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1=head1 LIBECB - e-C-Builtins
2
1=head1 LIBECB 3=head2 ABOUT LIBECB
2 4
3You suck, we don't(tm) 5Libecb is currently a simple header file that doesn't require any
6configuration to use or include in your project.
7
8It's part of the e-suite of libraries, other members of which include
9libev and libeio.
10
11Its homepage can be found here:
12
13 http://software.schmorp.de/pkg/libecb
14
15It mainly provides a number of wrappers around GCC built-ins, together
16with replacement functions for other compilers. In addition to this,
17it provides a number of other lowlevel C utilities, such as endianness
18detection, byte swapping or bit rotations.
19
20Or in other words, things that should be built into any standard C system,
21but aren't, implemented as efficient as possible with GCC, and still
22correct with other compilers.
23
24More might come.
4 25
5=head2 ABOUT THE HEADER 26=head2 ABOUT THE HEADER
6 27
7- how to include it 28At the moment, all you have to do is copy F<ecb.h> somewhere where your
8- it includes inttypes.h 29compiler can find it and include it:
9- no .a 30
10- whats a bool 31 #include <ecb.h>
11- function mean macro or function 32
12- macro means untyped 33The header should work fine for both C and C++ compilation, and gives you
34all of F<inttypes.h> in addition to the ECB symbols.
35
36There are currently no object files to link to - future versions might
37come with an (optional) object code library to link against, to reduce
38code size or gain access to additional features.
39
40It also currently includes everything from F<inttypes.h>.
41
42=head2 ABOUT THIS MANUAL / CONVENTIONS
43
44This manual mainly describes each (public) function available after
45including the F<ecb.h> header. The header might define other symbols than
46these, but these are not part of the public API, and not supported in any
47way.
48
49When the manual mentions a "function" then this could be defined either as
50as inline function, a macro, or an external symbol.
51
52When functions use a concrete standard type, such as C<int> or
53C<uint32_t>, then the corresponding function works only with that type. If
54only a generic name is used (C<expr>, C<cond>, C<value> and so on), then
55the corresponding function relies on C to implement the correct types, and
56is usually implemented as a macro. Specifically, a "bool" in this manual
57refers to any kind of boolean value, not a specific type.
58
59=head2 TYPES / TYPE SUPPORT
60
61ecb.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
67The macro C<ECB_PTRSIZE> is defined to the size of a pointer on this
68platform (currently C<4> or C<8>) and can be used in preprocessor
69expressions.
70
71For C<ptrdiff_t> and C<size_t> use C<stddef.h>.
72
73=head2 LANGUAGE/COMPILER VERSIONS
74
75All the following symbols expand to an expression that can be tested in
76preprocessor instructions as well as treated as a boolean (use C<!!> to
77ensure it's either C<0> or C<1> if you need that).
78
79=over 4
80
81=item ECB_C
82
83True if the implementation defines the C<__STDC__> macro to a true value,
84while not claiming to be C++.
85
86=item ECB_C99
87
88True if the implementation claims to be compliant to C99 (ISO/IEC
899899:1999) or any later version, while not claiming to be C++.
90
91Note that later versions (ECB_C11) remove core features again (for
92example, variable length arrays).
93
94=item ECB_C11
95
96True if the implementation claims to be compliant to C11 (ISO/IEC
979899:2011) or any later version, while not claiming to be C++.
98
99=item ECB_CPP
100
101True if the implementation defines the C<__cplusplus__> macro to a true
102value, which is typically true for C++ compilers.
103
104=item ECB_CPP11
105
106True 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
111Expands to a true value (suitable for testing in by the preprocessor)
112if the compiler used is GNU C and the version is the given version, or
113higher.
114
115This macro tries to return false on compilers that claim to be GCC
116compatible but aren't.
117
118=item ECB_EXTERN_C
119
120Expands to C<extern "C"> in C++, and a simple C<extern> in C.
121
122This 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
128These two macros can be used to wrap multiple C<extern "C"> definitions -
129they expand to nothing in C.
130
131They 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
142If this evaluates to a true value (suitable for testing in by the
143preprocessor), then C<float> and C<double> use IEEE 754 single/binary32
144and double/binary64 representations internally I<and> the endianness of
145both types match the endianness of C<uint32_t> and C<uint64_t>.
