4 The LLVM compiler infrastructure supports a wide range of projects, from
5 industrial strength compilers to specialized JIT applications to small
8 Similarly, documentation is broken down into several high-level groupings
9 targeted at different audiences:
11 LLVM Design & Overview
12 ======================
14 Several introductory papers and presentations.
22 Defines the LLVM intermediate representation.
24 `Introduction to the LLVM Compiler`__
25 Presentation providing a users introduction to LLVM.
27 .. __: http://llvm.org/pubs/2008-10-04-ACAT-LLVM-Intro.html
30 Book chapter providing a compiler hacker's introduction to LLVM.
32 .. __: http://www.aosabook.org/en/llvm.html
35 `LLVM: A Compilation Framework for Lifelong Program Analysis & Transformation`__
38 .. __: http://llvm.org/pubs/2004-01-30-CGO-LLVM.html
40 `LLVM: An Infrastructure for Multi-Stage Optimization`__
41 More details (quite old now).
43 .. __: http://llvm.org/pubs/2002-12-LattnerMSThesis.html
45 `Publications mentioning LLVM <http://llvm.org/pubs>`_
51 For those new to the LLVM system.
53 NOTE: If you are a user who is only interested in using LLVM-based
54 compilers, you should look into `Clang <http://clang.llvm.org>`_ or
55 `DragonEgg <http://dragonegg.llvm.org>`_ instead. The documentation here is
56 intended for users who have a need to work with the intermediate LLVM
68 BuildingLLVMWithAutotools
74 SphinxQuickstartTemplate
82 Frontend/PerformanceTips
83 MCJITDesignAndImplementation
87 Discusses how to get up and running quickly with the LLVM infrastructure.
88 Everything from unpacking and compilation of the distribution to execution
92 An addendum to the main Getting Started guide for those using the `CMake
93 build system <http://www.cmake.org>`_.
95 :doc:`HowToBuildOnARM`
96 Notes on building and testing LLVM/Clang on ARM.
98 :doc:`HowToCrossCompileLLVM`
99 Notes on cross-building and testing LLVM/Clang.
101 :doc:`GettingStartedVS`
102 An addendum to the main Getting Started guide for those using Visual Studio
105 :doc:`BuildingLLVMWithAutotools`
106 An addendum to the Getting Started guide with instructions for building LLVM
107 with the Autotools build system.
109 :doc:`tutorial/index`
110 Tutorials about using LLVM. Includes a tutorial about making a custom
113 :doc:`LLVM Command Guide <CommandGuide/index>`
114 A reference manual for the LLVM command line utilities ("man" pages for LLVM
118 A list of optimizations and analyses implemented in LLVM.
121 A list of common questions and problems and their solutions.
123 :doc:`Release notes for the current release <ReleaseNotes>`
124 This describes new features, known bugs, and other limitations.
126 :doc:`HowToSubmitABug`
127 Instructions for properly submitting information about any bugs you run into
130 :doc:`SphinxQuickstartTemplate`
131 A template + tutorial for writing new Sphinx documentation. It is meant
132 to be read in source form.
134 :doc:`LLVM Testing Infrastructure Guide <TestingGuide>`
135 A reference manual for using the LLVM testing infrastructure.
137 `How to build the C, C++, ObjC, and ObjC++ front end`__
138 Instructions for building the clang front-end from source.
140 .. __: http://clang.llvm.org/get_started.html
143 Definition of acronyms, terms and concepts used in LLVM.
145 :doc:`HowToAddABuilder`
146 Instructions for adding new builder to LLVM buildbot master.
149 A reference guide for using LLVM's YAML I/O library.
152 Answers to some very frequent questions about LLVM's most frequently
153 misunderstood instruction.
155 :doc:`Frontend/PerformanceTips`
156 A collection of tips for frontend authors on how to generate IR
157 which LLVM is able to effectively optimize.
