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author | Massimiliano Mantione <massi@mono-cvs.ximian.com> | 2004-05-17 13:35:07 +0400 |
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committer | Massimiliano Mantione <massi@mono-cvs.ximian.com> | 2004-05-17 13:35:07 +0400 |
commit | f338a0c396237b392d90eae3172c1f3d7091472a (patch) | |
tree | fd2a99b0eac4ba75365f6fb608d731718a5b855a /docs/abc-removal.txt | |
parent | a188e60dacdbb0bc84b5edd7cdaefd43b3b79023 (diff) |
Added documentation for abc removal code.
svn path=/trunk/mono/; revision=27511
Diffstat (limited to 'docs/abc-removal.txt')
-rwxr-xr-x | docs/abc-removal.txt | 525 |
1 files changed, 525 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/docs/abc-removal.txt b/docs/abc-removal.txt new file mode 100755 index 00000000000..82bad22330e --- /dev/null +++ b/docs/abc-removal.txt @@ -0,0 +1,525 @@ + +Here "abc" stays for "array bounds check", or "array bound checks", or +some combination of the two... + +------------------------------------------------------------------------------ +USAGE + +Simply use the "abcrem" optimization invoking mono. + +To see if bound checks are actually removed, use "mono -v" and grep for +"ARRAY-ACCESS" in the output, there should be a message for each check +that has been removed. + +To trace the algorithm execution, use "-v -v -v", and be prepared to be +totally submersed by debugging messages... + +------------------------------------------------------------------------------ +EFFECTIVENESS + +The abc removal code can now always remove bound checks from "clean" +array scans in loops, and generally anyway there are clear conditions that +already state that the index is "safe". + +To be clearer, and give an idea of what the algorithm can and cannot do +without describing it in detail... keep in mind that only "redunant" checks +cannot be removed. By "redundant", I mean "already explicitly checked" in +the method code. + +Unfortunately, analyzing complex expressions is not so easy (see below for +details), so the capabilities of this "abc remover" are limited. + +These are simple guidelines: +- Only simple comparisons between variables are understood. +- Only increment-decrement operations are handled. +- "switch" statements are not yet handled. + +This means that code like this will be handled well: + +for (int i = 0; i < a.Length; i++) { + a [i] = ..... +} + +The "i" variable could be declared out of the "for", the "for" could be a +"while", and maybe even implemented with "goto", the array could be scanned +in reverse order, and everything would still work. +I could have a temporary variable storing the array length, and check on +it inside the loop, and the abc removal would still occurr, like this: + +int i = 0; +int l = a.Length; +while ( i < l ) { + a [i] ...... +} + +or this: + +int l = a.Length; +for (int i = l; i > 0; i--) { + a [i] = ..... +} + + +But just something like this + +for (int i = 0; i < (a.Length -1); i++) ..... + +or like this + +for (int i = 0; i < a.Length; i += 2) ..... + +would not work, the check would stay there, sorry :-( + +Just to make you understand how things are tricky... this would work! + +int limit = a.Length - 1; +for (int i = 0; i < limit; i++) { + a [i] = ..... +} + + +A detailed explanation of the reason why things are done like this is given +below... + +All in all, the compiling phase is generally non so fast, and the abc removed +are so few, that there is hardly a performance gain in using the "abcrem" +flag in the compiling options for short programs like the ones I tried. + +Anyway, various bound checks *are* removed, and this is good :-) + +------------------------------------------------------------------------------ +THE ALGORITHM + +Unfortunately, this time google has not been my friend, and I did not +find an algorithm I could reasonably implement in the time frame I had, +so I had to invent one. The two cleasses of algorithms I found were either +simply an analisys of variable ranges (which is not very different from +what I'm doing), or they were based on type systems richer than the .NET +one (particularly, they required integer types to have an explicit range, +which could be related to array ranges). By the way, it seems that the +gcj people do not have an array bound check removal optimization (they +just have a compiler flag that unconditionally removes all the checks, +but this is not what we want). + +This array bound check removal (abc removal) algorithm is based on +symbolic execution concepts. I handle the removal like an "unreachable +code elimination" (and in fact the optimization could be extended to remove +also other unreachable sections of code, due to branches that "always go the +same way"). + +In symbolic execution, variables do not have actual (numeric) values, but +instead symbolic expressions (like "a", or "x+y"). +Also, branch conditions are handled like symbolic conditions (like "i<k"), +which state relations between variable values. + +The SSA representation inside mini is somewhat close to a symbolic +representation of the execution of the compiled method. +Particularly, the representation of variable values is exactly a symbolic +one. It is enough to find all CEE_STIND_* instructions which store to a +local variable, and their second argument is exactly the variable value. +Actually, "cfg->vars [<variable-index>]->def" should contain exactly +those store instructions, and the "get_variable_value_from_ssa_store" +function extracts the variable value from there. + +On the other hand, the conditions under which each basic block is +executed are not made fully explicit. + +However, it is not difficult to make them so. +Each BB that has more than one exit BB, in practice must end either with +a conditional branch instruction or with a switch instruction. +In the first case, the BB has exactly two exit BBs, and their execution +conditions are easy to get from the condition of the branch (see the +"get_relation_from_branch_instruction" function, and expecially the end of +"analyze_block" in abcremoval.c. +If there is a switch, the jump condition of every exit BB is the equality +of the switch argument with the particular index associated with its case +(but the current implementation does not handle switch statements yet). + +These individual conditions are in practice associated to each arc that +connects BBs in the CFG (with the simple case that unconditional branches +have a "TRUE" condition, because they always happen). + +So, for each BB, its *proper* entry condition is the union of all the +conditions associated to arcs that enter the BB. The "union" is like a +logical "or", in the sense that either of the condition could be true, +they are not necessarily all true. This means that if I can enter a BB +in two ways, and in one case I know that "x>0", and in the other that +"x==0", actually in the BB I know that "x>=0", which is a weaker +condition (the union of the two). + +Also, the *complete* entry condition for a BB is the "intersection" of all +the entry conditions of its dominators. This is true because each dominator +is the only way to reach the BB, so the entry condition of each dominator +must be true if the control flow reached the BB. This translates to the +logical "and" of all the "proper" conditions of the BBs met walking up in the +dominator tree. So, if one says "x>0", and another "x==1", then I know +that "x==1", which is a stronger condition (the intersection of the two). +Note that, if the two conditions were "x>0" and "x==0", then the block would +be unreachable (the intersection is empty), because some branch is impossible. + +Another observation is that, inside each BB, every variable is subject to the +complete entry condition of that very same BB, and not the one in which it is +defined (with the "complete entry condition" being the thing I defined before, +sorry if these terms "proper" and "complete" are strange, I found nothing +better). +This happens because the branch conditions are related to the control flow. +I can define "i=a", and if I am in a BB where "a>0", then "i>0", but not +otherwise. + +So, intuitively, if the available conditions say "i>=0", and i is used as an +index in an array access, then the lower bound check can be omitted. +If the condition also says "(i>=0)&&(i<array.length)", the abc removal can +occur. + +So, a complete solution to the problem of abc removal would be the following: +for each array access, build a system of equations containing: +[1] all the symbolic variable definitions +[2] the complete entry condition of the BB in which the array access occurs +[3] the two "goal functions" ("index >=0" and "index < array.length") +If the system is valid for *each possible* variable value, then the goal +functions are always true, and the abc can be removed. + +All this discussion is useful to give a precise specification to the problem +we are trying to solve. +The trouble is that, in the general case, the resulting system of equations +is like a predicate in first order logic, which is semi-decidable, and its +general solution is anyway too complex to be attempted in a JIT compiler +(which should not contain a full fledged theorem prover). + +Therefore, we must cut some corner. + + +By the way, there is also another big problem, which is caused by "recursive" +symbolic definitions. These definition can (and generally do) happen every +time there is a loop. For instance, in the following piece of code + +for ( int i = 0; i < array.length; i++ ) { + Console.WriteLine( "array [i] = " + array [i] ); +} + +one of the definitions of i is a PHI that can