146
147This means you can just copy the bits of a C<float> (or C<double>) to an
148C<uint32_t> (or C<uint64_t>) and get the raw IEEE 754 bit representation
149without having to think about format or endianness.
150
151This is true for basically all modern platforms, although F<ecb.h> might
152not be able to deduce this correctly everywhere and might err on the safe
153side.
154
155=item ECB_AMD64, ECB_AMD64_X32
156
157These two macros are defined to C<1> on the x86_64/amd64 ABI and the X32
158ABI, respectively, and undefined elsewhere.
159
160The designers of the new X32 ABI for some inexplicable reason decided to
161make it look exactly like amd64, even though it's completely incompatible
162to that ABI, breaking about every piece of software that assumed that
163C<__x86_64> stands for, well, the x86-64 ABI, making these macros
164necessary.
165
166=back
13 167
14=head2 GCC ATTRIBUTES 168=head2 GCC ATTRIBUTES
15 169
16blabla where to put, what others 170A major part of libecb deals with GCC attributes. These are additional
171attributes that you can assign to functions, variables and sometimes even
172types - much like C<const> or C<volatile> in C.
173
174While GCC allows declarations to show up in many surprising places,
175but not in many expected places, the safest way is to put attribute
176declarations before the whole declaration:
177
178 ecb_const int mysqrt (int a);
179 ecb_unused int i;
180
181For variables, it is often nicer to put the attribute after the name, and
182avoid multiple declarations using commas:
183
184 int i ecb_unused;
17 185
18=over 4 186=over 4
19 187
20=item ecb_attribute ((attrs...)) 188=item ecb_attribute ((attrs...))
21 189
22A simple wrapper that expands to C<__attribute__((attrs))> on GCC, and 190A simple wrapper that expands to C<__attribute__((attrs))> on GCC 3.1+ and
23to nothing on other compilers, so the effect is that only GCC sees these. 191Clang 2.8+, and to nothing on other compilers, so the effect is that only
192GCC and Clang see these.
193
194Example: use the C<deprecated> attribute on a function.
195
196 ecb_attribute((__deprecated__)) void
197 do_not_use_me_anymore (void);
24 198
25=item ecb_unused 199=item ecb_unused
26 200
27Marks a function or a variable as "unused", which simply suppresses a 201Marks a function or a variable as "unused", which simply suppresses a
28warning by GCC when it detects it as unused. This is useful when you e.g. 202warning by GCC when it detects it as unused. This is useful when you e.g.
29declare a variable but do not always use it: 203declare a variable but do not always use it:
30 204
205 {
206 int var ecb_unused;
207
208 #ifdef SOMECONDITION
209 var = ...;
210 return var;
211 #else
212 return 0;
213 #endif
214 }
215
216=item ecb_deprecated
217
218Similar to C<ecb_unused>, but marks a function, variable or type as
219deprecated. This makes some compilers warn when the type is used.
220
221=item ecb_inline
222
223This is not actually an attribute, but you use it like one. It expands
224either to C<static inline> or to just C<static>, if inline isn't
225supported. It should be used to declare functions that should be inlined,
226for code size or speed reasons.
227
228Example: inline this function, it surely will reduce codesize.
229
230 ecb_inline int
231 negmul (int a, int b)
31 { 232 {
32 int var ecb_unused; 233 return - (a * b);
33
34 #ifdef SOMECONDITION
35 var = ...;
36 return var;
37 #else
38 return 0;
39 #endif
40 } 234 }
41 235
42=item ecb_noinline 236=item ecb_noinline
43 237
44Prevent a function from being inlined - it might be optimsied away, but 238Prevent a function from being inlined - it might be optimised away, but
45not inlined into other functions. This is useful if you know your function 239not inlined into other functions. This is useful if you know your function
46is rarely called and large enough for inlining not to be helpful. 240is rarely called and large enough for inlining not to be helpful.
47 241
48=item ecb_noreturn 242=item ecb_noreturn
49 243
244Marks a function as "not returning, ever". Some typical functions that
245don't return are C<exit> or C<abort> (which really works hard to not
246return), and now you can make your own:
247
248 ecb_noreturn void
249 my_abort (const char *errline)
250 {
251 puts (errline);
252 abort ();
253 }
254
255In this case, the compiler would probably be smart enough to deduce it on
256its own, so this is mainly useful for declarations.
