[llvm-dev] Question about LLVM DAGCombiner removes AND instruction

[Allen Lu via llvm-dev]

Hello,


I was testing the vector divide on a RISCV target simulator and found out
there is a problem if the element type of vector is unsigned char.
Strangely, it works out fine if the type is signed char.



Below is the reduced code of the problem:



-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


typedef unsigned char uint8x2_t __attribute__((vector_size(2)));

uint8x2_t div(uint8x2_t a, uint8x2_t b) {

  return a / b;

}

int main() {

  uint8x2_t a = {2, 2};

  uint8x2_t b = {0, 1};

  uint8x2_t c = div(a, b);

  if (c[1] != 2)

    return 1;

  return 0;

}

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



I checked the assembly code and found the difference between the two types
is the absence of an AND instruction in unsigned char.



The purpose of AND instruction is rebuilding the vector after two elements
being divided separately. The rebuilding process is shifting one element 8
bits to the left, then uses AND instruction to mask out unnecessary data
beyond 8th digit of the other element. At last, there is an OR instruction
to combine two elements into one vector.



It seems that DAGCombiner in LLVM considers the result produced by unsigned
divide will always be zero beyond the 8th digit and deems the AND
instruction is unnecessary. As a result, it was removed.



It is a valid move under most circumstances but there is a division by zero
case in my code. The simulator returns 0xfffffff when it occurs. If the
element type is char, there will be an AND instruction to truncate data
into 8 bits (0xff), so it can get the correct result while using OR to
build the vector. However if the element type is unsigned char, the AND
will be removed. The other element in the vector will be affected by
0xffffffff while using OR. Hence causes the problem.


Is there any way to prevent DAGCombiner from removing AND in this case?



Thanks!
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