[ViewVC] Diff of: cvs/libecb/ecb.pod

Comparing libecb/ecb.pod (file contents):
Revision 1.39 by root, Sat Dec 10 11:58:38 2011 UTC vs.
Revision 1.63 by root, Wed Feb 18 20:29:38 2015 UTC

…		…
54	only a generic name is used (C<expr>, C<cond>, C<value> and so on), then	54	only a generic name is used (C<expr>, C<cond>, C<value> and so on), then
55	the corresponding function relies on C to implement the correct types, and	55	the corresponding function relies on C to implement the correct types, and
56	is usually implemented as a macro. Specifically, a "bool" in this manual	56	is usually implemented as a macro. Specifically, a "bool" in this manual
57	refers to any kind of boolean value, not a specific type.	57	refers to any kind of boolean value, not a specific type.
58		58
		59	=head2 TYPES / TYPE SUPPORT
		60
		61	ecb.h makes sure that the following types are defined (in the expected way):
		62
		63	int8_t uint8_t int16_t uint16_t
		64	int32_t uint32_t int64_t uint64_t
		65	intptr_t uintptr_t
		66
		67	The macro C<ECB_PTRSIZE> is defined to the size of a pointer on this
		68	platform (currently C<4> or C<8>) and can be used in preprocessor
		69	expressions.
		70
		71	For C<ptrdiff_t> and C<size_t> use C<stddef.h>.
		72
		73	=head2 LANGUAGE/ENVIRONMENT/COMPILER VERSIONS
		74
		75	All the following symbols expand to an expression that can be tested in
		76	preprocessor instructions as well as treated as a boolean (use C<!!> to
		77	ensure it's either C<0> or C<1> if you need that).
		78
		79	=over 4
		80
		81	=item ECB_C
		82
		83	True if the implementation defines the C<__STDC__> macro to a true value,
		84	while not claiming to be C++.
		85
		86	=item ECB_C99
		87
		88	True if the implementation claims to be compliant to C99 (ISO/IEC
		89	9899:1999) or any later version, while not claiming to be C++.
		90
		91	Note that later versions (ECB_C11) remove core features again (for
		92	example, variable length arrays).
		93
		94	=item ECB_C11
		95
		96	True if the implementation claims to be compliant to C11 (ISO/IEC
		97	9899:2011) or any later version, while not claiming to be C++.
		98
		99	=item ECB_CPP
		100
		101	True if the implementation defines the C<__cplusplus__> macro to a true
		102	value, which is typically true for C++ compilers.
		103
		104	=item ECB_CPP11
		105
		106	True if the implementation claims to be compliant to ISO/IEC 14882:2011
		107	(C++11) or any later version.
		108
		109	=item ECB_GCC_VERSION (major, minor)
		110
		111	Expands to a true value (suitable for testing in by the preprocessor)
		112	if the compiler used is GNU C and the version is the given version, or
		113	higher.
		114
		115	This macro tries to return false on compilers that claim to be GCC
		116	compatible but aren't.
		117
		118	=item ECB_EXTERN_C
		119
		120	Expands to C<extern "C"> in C++, and a simple C<extern> in C.
		121
		122	This can be used to declare a single external C function:
		123
		124	ECB_EXTERN_C int printf (const char *format, ...);
		125
		126	=item ECB_EXTERN_C_BEG / ECB_EXTERN_C_END
		127
		128	These two macros can be used to wrap multiple C<extern "C"> definitions -
		129	they expand to nothing in C.
		130
		131	They are most useful in header files:
		132
		133	ECB_EXTERN_C_BEG
		134
		135	int mycfun1 (int x);
		136	int mycfun2 (int x);
		137
		138	ECB_EXTERN_C_END
		139
		140	=item ECB_STDFP
		141
		142	If this evaluates to a true value (suitable for testing in by the
		143	preprocessor), then C<float> and C<double> use IEEE 754 single/binary32
		144	and double/binary64 representations internally I<and> the endianness of
		145	both types match the endianness of C<uint32_t> and C<uint64_t>.
		146
		147	This means you can just copy the bits of a C<float> (or C<double>) to an
		148	C<uint32_t> (or C<uint64_t>) and get the raw IEEE 754 bit representation
		149	without having to think about format or endianness.