be either 0 or "i + 1". + +Now, we know that mathematically "i = i + 1" does not make sense, and in +fact symbolic values are not "equations", they are "symbolic definitions". + +The symbolic value of i is a generic "n", where "n" is the number of +iterations of the loop, but this is terrible to handle (and in more complex +examples the symbolic definition of i simply cannot be written, because i is +calculated in an iterative way). + +However, the definition "i = i + 1" tells us something about i: it tells us +that i "grows". So (from the PHI definition) we know that i is either 0, or +"grows". This is enough to tell that "i>=0", which is what we want! +It is important to note that recursive definitions can only occurr inside +PHI definitions, because actually a variable cannot be defined *only* in terms +of itself! + + +At this point, I can explain which corners I want to cut to make the +problem solvable. It will not remove all the abc that could theoretically +be removed, but at least it will work. + +The easiest way to cut corners is to only handle expressions which are +"reasonably simple", and ignore the rest. +Keep in mind that ignoring an expression is not harmful in itself. +The algorithm will be simply "less powerful", because it will ignore +conditions that could have caused to the removal of an abc, but will +not remove checks "by mistake" (so the resulting code will be in any case +correct). + +In a first attempt, we can consider only conditions that have the simple +possible form, which is "(compare simpleExpression simpleExpression)", +where "simpleExpression" is either "(ldind.* local[*])" or +"(ldlen (ldind.ref local[*]))" (or a constant, of course). + +We can also "summarize" variable definitions, keeping only what is relevant +to know: if they are greater or smaller than zero or other variables. + +One particular note on PHI functions: they work (obviously) like the logical +"or" of their definitions, and therefore are equivalent to the "logical or" +of the summarization of their definitions. + +About recursive definitions (which, believe me, are the worst thing in all +this mess), we handle only "monotonic" ones. That is, we try to understand +if the recursive definition (which, as we said above, must happen because +of a loop) always "grows" or "gets smaller". In all other cases, we decide +we cannot handle it. + +So, the algorithm to optimize one method could be something like: + +[1] Build the SSA representation. +[2] Analyze each BB. Particularly, do the following: + [2a] summarize its exit conditions + [2b] summarize all the variable definitions occurring in the BB + [2c] check if it contains array accesses (only as optimization, so that + step 3 will be performed only when necessary) +[3] Perform the removal. For each BB that contains array accesses, do: + [3a] build an evaluation area where for each variable we keep track + of its relations with zero and with each other variable. + [3b] populate the evaluation area with the initial data (the variable + definitions and the complete entry condition of the BB) + [3c] propagate the relations between variables (so that from "a<b" and + "b<c" we know that "a<c") in the evaluation area + [3d] for each array access in the BB, use the evaluation area to "match + conditions", to see if the goal functions are satisfied + + +------------------------------------------------------------------------------ +LOW LEVEL DESIGN DECISIONS + +One of the problems I had to solve was the representation of the relations +between symbolic values. +The "canonical" solution would be to have a complex, potentially recursive +data structure, somewhat similar to MonoInst, and use it all the time (maybe +MonoInst could be used "as is"). +The problem is that, at this point, the software would have to "play" with +these structures, for instance to deduce "b < a-1" from "a > b+1", because we +are interested in what value b has, and not a. And maybe the software should +be able to do this without modifying the original condition, because it was +used elsewhere (or could be reused). +Then, the software should also be able to apply logical relations to +conditions (like "(a>0)||(c<1)"), and manipulate them, too. + +In my opinion, an optimizer written in this way risks to be too complex, and +its performance not acceptable in a JIT compiler. +Therefore, I decided to represent values in a "summarized" way. +For instance, "x = a + 1" becomes "x > a" (and, by the way, "x = x + 1" +would look like "x > x", which means that "x grows"). +So, each variable value is simply a "relation" of the variable with other +variables or constants. Anything more complex is ignored. +Relations are represented with flags (EQ, LT and GT), so that it is easy +to combine them logically (it is enough to perform the bitwise