257
258=item ecb_restrict
259
260Expands to the C<restrict> keyword or equivalent on compilers that support
261them, and to nothing on others. Must be specified on a pointer type or
262an array index to indicate that the memory doesn't alias with any other
263restricted pointer in the same scope.
264
265Example: multiply a vector, and allow the compiler to parallelise the
266loop, because it knows it doesn't overwrite input values.
267
268 void
269 multiply (float *ecb_restrict src,
270 float *ecb_restrict dst,
271 int len, float factor)
272 {
273 int i;
274
275 for (i = 0; i < len; ++i)
276 dst [i] = src [i] * factor;
277 }
278
50=item ecb_const 279=item ecb_const
51 280
281Declares that the function only depends on the values of its arguments,
282much like a mathematical function. It specifically does not read or write
283any memory any arguments might point to, global variables, or call any
284non-const functions. It also must not have any side effects.
285
286Such a function can be optimised much more aggressively by the compiler -
287for example, multiple calls with the same arguments can be optimised into
288a single call, which wouldn't be possible if the compiler would have to
289expect any side effects.
290
291It is best suited for functions in the sense of mathematical functions,
292such as a function returning the square root of its input argument.
293
294Not suited would be a function that calculates the hash of some memory
295area you pass in, prints some messages or looks at a global variable to
296decide on rounding.
297
298See C<ecb_pure> for a slightly less restrictive class of functions.
299
52=item ecb_pure 300=item ecb_pure
53 301
302Similar to C<ecb_const>, declares a function that has no side
303effects. Unlike C<ecb_const>, the function is allowed to examine global
304variables and any other memory areas (such as the ones passed to it via
305pointers).
306
307While these functions cannot be optimised as aggressively as C<ecb_const>
308functions, they can still be optimised away in many occasions, and the
309compiler has more freedom in moving calls to them around.
310
311Typical examples for such functions would be C<strlen> or C<memcmp>. A
312function that calculates the MD5 sum of some input and updates some MD5
313state passed as argument would I<NOT> be pure, however, as it would modify
314some memory area that is not the return value.
315
54=item ecb_hot 316=item ecb_hot
55 317
318This declares a function as "hot" with regards to the cache - the function
319is used so often, that it is very beneficial to keep it in the cache if
320possible.
321
322The compiler reacts by trying to place hot functions near to each other in
323memory.
324
325Whether a function is hot or not often depends on the whole program,
326and less on the function itself. C<ecb_cold> is likely more useful in
327practise.
328
56=item ecb_cold 329=item ecb_cold
57 330
331The opposite of C<ecb_hot> - declares a function as "cold" with regards to
332the cache, or in other words, this function is not called often, or not at
333speed-critical times, and keeping it in the cache might be a waste of said
334cache.
335
336In addition to placing cold functions together (or at least away from hot
337functions), this knowledge can be used in other ways, for example, the
338function will be optimised for size, as opposed to speed, and codepaths
339leading to calls to those functions can automatically be marked as if
340C<ecb_expect_false> had been used to reach them.
341
342Good examples for such functions would be error reporting functions, or
343functions only called in exceptional or rare cases.
344
58=item ecb_artificial 345=item ecb_artificial
59 346
347Declares the function as "artificial", in this case meaning that this
348function is not really meant to be a function, but more like an accessor
349- many methods in C++ classes are mere accessor functions, and having a
350crash reported in such a method, or single-stepping through them, is not
351usually so helpful, especially when it's inlined to just a few instructions.
352
353Marking them as artificial will instruct the debugger about just this,
354leading to happier debugging and thus happier lives.
355
356Example: in some kind of smart-pointer class, mark the pointer accessor as
357artificial, so that the whole class acts more like a pointer and less like
358some C++ abstraction monster.
359
360 template<typename T>
361 struct my_smart_ptr
362 {
363 T *value;
364
365 ecb_artificial
366 operator T *()
367 {
368 return value;
369 }
370 };
371
60=back 372=back
61 373
62=head2 OPTIMISATION HINTS 374=head2 OPTIMISATION HINTS
63 375
64=over 4 376=over 4
65 377
66=item bool ecb_is_constant(expr) 378=item bool ecb_is_constant (expr)
67 379
68Returns true iff the expression can be deduced to be a compile-time 380Returns true iff the expression can be deduced to be a compile-time
69constant, and false otherwise. 381constant, and false otherwise.