		150
		151	This is true for basically all modern platforms, although F<ecb.h> might
		152	not be able to deduce this correctly everywhere and might err on the safe
		153	side.
		154
		155	=item ECB_AMD64, ECB_AMD64_X32
		156
		157	These two macros are defined to C<1> on the x86_64/amd64 ABI and the X32
		158	ABI, respectively, and undefined elsewhere.
		159
		160	The designers of the new X32 ABI for some inexplicable reason decided to
		161	make it look exactly like amd64, even though it's completely incompatible
		162	to that ABI, breaking about every piece of software that assumed that
		163	C<__x86_64> stands for, well, the x86-64 ABI, making these macros
		164	necessary.
		165
		166	=back
		167
		168	=head2 MACRO TRICKERY
		169
		170	=over 4
		171
		172	=item ECB_CONCAT (a, b)
		173
		174	Expands any macros in C<a> and C<b>, then concatenates the result to form
		175	a single token. This is mainly useful to form identifiers from components,
		176	e.g.:
		177
		178	#define S1 str
		179	#define S2 cpy
		180
		181	ECB_CONCAT (S1, S2)(dst, src); // == strcpy (dst, src);
		182
		183	=item ECB_STRINGIFY (arg)
		184
		185	Expands any macros in C<arg> and returns the stringified version of
		186	it. This is mainly useful to get the contents of a macro in string form,
		187	e.g.:
		188
		189	#define SQL_LIMIT 100
		190	sql_exec ("select * from table limit " ECB_STRINGIFY (SQL_LIMIT));
		191
		192	=back
		193
59	=head2 GCC ATTRIBUTES	194	=head2 ATTRIBUTES
60		195
61	A major part of libecb deals with GCC attributes. These are additional	196	A major part of libecb deals with additional attributes that can be
62	attributes that you can assign to functions, variables and sometimes even	197	assigned to functions, variables and sometimes even types - much like
63	types - much like C<const> or C<volatile> in C.	198	C<const> or C<volatile> in C. They are implemented using either GCC
64		199	attributes or other compiler/language specific features. Attributes
65	While GCC allows declarations to show up in many surprising places,
66	but not in many expected places, the safest way is to put attribute
67	declarations before the whole declaration:	200	declarations must be put before the whole declaration:
68		201
69	ecb_const int mysqrt (int a);	202	ecb_const int mysqrt (int a);
70	ecb_unused int i;	203	ecb_unused int i;
71		204
72	For variables, it is often nicer to put the attribute after the name, and
73	avoid multiple declarations using commas:
74
75	int i ecb_unused;
76
77	=over 4	205	=over 4
78
79	=item ecb_attribute ((attrs...))
80
81	A simple wrapper that expands to C<__attribute__((attrs))> on GCC, and to
82	nothing on other compilers, so the effect is that only GCC sees these.
83
84	Example: use the C<deprecated> attribute on a function.
85
86	ecb_attribute((__deprecated__)) void
87	do_not_use_me_anymore (void);
88		206
89	=item ecb_unused	207	=item ecb_unused
90		208
91	Marks a function or a variable as "unused", which simply suppresses a	209	Marks a function or a variable as "unused", which simply suppresses a
92	warning by GCC when it detects it as unused. This is useful when you e.g.	210	warning by GCC when it detects it as unused. This is useful when you e.g.
93	declare a variable but do not always use it:	211	declare a variable but do not always use it:
94		212
95	{	213	{
96	int var ecb_unused;	214	ecb_unused int var;
97		215
98	#ifdef SOMECONDITION	216	#ifdef SOMECONDITION
99	var = ...;	217	var = ...;
100	return var;	218	return var;
101	#else	219	#else
102	return 0;	220	return 0;
103	#endif	221	#endif
104	}	222	}
105		223
		224	=item ecb_deprecated
		225
		226	Similar to C<ecb_unused>, but marks a function, variable or type as
		227	deprecated. This makes some compilers warn when the type is used.
		228
		229	=item ecb_deprecated_message (message)
		230
		231	Same as C<ecb_deprecated>, but if possible, supply a diagnostic that is
		232	used instead of a generic depreciation message when the object is being
		233	used.