160 Programming Documentation
161 =========================
163 For developers of applications which use LLVM as a library.
173 HowToSetUpLLVMStyleRTTI
178 :doc:`LLVM Language Reference Manual <LangRef>`
179 Defines the LLVM intermediate representation and the assembly form of the
183 Information about LLVM's concurrency model.
185 :doc:`ProgrammersManual`
186 Introduction to the general layout of the LLVM sourcebase, important classes
187 and APIs, and some tips & tricks.
190 LLVM-specific extensions to tools and formats LLVM seeks compatibility with.
193 Provides information on using the command line parsing library.
195 :doc:`CodingStandards`
196 Details the LLVM coding standards and provides useful information on writing
199 :doc:`HowToSetUpLLVMStyleRTTI`
200 How to make ``isa<>``, ``dyn_cast<>``, etc. available for clients of your
204 Look here to see how to add instructions and intrinsics to LLVM.
206 `Doxygen generated documentation <http://llvm.org/doxygen/>`_
207 (`classes <http://llvm.org/doxygen/inherits.html>`_)
208 (`tarball <http://llvm.org/doxygen/doxygen.tar.gz>`_)
210 `Documentation for Go bindings <http://godoc.org/llvm.org/llvm/bindings/go/llvm>`_
212 `ViewVC Repository Browser <http://llvm.org/viewvc/>`_
215 :doc:`CompilerWriterInfo`
216 A list of helpful links for compiler writers.
219 A library for writing in-process guided fuzzers.
221 Subsystem Documentation
222 =======================
224 For API clients and LLVM developers.
231 BlockFrequencyTerminology
255 CoverageMappingFormat
262 :doc:`WritingAnLLVMPass`
263 Information on how to write LLVM transformations and analyses.
265 :doc:`WritingAnLLVMBackend`
266 Information on how to write LLVM backends for machine targets.
269 The design and implementation of the LLVM code generator. Useful if you are
270 working on retargetting LLVM to a new architecture, designing a new codegen
271 pass, or enhancing existing components.
273 :doc:`Machine IR (MIR) Format Reference Manual <MIRLangRef>`
274 A reference manual for the MIR serialization format, which is used to test
275 LLVM's code generation passes.
277 :doc:`TableGen <TableGen/index>`
278 Describes the TableGen tool, which is used heavily by the LLVM code
282 Information on how to write a new alias analysis implementation or how to
283 use existing analyses.
285 :doc:`GarbageCollection`
286 The interfaces source-language compilers should use for compiling GC'd
289 :doc:`Source Level Debugging with LLVM <SourceLevelDebugging>`
290 This document describes the design and philosophy behind the LLVM
291 source-level debugger.
294 This document describes the current status of vectorization in LLVM.
296 :doc:`ExceptionHandling`
297 This document describes the design and implementation of exception handling
301 Automatic bug finder and test-case reducer description and usage
305 This describes the file format and encoding used for LLVM "bc" files.
307 :doc:`System Library <SystemLibrary>`
308 This document describes the LLVM System Library (``lib/System``) and
309 how to keep LLVM source code portable
311 :doc:`LinkTimeOptimization`
312 This document describes the interface between LLVM intermodular optimizer
313 and the linker and its design
316 How to build your programs with link-time optimization on Linux.
318 :doc:`DebuggingJITedCode`
319 How to debug JITed code with GDB.
321 :doc:`MCJITDesignAndImplementation`
322 Describes the inner workings of MCJIT execution engine.
324 :doc:`BranchWeightMetadata`
325 Provides information about Branch Prediction Information.
327 :doc:`BlockFrequencyTerminology`
328 Provides information about terminology used in the ``BlockFrequencyInfo``
331 :doc:`SegmentedStacks`
332 This document describes segmented stacks and how they are used in LLVM.
334 :doc:`MarkedUpDisassembly`
335 This document describes the optional rich disassembly output syntax.
337 :doc:`HowToUseAttributes`
338 Answers some questions about the new Attributes infrastructure.
341 This document describes using the NVPTX back-end to compile GPU kernels.
344 This document describes how to use the AMDGPU back-end.
347 LLVM support for mapping instruction addresses to the location of
348 values and allowing code to be patched.
