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134 lines
5.7 KiB
Plaintext
134 lines
5.7 KiB
Plaintext
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===========================================================================
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Michel Schinz's notes
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===========================================================================
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WHO DID WHAT
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The original Amiga port was made by Jesper Peterson. I (Michel Schinz)
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modified it slightly to reflect the changes made in the new official
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distributions, and to take advantage of the new SAS/C 6.x features. I also
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created a makefile to compile the "cord" package (see the cord
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subdirectory).
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TECHNICAL NOTES
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In addition to Jesper's notes, I have the following to say:
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- Starting with version 4.3, gctest checks to see if the code segment is
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added to the root set or not, and complains if it is. Previous versions
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of this Amiga port added the code segment to the root set, so I tried to
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fix that. The only problem is that, as far as I know, it is impossible to
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know which segments are code segments and which are data segments (there
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are indeed solutions to this problem, like scanning the program on disk
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or patch the LoadSeg functions, but they are rather complicated). The
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solution I have chosen (see os_dep.c) is to test whether the program
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counter is in the segment we are about to add to the root set, and if it
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is, to skip the segment. The problems are that this solution is rather
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awkward and that it works only for one code segment. This means that if
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your program has more than one code segment, all of them but one will be
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added to the root set. This isn't a big problem in fact, since the
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collector will continue to work correctly, but it may be slower.
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Anyway, the code which decides whether to skip a segment or not can be
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removed simply by not defining AMIGA_SKIP_SEG. But notice that if you do
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so, gctest will complain (it will say that "GC_is_visible produced wrong
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failure indication"). However, it may be useful if you happen to have
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pointers stored in a code segment (you really shouldn't).
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If anyone has a good solution to the problem of finding, when a program
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is loaded in memory, whether a segment is a code or a data segment,
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please let me know.
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PROBLEMS
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If you have any problem with this version, please contact me at
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schinz@alphanet.ch (but do *not* send long files, since we pay for
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every mail!).
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===========================================================================
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Jesper Peterson's notes
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===========================================================================
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ADDITIONAL NOTES FOR AMIGA PORT
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These notes assume some familiarity with Amiga internals.
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WHY I PORTED TO THE AMIGA
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The sole reason why I made this port was as a first step in getting
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the Sather(*) language on the Amiga. A port of this language will
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be done as soon as the Sather 1.0 sources are made available to me.
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Given this motivation, the garbage collection (GC) port is rather
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minimal.
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(*) For information on Sather read the comp.lang.sather newsgroup.
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LIMITATIONS
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This port assumes that the startup code linked with target programs
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is that supplied with SAS/C versions 6.0 or later. This allows
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assumptions to be made about where to find the stack base pointer
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and data segments when programs are run from WorkBench, as opposed
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to running from the CLI. The compiler dependent code is all in the
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GC_get_stack_base() and GC_register_data_segments() functions, but
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may spread as I add Amiga specific features.
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Given that SAS/C was assumed, the port is set up to be built with
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"smake" using the "SMakefile". Compiler options in "SCoptions" can
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be set with "scopts" program. Both "smake" and "scopts" are part of
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the SAS/C commercial development system.
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In keeping with the porting philosophy outlined above, this port
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will not behave well with Amiga specific code. Especially not inter-
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process comms via messages, and setting up public structures like
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Intuition objects or anything else in the system lists. For the
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time being the use of this library is limited to single threaded
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ANSI/POSIX compliant or near-complient code. (ie. Stick to stdio
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for now). Given this limitation there is currently no mechanism for
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allocating "CHIP" or "PUBLIC" memory under the garbage collector.
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I'll add this after giving it considerable thought. The major
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problem is the entire physical address space may have to me scanned,
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since there is no telling who we may have passed memory to.
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If you allocate your own stack in client code, you will have to
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assign the pointer plus stack size to GC_stackbottom.
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The initial stack size of the target program can be compiled in by
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setting the __stack symbol (see SAS documentaion). It can be over-
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ridden from the CLI by running the AmigaDOS "stack" program, or from
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the WorkBench by setting the stack size in the tool types window.
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SAS/C COMPILER OPTIONS (SCoptions)
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You may wish to check the "CPU" code option is appropriate for your
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intended target system.
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Under no circumstances set the "StackExtend" code option in either
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compiling the library or *ANY* client code.
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All benign compiler warnings have been suppressed. These mainly
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involve lack of prototypes in the code, and dead assignments
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detected by the optimizer.
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THE GOOD NEWS
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The library as it stands is compatible with the GigaMem commercial
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virtual memory software, and probably similar PD software.
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The performance of "gctest" on an Amiga 2630 (68030 @ 25Mhz)
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compares favourably with an HP9000 with similar architecture (a 325
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with a 68030 I think).
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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The Amiga port has been brought to you by:
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Jesper Peterson.
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jep@mtiame.mtia.oz.au (preferred, but 1 week turnaround)
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jep@orca1.vic.design.telecom.au (that's orca<one>, 1 day turnaround)
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At least one of these addresses should be around for a while, even
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though I don't work for either of the companies involved.
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