		234
106	=item ecb_inline	235	=item ecb_inline
107		236
108	This is not actually an attribute, but you use it like one. It expands
109	either to C<static inline> or to just C<static>, if inline isn't	237	Expands either to C<static inline> or to just C<static>, if inline
110	supported. It should be used to declare functions that should be inlined,	238	isn't supported. It should be used to declare functions that should be
111	for code size or speed reasons.	239	inlined, for code size or speed reasons.
112		240
113	Example: inline this function, it surely will reduce codesize.	241	Example: inline this function, it surely will reduce codesize.
114		242
115	ecb_inline int	243	ecb_inline int
116	negmul (int a, int b)	244	negmul (int a, int b)
…		…
138	}	266	}
139		267
140	In this case, the compiler would probably be smart enough to deduce it on	268	In this case, the compiler would probably be smart enough to deduce it on
141	its own, so this is mainly useful for declarations.	269	its own, so this is mainly useful for declarations.
142		270
		271	=item ecb_restrict
		272
		273	Expands to the C<restrict> keyword or equivalent on compilers that support
		274	them, and to nothing on others. Must be specified on a pointer type or
		275	an array index to indicate that the memory doesn't alias with any other
		276	restricted pointer in the same scope.
		277
		278	Example: multiply a vector, and allow the compiler to parallelise the
		279	loop, because it knows it doesn't overwrite input values.
		280
		281	void
		282	multiply (ecb_restrict float *src,
		283	ecb_restrict float *dst,
		284	int len, float factor)
		285	{
		286	int i;
		287
		288	for (i = 0; i < len; ++i)
		289	dst [i] = src [i] * factor;
		290	}
		291
143	=item ecb_const	292	=item ecb_const
144		293
145	Declares that the function only depends on the values of its arguments,	294	Declares that the function only depends on the values of its arguments,
146	much like a mathematical function. It specifically does not read or write	295	much like a mathematical function. It specifically does not read or write
147	any memory any arguments might point to, global variables, or call any	296	any memory any arguments might point to, global variables, or call any
…		…
207	functions only called in exceptional or rare cases.	356	functions only called in exceptional or rare cases.
208		357
209	=item ecb_artificial	358	=item ecb_artificial
210		359
211	Declares the function as "artificial", in this case meaning that this	360	Declares the function as "artificial", in this case meaning that this
212	function is not really mean to be a function, but more like an accessor	361	function is not really meant to be a function, but more like an accessor
213	- many methods in C++ classes are mere accessor functions, and having a	362	- many methods in C++ classes are mere accessor functions, and having a
214	crash reported in such a method, or single-stepping through them, is not	363	crash reported in such a method, or single-stepping through them, is not
215	usually so helpful, especially when it's inlined to just a few instructions.	364	usually so helpful, especially when it's inlined to just a few instructions.
216		365
217	Marking them as artificial will instruct the debugger about just this,	366	Marking them as artificial will instruct the debugger about just this,
…		…
237		386
238	=head2 OPTIMISATION HINTS	387	=head2 OPTIMISATION HINTS
239		388
240	=over 4	389	=over 4
241		390
242	=item bool ecb_is_constant(expr)	391	=item bool ecb_is_constant (expr)
243		392
244	Returns true iff the expression can be deduced to be a compile-time	393	Returns true iff the expression can be deduced to be a compile-time
245	constant, and false otherwise.	394	constant, and false otherwise.
246		395
247	For example, when you have a C<rndm16> function that returns a 16 bit	396	For example, when you have a C<rndm16> function that returns a 16 bit
…		…
265	return is_constant (n) && !(n & (n - 1))	414	return is_constant (n) && !(n & (n - 1))
266	? rndm16 () & (num - 1)	415	? rndm16 () & (num - 1)
267	: (n * (uint32_t)rndm16 ()) >> 16;	416	: (n * (uint32_t)rndm16 ()) >> 16;
268	}	417	}
269		418
270	=item bool ecb_expect (expr, value)	419	=item ecb_expect (expr, value)
271		420
272	Evaluates C<expr> and returns it. In addition, it tells the compiler that	421	Evaluates C<expr> and returns it. In addition, it tells the compiler that
273	the C<expr> evaluates to C<value> a lot, which can be used for static	422	the C<expr> evaluates to C<value> a lot, which can be used for static
274	branch optimisations.	423	branch optimisations.