70 382
71For example, when you have a C<rndm16> function that returns a 16 bit 383For example, when you have a C<rndm16> function that returns a 16 bit
95 407
96Evaluates C<expr> and returns it. In addition, it tells the compiler that 408Evaluates C<expr> and returns it. In addition, it tells the compiler that
97the C<expr> evaluates to C<value> a lot, which can be used for static 409the C<expr> evaluates to C<value> a lot, which can be used for static
98branch optimisations. 410branch optimisations.
99 411
100Usually, you want to use the more intuitive C<ecb_likely> and 412Usually, you want to use the more intuitive C<ecb_expect_true> and
101C<ecb_unlikely> functions instead. 413C<ecb_expect_false> functions instead.
102 414
103=item bool ecb_likely (bool) 415=item bool ecb_expect_true (cond)
104 416
105=item bool ecb_unlikely (bool) 417=item bool ecb_expect_false (cond)
106 418
107These two functions expect a expression that is true or false and return 419These two functions expect a expression that is true or false and return
108C<1> or C<0>, respectively, so when used in the condition of an C<if> or 420C<1> or C<0>, respectively, so when used in the condition of an C<if> or
109other conditional statement, it will not change the program: 421other conditional statement, it will not change the program:
110 422
111 /* these two do the same thing */ 423 /* these two do the same thing */
112 if (some_condition) ...; 424 if (some_condition) ...;
113 if (ecb_likely (some_condition)) ...; 425 if (ecb_expect_true (some_condition)) ...;
114 426
115However, by using C<ecb_likely>, you tell the compiler that the condition 427However, by using C<ecb_expect_true>, you tell the compiler that the
116is likely to be true (and for C<ecb_unlikel>, that it is unlikely to be 428condition is likely to be true (and for C<ecb_expect_false>, that it is
117true). 429unlikely to be true).
118 430
119For example, when you check for a 0-ptr and expect this to be a rare, 431For example, when you check for a null pointer and expect this to be a
120exceptional, case, then use C<ecb_unlikely>: 432rare, exceptional, case, then use C<ecb_expect_false>:
121 433
122 void my_free (void *ptr) 434 void my_free (void *ptr)
123 { 435 {
124 if (ecb_unlikely (ptr == 0)) 436 if (ecb_expect_false (ptr == 0))
125 return; 437 return;
126 } 438 }
127 439
128Consequent use of these functions to mark away exceptional cases or to 440Consequent use of these functions to mark away exceptional cases or to
129tell the compiler what the hot path through a function is can increase 441tell the compiler what the hot path through a function is can increase
130performance considerably. 442performance considerably.
131 443
444You might know these functions under the name C<likely> and C<unlikely>
445- while these are common aliases, we find that the expect name is easier
446to understand when quickly skimming code. If you wish, you can use
447C<ecb_likely> instead of C<ecb_expect_true> and C<ecb_unlikely> instead of
448C<ecb_expect_false> - these are simply aliases.
449
132A very good example is in a function that reserves more space for some 450A very good example is in a function that reserves more space for some
133memory block (for example, inside an implementation of a string stream) - 451memory block (for example, inside an implementation of a string stream) -
134eahc time something is added, you have to check for a buffer overrun, but 452each time something is added, you have to check for a buffer overrun, but
135you expect that most checks will turn out to be false: 453you expect that most checks will turn out to be false:
136 454
137 /* make sure we have "size" extra room in our buffer */ 455 /* make sure we have "size" extra room in our buffer */
138 ecb_inline void 456 ecb_inline void
139 reserve (int size) 457 reserve (int size)
140 { 458 {
141 if (ecb_unlikely (current + size > end)) 459 if (ecb_expect_false (current + size > end))
142 real_reserve_method (size); /* presumably noinline */ 460 real_reserve_method (size); /* presumably noinline */
143 } 461 }
144 462
145=item bool ecb_assume (cond) 463=item bool ecb_assume (cond)
146 464
149 467
150This can be used to teach the compiler about invariants or other 468This can be used to teach the compiler about invariants or other
151conditions that might improve code generation, but which are impossible to 469conditions that might improve code generation, but which are impossible to
152deduce form the code itself. 470deduce form the code itself.