operations +on the flags). The condition (EQ|LT|GT) means we know nothing special, any +value is possible. The empty condition would mean an unreachable statement +(because no value is acceptable). + +There is still the problem of identifying variables, and where to store all +these relations. After some thinking, I decided that a "brute force" approach +is the easier, and probably also the fastest. In practice, I keep in memory +an array of "variable relations", where for each variable I record its +relation with the constants 0 and 1 and an array of its relations with all +other variables. The evaluation area, therefore, looks like a square matrix +as large as the number of variables. I *know* that the matrix is rather sparse +(in the sense that only few of its cells are significant), but I decided that +this data structure was the simplest and more efficient anyway. After all, +each cell takes just one byte, and any other data structure must be some +kind of associative array (like a g_hash_table). Such a data structue is +difficult to use with a MonoMemPool, and in the end is slower than a plain +array, and has the storage overhead of all the pointers... in the end, maybe +the full matrix is not a waste at all. +<note> +After a few benchmarks, I clearly see that the matrix works well if the +variables are not too much, otherwise it gets "too sparse", and much time +is wasted in the propagation phase. Maybe the data structure could be changed +after a more careful evaluation of the problem... +</note> + +With these assumptions, all the memory used to represent values, conditions +and the evaluation area can be allocated in advance (from a MonoMemPool), and +used for all the analysis of one method. Moreover, the performance of logical +operations is high (they are simple bitwise operations on bytes). +<note> +For the propagation phase, there was a function I could not easily code +with bitwise operations. As that phase is a real pain for the performance +(the complexity is quadratic, and it must be executed iteratively until +nothing changes), I decided to code it in perl, and generate a precomputed +table then used by the C code (just 64 bytes). I think this is faster than +all those branches... Really, I could think again to phases 3c and 3d (see +above), maybe there is a better way to do them. +</note> + +Of course not all expressions can be handled by the summarization, so the +optimizer is not as effective as a full blown theorem prover... + +Another thing related to design... the implementation is as less intrusive +as possible. +I "patched" the main files to add an option for abc removal, and handle it +just like any other option, and then wrote all the relevant code in two +separated files (one header for data structures, and a C file for the code). +If the patch turns out to be useful also for other pourposes (like a more +generic "unreachable code elimination", that detects branches that will never +be taken using the analysis of variable values), it will not be difficult +to integrate the branch summarizations into the BasicBlock data structures, +and so on. + +One last thing... in some places, I knowingly coded in an inefficient way. +For instance, "remove_abc_from_block" does something only if the flag +"has_array_access_instructions" is true, but I call it anyway, letting it +do nothing (calling it conditionally would be better). There are several +things like this in the code, but I was in a hurry, and preferred to make +the code more readable (it is already difficult to understand as it is). + +------------------------------------------------------------------------------ +WHEN IS ABC REMOVAL POSSIBLE? WHEN IS IT USEFUL? + +Warning! Random ideas ahead! + +In general, managed code should be safe, so abc removal is possible only if +there already is some branch in the method that does the check. +So, one check on the index is "mandatory", the abc removal can only avoid a +second one (which is useless *because* of the first one). +If in the code there is not a conditional branch that "avoids" to access +an array out of its bounds, in general the abc removal cannot occur. + +It could happen, however, that one method is called from another one, and +the check on the index is performed in the caller. + +For instance: + +void +caller( int[] a, int n ) { + if ( n <= a.Length ) { + for ( int i = 0; i < n; i++ ) { + callee( a, i ); + } + } +} + +void callee( int[] a, int i ) { + Console.WriteLine( "a [i] = " + a [i] ); +} + + +In this case, it should be possible to have two versions of the callee, one +without checks, to be called from methods that do the check themselves, and +another to be called otherwise. +This kind of optimization could be profile driven: if one method is executed +several times, wastes CPU time for bound checks, and