275		424
…		…
322	{	471	{
323	if (ecb_expect_false (current + size > end))	472	if (ecb_expect_false (current + size > end))
324	real_reserve_method (size); /* presumably noinline */	473	real_reserve_method (size); /* presumably noinline */
325	}	474	}
326		475
327	=item bool ecb_assume (cond)	476	=item ecb_assume (cond)
328		477
329	Try to tell the compiler that some condition is true, even if it's not	478	Try to tell the compiler that some condition is true, even if it's not
330	obvious.	479	obvious.
331		480
332	This can be used to teach the compiler about invariants or other	481	This can be used to teach the compiler about invariants or other
…		…
352		501
353	Then the compiler I<might> be able to optimise out the second call	502	Then the compiler I<might> be able to optimise out the second call
354	completely, as it knows that C<< current + 1 > end >> is false and the	503	completely, as it knows that C<< current + 1 > end >> is false and the
355	call will never be executed.	504	call will never be executed.
356		505
357	=item bool ecb_unreachable ()	506	=item ecb_unreachable ()
358		507
359	This function does nothing itself, except tell the compiler that it will	508	This function does nothing itself, except tell the compiler that it will
360	never be executed. Apart from suppressing a warning in some cases, this	509	never be executed. Apart from suppressing a warning in some cases, this
361	function can be used to implement C<ecb_assume> or similar functions.	510	function can be used to implement C<ecb_assume> or similar functions.
362		511
363	=item bool ecb_prefetch (addr, rw, locality)	512	=item ecb_prefetch (addr, rw, locality)
364		513
365	Tells the compiler to try to prefetch memory at the given C<addr>ess	514	Tells the compiler to try to prefetch memory at the given C<addr>ess
366	for either reading (C<rw> = 0) or writing (C<rw> = 1). A C<locality> of	515	for either reading (C<rw> = 0) or writing (C<rw> = 1). A C<locality> of
367	C<0> means that there will only be one access later, C<3> means that	516	C<0> means that there will only be one access later, C<3> means that
368	the data will likely be accessed very often, and values in between mean	517	the data will likely be accessed very often, and values in between mean
…		…
425	For example:	574	For example:
426		575
427	ecb_ctz32 (3) = 0	576	ecb_ctz32 (3) = 0
428	ecb_ctz32 (6) = 1	577	ecb_ctz32 (6) = 1
429		578
		579	=item bool ecb_is_pot32 (uint32_t x)
		580
		581	=item bool ecb_is_pot64 (uint32_t x)
		582
		583	Return true iff C<x> is a power of two or C<x == 0>.
		584
		585	For smaller types then C<uint32_t> you can safely use C<ecb_is_pot32>.
		586
430	=item int ecb_ld32 (uint32_t x)	587	=item int ecb_ld32 (uint32_t x)
431		588
432	=item int ecb_ld64 (uint64_t x)	589	=item int ecb_ld64 (uint64_t x)
433		590
434	Returns the index of the most significant bit set in C<x>, or the number	591	Returns the index of the most significant bit set in C<x>, or the number
…		…
502	(C<ecb_rotl>).	659	(C<ecb_rotl>).
503		660
504	Current GCC versions understand these functions and usually compile them	661	Current GCC versions understand these functions and usually compile them
505	to "optimal" code (e.g. a single C<rol> or a combination of C<shld> on	662	to "optimal" code (e.g. a single C<rol> or a combination of C<shld> on
506	x86).	663	x86).
		664
		665	=back
		666
		667	=head2 FLOATING POINT FIDDLING
		668
		669	=over 4
		670
		671	=item ECB_INFINITY
		672
		673	Evaluates to positive infinity if supported by the platform, otherwise to
		674	a truly huge number.
		675
		676	=item ECB_NAN
		677
		678	Evaluates to a quiet NAN if supported by the platform, otherwise to
		679	C<ECB_INFINITY>.
		680
		681	=item float ecb_ldexpf (float x, int exp)
		682
		683	Same as C<ldexpf>, but always available.
		684
		685	=item uint32_t ecb_float_to_binary32 (float x) [-UECB_NO_LIBM]
		686
		687	=item uint64_t ecb_double_to_binary64 (double x) [-UECB_NO_LIBM]
		688
		689	These functions each take an argument in the native C<float> or C<double>
		690	type and return the IEEE 754 bit representation of it.