153 471
154For example, the example reservation function from the C<ecb_unlikely> 472For example, the example reservation function from the C<ecb_expect_false>
155description could be written thus (only C<ecb_assume> was added): 473description could be written thus (only C<ecb_assume> was added):
156 474
157 ecb_inline void 475 ecb_inline void
158 reserve (int size) 476 reserve (int size)
159 { 477 {
160 if (ecb_unlikely (current + size > end)) 478 if (ecb_expect_false (current + size > end))
161 real_reserve_method (size); /* presumably noinline */ 479 real_reserve_method (size); /* presumably noinline */
162 480
163 ecb_assume (current + size <= end); 481 ecb_assume (current + size <= end);
164 } 482 }
165 483
173call will never be executed. 491call will never be executed.
174 492
175=item bool ecb_unreachable () 493=item bool ecb_unreachable ()
176 494
177This function does nothing itself, except tell the compiler that it will 495This function does nothing itself, except tell the compiler that it will
178never be executed. Apart from supressing a warning in some cases, this 496never be executed. Apart from suppressing a warning in some cases, this
179function can be used to implement C<ecb_assume> or similar functions. 497function can be used to implement C<ecb_assume> or similar functions.
180 498
181=item bool ecb_prefetch (addr, rw, locality) 499=item bool ecb_prefetch (addr, rw, locality)
182 500
183Tells the compiler to try to prefetch memory at the given C<addr>ess 501Tells the compiler to try to prefetch memory at the given C<addr>ess
184for either reading (c<rw> = 0) or writing (C<rw> = 1). A C<locality> of 502for either reading (C<rw> = 0) or writing (C<rw> = 1). A C<locality> of
185C<0> means that there will only be one access later, C<3> means that 503C<0> means that there will only be one access later, C<3> means that
186the data will likely be accessed very often, and values in between mean 504the data will likely be accessed very often, and values in between mean
187something... in between. The memory pointed to by the address does not 505something... in between. The memory pointed to by the address does not
188need to be accessible (it could be a null pointer for example), but C<rw> 506need to be accessible (it could be a null pointer for example), but C<rw>
189and C<locality> must be compile-time constants. 507and C<locality> must be compile-time constants.
190 508
191An obvious way to use this is to prefetch some data far away, in a big 509An obvious way to use this is to prefetch some data far away, in a big
192array you loop over. This prefethces memory some 128 array elements later, 510array you loop over. This prefetches memory some 128 array elements later,
193in the hope that it will be ready when the CPU arrives at that location. 511in the hope that it will be ready when the CPU arrives at that location.
194 512
195 int sum = 0; 513 int sum = 0;
196 514
197 for (i = 0; i < N; ++i) 515 for (i = 0; i < N; ++i)
214After processing the node, (part of) the next node might already be in 532After processing the node, (part of) the next node might already be in
215cache. 533cache.
216 534
217=back 535=back
218 536
219=head2 BIT FIDDLING / BITSTUFFS 537=head2 BIT FIDDLING / BIT WIZARDRY
220 538
221=over 4 539=over 4
222 540
223=item bool ecb_big_endian () 541=item bool ecb_big_endian ()
224 542
225=item bool ecb_little_endian () 543=item bool ecb_little_endian ()
226 544
545These two functions return true if the byte order is big endian
546(most-significant byte first) or little endian (least-significant byte
547first) respectively.
548
549On systems that are neither, their return values are unspecified.
550
227=item int ecb_ctz32 (uint32_t x) 551=item int ecb_ctz32 (uint32_t x)
228 552
553=item int ecb_ctz64 (uint64_t x)
554
555Returns the index of the least significant bit set in C<x> (or
556equivalently the number of bits set to 0 before the least significant bit
557set), starting from 0. If C<x> is 0 the result is undefined.
558
559For smaller types than C<uint32_t> you can safely use C<ecb_ctz32>.
560
561For example:
562
563 ecb_ctz32 (3) = 0
564 ecb_ctz32 (6) = 1
565
566=item bool ecb_is_pot32 (uint32_t x)
567
568=item bool ecb_is_pot64 (uint32_t x)
569
570Return true iff C<x> is a power of two or C<x == 0>.
571
572For smaller types then C<uint32_t> you can safely use C<ecb_is_pot32>.
573
574=item int ecb_ld32 (uint32_t x)
575
576=item int ecb_ld64 (uint64_t x)
577
578Returns the index of the most significant bit set in C<x>, or the number
579of digits the number requires in binary (so that C<< 2**ld <= x <
5802**(ld+1) >>). If C<x> is 0 the result is undefined. A common use case is
581to compute the integer binary logarithm, i.e. C<floor (log2 (n))>, for
582example to see how many bits a certain number requires to be encoded.
