I'm writing some hints I consider 
useful at https://sites.google.com/site/alexsusu/home/backend-llvm ).
     Unfortunately, I hit quite a few times very cryptic error messages when compiling 
with TableGen, which required a few good hours of debugging the TableGen program.

     The most cryptic error message was when compiling with TableGen, with the option 
-gen-asm-matcher . Here I got the following error message:
llvm-tblgen: ~/llvm/lib/TableGen/StringMatcher.cpp:52: bool 
llvm::StringMatcher::EmitStringMatcherForChar(const std::vector<const 
std::pair<std::basic_string<char>, std::basic_string<char> >*>&, unsigned int, unsigned 
int) const: Assertion `Matches.size() == 1 && "Had duplicate keys to match on"' failed.
[...]
Stack dump:
0.      Program arguments: ~/llvm/build3/bin/llvm-tblgen -gen-asm-matcher -I 
~/llvm/include Connex.td
./run_tblgen.sh: line 13: 27011 Aborted                 (core dumped) 
~/llvm/build3/bin/llvm-tblgen -gen-asm-matcher -I ~/llvm/include Connex.td > 
ConnexGenAsmMatcher.inc

     It took me quite a few hours to find the source of the error, namely the fact I had 
defined two registers with the SAME ASM name (string) - so the disassembly (ASM matcher) 
info had conflicts. I actually sped up my debugging by editing the file 
~/llvm/lib/TableGen/StringMatcher.cpp and adding in StringMatcher::
EmitStringMatcherForChar() some printing that explained more clearly why the error happens.

     Therefore I have this IMPORTANT question: would you feel it is useful to make 
TableGen give more detailed error messages? I personally recommend this.


   Thank you,
     Alex