351 LLVM's support for generating NEON instructions on big endian ARM targets is
352 somewhat nonintuitive. This document explains the implementation and rationale.
354 :doc:`CoverageMappingFormat`
355 This describes the format and encoding used for LLVM’s code coverage mapping.
358 This describes a set of experimental extensions for garbage
361 :doc:`MergeFunctions`
362 Describes functions merging optimization.
365 Description of the ``inalloca`` argument attribute.
368 LLVM support for folding control flow into faulting machine instructions.
370 :doc:`CompileCudaWithLLVM`
371 LLVM support for CUDA.
373 Development Process Documentation
374 =================================
376 Information about LLVM's development process.
390 :doc:`DeveloperPolicy`
391 The LLVM project's policy towards developers and their contributions.
394 How-to guide and templates for new projects that *use* the LLVM
395 infrastructure. The templates (directory organization, Makefiles, and test
396 tree) allow the project code to be located outside (or inside) the ``llvm/``
397 tree, while using LLVM header files and libraries.
400 Describes the LLVMBuild organization and files used by LLVM to specify
401 component descriptions.
404 Describes how the LLVM makefiles work and how to use them.
406 :doc:`HowToReleaseLLVM`
407 This is a guide to preparing LLVM releases. Most developers can ignore it.
409 :doc:`ReleaseProcess`
410 This is a guide to validate a new release, during the release process. Most developers can ignore it.
413 Advice on packaging LLVM into a distribution.
416 Describes how to use the Phabricator code review tool hosted on
417 http://reviews.llvm.org/ and its command line interface, Arcanist.
422 LLVM has a thriving community of friendly and helpful developers.
423 The two primary communication mechanisms in the LLVM community are mailing
429 If you can't find what you need in these docs, try consulting the mailing
432 `Developer's List (llvm-dev)`__
433 This list is for people who want to be included in technical discussions of
434 LLVM. People post to this list when they have questions about writing code
435 for or using the LLVM tools. It is relatively low volume.
437 .. __: http://lists.llvm.org/mailman/listinfo/llvm-dev
439 `Commits Archive (llvm-commits)`__
440 This list contains all commit messages that are made when LLVM developers
441 commit code changes to the repository. It also serves as a forum for
442 patch review (i.e. send patches here). It is useful for those who want to
443 stay on the bleeding edge of LLVM development. This list is very high
446 .. __: http://lists.llvm.org/pipermail/llvm-commits/
448 `Bugs & Patches Archive (llvm-bugs)`__
449 This list gets emailed every time a bug is opened and closed. It is
450 higher volume than the LLVM-dev list.
452 .. __: http://lists.llvm.org/pipermail/llvm-bugs/
454 `Test Results Archive (llvm-testresults)`__
455 A message is automatically sent to this list by every active nightly tester
456 when it completes. As such, this list gets email several times each day,
457 making it a high volume list.
459 .. __: http://lists.llvm.org/pipermail/llvm-testresults/
461 `LLVM Announcements List (llvm-announce)`__
462 This is a low volume list that provides important announcements regarding
463 LLVM. It gets email about once a month.
465 .. __: http://lists.llvm.org/mailman/listinfo/llvm-announce
470 Users and developers of the LLVM project (including subprojects such as Clang)
471 can be found in #llvm on `irc.oftc.net <irc://irc.oftc.net/llvm>`_.
473 This channel has several bots.
477 * llvmbb - Bot for the main LLVM buildbot master.
478 http://lab.llvm.org:8011/console
479 * bb-chapuni - An individually run buildbot master. http://bb.pgr.jp/console
480 * smooshlab - Apple's internal buildbot master.
482 * robot - Bugzilla linker. %bug <number>
484 * clang-bot - A `geordi <http://www.eelis.net/geordi/>`_ instance running
485 near-trunk clang instead of gcc.