583
584This function is similar to the "count leading zero bits" function, except
585that that one returns how many zero bits are "in front" of the number (in
586the given data type), while C<ecb_ld> returns how many bits the number
587itself requires.
588
589For smaller types than C<uint32_t> you can safely use C<ecb_ld32>.
590
229=item int ecb_popcount32 (uint32_t x) 591=item int ecb_popcount32 (uint32_t x)
230 592
593=item int ecb_popcount64 (uint64_t x)
594
595Returns the number of bits set to 1 in C<x>.
596
597For smaller types than C<uint32_t> you can safely use C<ecb_popcount32>.
598
599For example:
600
601 ecb_popcount32 (7) = 3
602 ecb_popcount32 (255) = 8
603
604=item uint8_t ecb_bitrev8 (uint8_t x)
605
606=item uint16_t ecb_bitrev16 (uint16_t x)
607
608=item uint32_t ecb_bitrev32 (uint32_t x)
609
610Reverses the bits in x, i.e. the MSB becomes the LSB, MSB-1 becomes LSB+1
611and so on.
612
613Example:
614
615 ecb_bitrev8 (0xa7) = 0xea
616 ecb_bitrev32 (0xffcc4411) = 0x882233ff
617
618=item uint32_t ecb_bswap16 (uint32_t x)
619
231=item uint32_t ecb_bswap32 (uint32_t x) 620=item uint32_t ecb_bswap32 (uint32_t x)
232 621
233=item uint32_t ecb_bswap16 (uint32_t x) 622=item uint64_t ecb_bswap64 (uint64_t x)
623
624These functions return the value of the 16-bit (32-bit, 64-bit) value
625C<x> after reversing the order of bytes (0x11223344 becomes 0x44332211 in
626C<ecb_bswap32>).
627
628=item uint8_t ecb_rotl8 (uint8_t x, unsigned int count)
629
630=item uint16_t ecb_rotl16 (uint16_t x, unsigned int count)
631
632=item uint32_t ecb_rotl32 (uint32_t x, unsigned int count)
633
634=item uint64_t ecb_rotl64 (uint64_t x, unsigned int count)
635
636=item uint8_t ecb_rotr8 (uint8_t x, unsigned int count)
637
638=item uint16_t ecb_rotr16 (uint16_t x, unsigned int count)
234 639
235=item uint32_t ecb_rotr32 (uint32_t x, unsigned int count) 640=item uint32_t ecb_rotr32 (uint32_t x, unsigned int count)
236 641
237=item uint32_t ecb_rotl32 (uint32_t x, unsigned int count) 642=item uint64_t ecb_rotr64 (uint64_t x, unsigned int count)
643
644These two families of functions return the value of C<x> after rotating
645all the bits by C<count> positions to the right (C<ecb_rotr>) or left
646(C<ecb_rotl>).
647
648Current GCC versions understand these functions and usually compile them
649to "optimal" code (e.g. a single C<rol> or a combination of C<shld> on
650x86).
238 651
239=back 652=back
240 653
654=head2 FLOATING POINT FIDDLING
655
656=over 4
657
658=item uint32_t ecb_float_to_binary32 (float x) [-UECB_NO_LIBM]
659
660=item uint64_t ecb_double_to_binary64 (double x) [-UECB_NO_LIBM]
661
662These functions each take an argument in the native C<float> or C<double>
663type and return the IEEE 754 bit representation of it.
664
665The bit representation is just as IEEE 754 defines it, i.e. the sign bit
666will be the most significant bit, followed by exponent and mantissa.
667
668This function should work even when the native floating point format isn't
669IEEE compliant, of course at a speed and code size penalty, and of course
670also within reasonable limits (it tries to convert NaNs, infinities and
671denormals, but will likely convert negative zero to positive zero).
672
673On all modern platforms (where C<ECB_STDFP> is true), the compiler should
674be able to optimise away this function completely.
675
676These functions can be helpful when serialising floats to the network - you
677can serialise the return value like a normal uint32_t/uint64_t.
678
679Another use for these functions is to manipulate floating point values
680directly.
681
682Silly example: toggle the sign bit of a float.
