[Dwarf-Discuss] Using DWARF for C++ runtime reflection

[Roman Popov]

Hi everyone,
I'm working on a dynamic analysis tool that needs runtime reflection in
C++. Since C++ has no standardized runtime reflection, I'm using DWARF as a
source of reflection metadata.

Is it a legitimate use-case from DWARF standard point of view?

It has been working great for me until I've upgraded to latest g++ and
clang compilers. Those compilers produce ambiguous names for some template
instantiations, so my tools no longer work. So I start to wonder: whether
it me misusing DWARF, or it is compilers that are buggy.

In particular, what is the DWARF answer for these questions:

1.  Does DWARF guarantees that:

     typeid(T1) == typeid(T2)    ==>   DW_AT_name(T1)  == DW_AT_name(T2)
     typeid(T1) != typeid(T2)     ==>   DW_AT_name(T1)  !=  DW_AT_name(T2)

i.e. Is DW_AT_name an unique identifier for type?


2.  Does DWARF guarantees that DW_AT_name(T)  is a valid source language
name?
i.e. If I copy string from DW_AT_name to source code, and compile it with
the same compiler that produced DWARF, will it produce the same type?

    T   var1;
    DW_AT_name(T)   var2;

  typeid(var1)  ==  typeid (var2) ?

Thanks,
Roman
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