[Dwarf-Discuss] Resend Encoding large constant values

[Tommy Hoffner]

Seems like the mailer doesn't approve of Lotus Notes email

The standard way of encoding a constant value seems to be something like:

<2><  196>      DW_TAG_constant
                DW_AT_name                  rans2
                DW_AT_const_value           16
                DW_AT_decl_file             1
                DW_AT_decl_line             0
                DW_AT_type                  <143>

Where we have the following abbrevation
<   6><   69><code:  6> DW_TAG_constant           DW_CHILDREN_no
      <   72>           DW_AT_name                  DW_FORM_string
      <   74>           DW_AT_const_value           DW_FORM_data4
      <   76>           DW_AT_decl_file             DW_FORM_data1
      <   78>           DW_AT_decl_line             DW_FORM_data1
      <   80>           DW_AT_type                  DW_FORM_ref4

There seems to be a common agreement that we need to know the type (i.e.
what DW_AT_type points to) to be able to interpret the data in
DW_AT_const_value since DW_FORM_data4 only gives us the size of the data.
Or as the standard says:
	"constant
	...

			The data in DW_FORM_data1, DW_FORM_data2, DW_FORM_data4 and
DW_FORM_data8 can be anything.


 			Depending on context, it may be a signed integer, an
unsigned integer, a floating-point constant, or anything else."


	But DW_FORM_data only goes up to 8 byte data.


	In fortran I can write:

      program dbq001

      implicit none

      real*16 rans2

      parameter ( rans2 = 0.1234567890123456789012345678901_16 )

      end

Giving me a 16 byte conhstant. My attempt on encoding this was

<   6><   69><code:  6> DW_TAG_constant           DW_CHILDREN_no
      <   72>           DW_AT_name                  DW_FORM_string
       <  74>           DW_AT_const_value           DW_FORM_block1
      <   76>           DW_AT_decl_file             DW_FORM_data1
      <   78>           DW_AT_decl_line             DW_FORM_data1
      <   80>           DW_AT_type                  DW_FORM_ref4




The problem is that the standard section above doesn't mention
DW_FORM_block1 as something that can contain a constant. It does however
say:


	"In all forms, the length is the number of information bytes that
follow. The information bytes may contain any mixture of relocated (or
relocatable) addresses, references to other debugging information entries
or data bytes."


However since all the data types above can be expressed as expressions, I
seen tools assuming that DW_FORM_block always contains an expression.


So I think the DW_FORM_block1 above should contain the raw floating point
data (apart from the size field). While a number of tools expect an
expression evaluating to the raw bit pattern (?) for the 16 byte data we
want.


 Have I missed anything.


Any hints comments on how to encode it. I realize this is actually in
between syntax and semantics. I mean the DW_FORM is giving the syntactic
part, and a some point we need to interpret a bit pattern as a floating
point value and I guess this is in-between in the sense that it concern how
to extract/generate the bit pattern that can be interpreted as a constant


I got the suggestion to use DW_FORM_sdata or DW_FORM_udata, since that will
make the part I'm having trouble with unambigious, but it feel strange,
since it isn't even obvious which encoding it the "right one" since signed
and unsigned doesn't really make sense for a 16 byte float


/Tommy Hoffner




Tommy Hoffner

Compiler Backend Development
IBM Toronto Laboratory, 8200 Warden Ave, Markham, Ontario, Canada, L6G 1C7
Tel:  905-413-2036    Tie:  313-2036    Internet:  thoffner at ca.ibm.com
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