683
684 /* On gcc-4.7 on amd64, */
685 /* this results in a single add instruction to toggle the bit, and 4 extra */
686 /* instructions to move the float value to an integer register and back. */
687
688 x = ecb_binary32_to_float (ecb_float_to_binary32 (x) ^ 0x80000000U)
689
690=item float ecb_binary16_to_float (uint16_t x) [-UECB_NO_LIBM]
691
692=item float ecb_binary32_to_float (uint32_t x) [-UECB_NO_LIBM]
693
694=item double ecb_binary32_to_double (uint64_t x) [-UECB_NO_LIBM]
695
696The reverse operation of the previous function - takes the bit
697representation of an IEEE binary16, binary32 or binary64 number and
698converts it to the native C<float> or C<double> format.
699
700This function should work even when the native floating point format isn't
701IEEE compliant, of course at a speed and code size penalty, and of course
702also within reasonable limits (it tries to convert normals and denormals,
703and might be lucky for infinities, and with extraordinary luck, also for
704negative zero).
705
706On all modern platforms (where C<ECB_STDFP> is true), the compiler should
707be able to optimise away this function completely.
708
709=back
710
241=head2 ARITHMETIC 711=head2 ARITHMETIC
242 712
243=over 4 713=over 4
244 714
245=item x = ecb_mod (m, n) [MACRO] 715=item x = ecb_mod (m, n)
716
717Returns C<m> modulo C<n>, which is the same as the positive remainder
718of the division operation between C<m> and C<n>, using floored
719division. Unlike the C remainder operator C<%>, this function ensures that
720the return value is always positive and that the two numbers I<m> and
721I<m' = m + i * n> result in the same value modulo I<n> - in other words,
722C<ecb_mod> implements the mathematical modulo operation, which is missing
723in the language.
724
725C<n> must be strictly positive (i.e. C<< >= 1 >>), while C<m> must be
726negatable, that is, both C<m> and C<-m> must be representable in its
727type (this typically excludes the minimum signed integer value, the same
728limitation as for C</> and C<%> in C).
729
730Current GCC versions compile this into an efficient branchless sequence on
731almost all CPUs.
732
733For example, when you want to rotate forward through the members of an
734array for increasing C<m> (which might be negative), then you should use
735C<ecb_mod>, as the C<%> operator might give either negative results, or
736change direction for negative values:
737
738 for (m = -100; m <= 100; ++m)
739 int elem = myarray [ecb_mod (m, ecb_array_length (myarray))];
740
741=item x = ecb_div_rd (val, div)
742
743=item x = ecb_div_ru (val, div)
744
745Returns C<val> divided by C<div> rounded down or up, respectively.
746C<val> and C<div> must have integer types and C<div> must be strictly
747positive. Note that these functions are implemented with macros in C
748and with function templates in C++.
246 749
247=back 750=back
248 751
249=head2 UTILITY 752=head2 UTILITY
250 753
251=over 4 754=over 4
252 755
253=item ecb_array_length (name) [MACRO] 756=item element_count = ecb_array_length (name)
757
758Returns the number of elements in the array C<name>. For example:
759
760 int primes[] = { 2, 3, 5, 7, 11 };
761 int sum = 0;
762
763 for (i = 0; i < ecb_array_length (primes); i++)
764 sum += primes [i];
254 765
255=back 766=back
256 767
768=head2 SYMBOLS GOVERNING COMPILATION OF ECB.H ITSELF
257 769
770These symbols need to be defined before including F<ecb.h> the first time.
771
772=over 4
773
774=item ECB_NO_THREADS
775
776If F<ecb.h> is never used from multiple threads, then this symbol can
777be defined, in which case memory fences (and similar constructs) are
778completely removed, leading to more efficient code and fewer dependencies.
779
780Setting this symbol to a true value implies C<ECB_NO_SMP>.
781
782=item ECB_NO_SMP
783
784The weaker version of C<ECB_NO_THREADS> - if F<ecb.h> is used from
785multiple threads, but never concurrently (e.g. if the system the program
786runs on has only a single CPU with a single core, no hyperthreading and so
787on), then this symbol can be defined, leading to more efficient code and
788fewer dependencies.
789
790=item ECB_NO_LIBM
791
792When defined to C<1>, do not export any functions that might introduce
793dependencies on the math library (usually called F<-lm>) - these are
794marked with [-UECB_NO_LIBM].
795
796=back
797
798

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