		691
		692	The bit representation is just as IEEE 754 defines it, i.e. the sign bit
		693	will be the most significant bit, followed by exponent and mantissa.
		694
		695	This function should work even when the native floating point format isn't
		696	IEEE compliant, of course at a speed and code size penalty, and of course
		697	also within reasonable limits (it tries to convert NaNs, infinities and
		698	denormals, but will likely convert negative zero to positive zero).
		699
		700	On all modern platforms (where C<ECB_STDFP> is true), the compiler should
		701	be able to optimise away this function completely.
		702
		703	These functions can be helpful when serialising floats to the network - you
		704	can serialise the return value like a normal uint32_t/uint64_t.
		705
		706	Another use for these functions is to manipulate floating point values
		707	directly.
		708
		709	Silly example: toggle the sign bit of a float.
		710
		711	/* On gcc-4.7 on amd64, */
		712	/* this results in a single add instruction to toggle the bit, and 4 extra */
		713	/* instructions to move the float value to an integer register and back. */
		714
		715	x = ecb_binary32_to_float (ecb_float_to_binary32 (x) ^ 0x80000000U)
		716
		717	=item float ecb_binary16_to_float (uint16_t x) [-UECB_NO_LIBM]
		718
		719	=item float ecb_binary32_to_float (uint32_t x) [-UECB_NO_LIBM]
		720
		721	=item double ecb_binary32_to_double (uint64_t x) [-UECB_NO_LIBM]
		722
		723	The reverse operation of the previous function - takes the bit
		724	representation of an IEEE binary16, binary32 or binary64 number and
		725	converts it to the native C<float> or C<double> format.
		726
		727	This function should work even when the native floating point format isn't
		728	IEEE compliant, of course at a speed and code size penalty, and of course
		729	also within reasonable limits (it tries to convert normals and denormals,
		730	and might be lucky for infinities, and with extraordinary luck, also for
		731	negative zero).
		732
		733	On all modern platforms (where C<ECB_STDFP> is true), the compiler should
		734	be able to optimise away this function completely.
507		735
508	=back	736	=back
509		737
510	=head2 ARITHMETIC	738	=head2 ARITHMETIC
511		739
…		…
562	for (i = 0; i < ecb_array_length (primes); i++)	790	for (i = 0; i < ecb_array_length (primes); i++)
563	sum += primes [i];	791	sum += primes [i];
564		792
565	=back	793	=back
566		794
		795	=head2 SYMBOLS GOVERNING COMPILATION OF ECB.H ITSELF
567		796
		797	These symbols need to be defined before including F<ecb.h> the first time.
		798
		799	=over 4
		800
		801	=item ECB_NO_THREADS
		802
		803	If F<ecb.h> is never used from multiple threads, then this symbol can
		804	be defined, in which case memory fences (and similar constructs) are
		805	completely removed, leading to more efficient code and fewer dependencies.
		806
		807	Setting this symbol to a true value implies C<ECB_NO_SMP>.
		808
		809	=item ECB_NO_SMP
		810
		811	The weaker version of C<ECB_NO_THREADS> - if F<ecb.h> is used from
		812	multiple threads, but never concurrently (e.g. if the system the program
		813	runs on has only a single CPU with a single core, no hyperthreading and so
		814	on), then this symbol can be defined, leading to more efficient code and
		815	fewer dependencies.
		816
		817	=item ECB_NO_LIBM
		818
		819	When defined to C<1>, do not export any functions that might introduce
		820	dependencies on the math library (usually called F<-lm>) - these are
		821	marked with [-UECB_NO_LIBM].
		822
		823	=back
		824
		825

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Comparing libecb/ecb.pod (file contents): Revision 1.39 by root, Sat Dec 10 11:58:38 2011 UTC vs. Revision 1.63 by root, Wed Feb 18 20:29:38 2015 UTC

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Comparing libecb/ecb.pod (file contents):
Revision 1.39 by root, Sat Dec 10 11:58:38 2011 UTC vs.
Revision 1.63 by root, Wed Feb 18 20:29:38 2015 UTC