is mostly called from +another one, it could make sense to analyze the situation in detail. + +However, one simple way to perform this optimization would be to inline +the callee (so that the abc removal algorithm can see both methods at once). + +The biggest benefits of abc removal can be seen for array accesses that +occur "often", like the ones inside inner loops. This is why I tried to +handle "recursive" variable definitions, because without them you cannot +optimize inside loops, which is also where you need it most. + +Another possible optimization (alwais related to loops) is the following: + +void method( int[] a, int n ) { + for ( int i = 0; i < n; i++ ) { + Console.WriteLine( "a [i] = " + a [i] ); + } +} + +In this case, the check on n is missing, so the abc could not be removed. +However, this would mean that i will be checked twice at each loop iteration, +one against n, and the other against a.Length. The code could be transformed +like this: + +void method( int[] a, int n ) { + if ( n < a.Length ) { + for ( int i = 0; i < n; i++ ) { + Console.WriteLine( "a [i] = " + a [i] ); // Remove abc + } + } else { + for ( int i = 0; i < n; i++ ) { + Console.WriteLine( "a [i] = " + a [i] ); // Leave abc + } + } +} + +This could result in performance improvements (again, probably this +optimization should be profile driven). + +------------------------------------------------------------------------------ +OPEN ISSUES + +There are several issues that should still be addressed... + +One is related to aliasing. For now, I decided to operate only on local +variables, and ignore aliasing problems (and alias analisys has not yet +been implemented anyway). +Actually, I identified the local arrays with their length, because I +totally ignore the contents of arrays (and objects in general). + +Also, in several places in the code I only handle some cases, and ignore +other more complex ones, which could anyway work (there are comments where +this happens). Anyway, this is not harmful (the code is not as effective +as it could be). + +Another possible improvement is the explicit handling of all constants. +For now, code like + +void +method () { + int[] a = new int [16]; + for ( int i = 0; i < 16; i++ ) { + a [i] = i; + } +} + +is not handled, because the two constants "16" are lost when variable +relations are summarized (actually they are not lost, they are stored in the +summarized values, but they are not yet used correctly). + +The worst thing, anyway, is that for now I fail completely in distinguishing +between signed and unsigned variables/operations/conditions, and between +different integer sizes (in bytes). I did this on pourpose, just for lack of +time, but this can turn out to be terribly wrong. +The problem is caused by the fact that I handle arithmetical operations and +conditions as "ideal" operations, but actually they can overflow and/or +underflow, giving "surprising" results. + +For instance, look at the following two methods: + +public static void testSignedOverflow() +{ + Console.WriteLine( "Testing signed overflow..." ); + int[] ia = new int[70000]; + int i = 1; + while ( i <ia.Length ) + { + try + { + Console.WriteLine( " i = " + i ); + ia[i] = i; + } + catch ( IndexOutOfRangeException e ) + { + Console.WriteLine( "Yes, we had an overflow (i = " + i + ")" ); + } + i *= 60000; + } + Console.WriteLine( "Testing signed overflow done." ); +} + +public static void testUnsignedOverflow() +{ + Console.WriteLine( "Testing unsigned overflow..." ); + int[] ia = new int[70000]; + uint i = 1; + while ( i <ia.Length ) + { + try + { + Console.WriteLine( " i = " + i ); + ia[i] = (int) i; + } + catch ( IndexOutOfRangeException e ) + { + Console.WriteLine( "Yes, we had an overflow (i = " + i + ")" ); + } + i *= 60000; + } + Console.WriteLine( "Testing unsigned overflow done." ); +} + +In the "testSignedOverflow" method, the exception will be thrown, while +in the "testUnsignedOverflow" everything will go on smoothly. +The problem is that the test "i <ia.Length" is a signed comparison in the +first case, and will not exit from the loop if the index is negative. +Therefore, in the first method, the abc should not be removed. + +In practice, the abc removal code should try to predict if any given +expression could over/under-flow, and act accordingly. +For now, I made so that the only accepted expressions are plain increments +and decrements of variables (which cannot over/under-flow without being +trapped by the existing conditions). Anyway, this issue should be analyzed +better. +By the way, in summarizations there is a field that keeps track of the +relation with "1", which I planned to use exactly to summarize products and +quotients, but it is never used (as I said, only increment and decrement +operations are properly summarized). + |