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Many minor edits. Rewrite some of the options section for grammatical parallelism, clarity, and brevity. git-svn-id: https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/llvm/trunk@9254 91177308-0d34-0410-b5e6-96231b3b80d8
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9.8 KiB
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213 lines
9.8 KiB
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<title>LLVM: bugpoint tool</title>
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<body bgcolor=white>
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<center><h1>LLVM: <tt>bugpoint</tt> tool</h1></center>
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<HR>
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<h3>NAME</h3>
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<tt>bugpoint</tt>
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<h3>SYNOPSIS</h3>
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<tt>bugpoint [options] [input LLVM ll/bc files] [LLVM passes] --args <program arguments>...</tt>
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<img src="../Debugging.gif" width=444 height=314 align=right>
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<h3>DESCRIPTION</h3>
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The <tt>bugpoint</tt> tool is a generally useful tool for narrowing down
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problems in LLVM tools and passes. It can be used to debug three types of
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failures: optimizer crashes, miscompilations by optimizers, or invalid native
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code generation. It aims to reduce test cases to something useful. For example,
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if <tt><a href="gccas.html">gccas</a></tt> crashes while optimizing a file, it
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will identify the optimization (or combination of optimizations) that causes the
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crash, and reduce the file down to a small example which triggers the crash.<p>
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<tt>bugpoint</tt> has been designed to be a useful tool without requiring any
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hooks into the LLVM infrastructure at all. It works with any and all LLVM
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passes and code generators, and does not need to "know" how they work. Because
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of this, it may appear to do a lot of stupid things or miss obvious
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simplifications. Remember, however, that computer time is much cheaper than
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programmer time, so if it takes a long time to reduce a test case it is still
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worth it. :)<p>
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<a name="crashdebug">
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<h4>Automatic Mode Selection</h4>
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<tt>bugpoint</tt> reads the specified list of <tt>.bc</tt> or <tt>.ll</tt> files
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specified on the command-line and links them together. If any LLVM passes are
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specified on the command line, it runs these passes on the resultant module. If
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any of the passes crash, or if they produce a malformed LLVM module,
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<tt>bugpoint</tt> enters <a href="#crashdebug">crash debugging mode</a>.<p>
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Otherwise, if the <a href="#opt_output"><tt>-output</tt></a> option was not
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specified, <tt>bugpoint</tt> runs the initial program with the C backend (which
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is assumed to generate good code) to generate a reference output. Once
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<tt>bugpoint</tt> has a reference output to match, it tries executing the
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original program with the <a href="#opt_run-">selected</a> code generator. If
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the resultant output is different than the reference output, it enters <a
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href="#codegendebug">code generator debugging mode</a>.<p>
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Otherwise, <tt>bugpoint</tt> runs the LLVM program after all of the LLVM passes
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have been applied to it. If the executed program matches the reference output,
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there is no problem <tt>bugpoint</tt> can debug. Otherwise, it enters <a
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href="#miscompilationdebug">miscompilation debugging mode</a>.<p>
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<a name="crashdebug">
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<h4>Crash debugging mode</h4>
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If an optimizer crashes, <tt>bugpoint</tt> will try a variety of techniques to
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narrow down the list of passes and the code to a more manageable amount. First,
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<tt>bugpoint</tt> figures out which combination of passes trigger the bug. This
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is useful when debugging a problem exposed by <tt>gccas</tt> for example,
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because it runs over 30 optimizations.<p>
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Next, <tt>bugpoint</tt> tries removing functions from the module, to reduce the
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size of the test case to a reasonable amount. Usually it is able to get it down
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to a single function for intraprocedural optimizations. Once the number of
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functions has been reduced, it attempts to delete various edges in the control
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flow graph, to reduce the size of the function as much as possible. Finally,
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<tt>bugpoint</tt> deletes any individual LLVM instructions whose absence does
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not eliminate the failure. At the end, <tt>bugpoint</tt> should tell you what
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passes crash, give you a bytecode file, and give you instructions on how to
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reproduce the failure with <tt><a href="opt.html">opt</a></tt> or
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<tt><a href="analyze.html">analyze</a></tt>.<p>
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<a name="codegendebug">
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<h4>Code generator debugging mode</h4>
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The code generator debugger attempts to narrow down the amount of code that is
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being miscompiled by the <a href="#opt_run-">selected</a> code generator. To do
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this, it takes the LLVM program and partitions it into two pieces: one piece
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which it compiles with the C backend (into a shared object), and one piece which
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it runs with either the JIT or the static LLC compiler. It uses several
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techniques to reduce the amount of code pushed through the LLVM code generator,
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to reduce the potential scope of the problem. After it is finished, it emits
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two bytecode files (the "test" [to be compiled with the code generator] and
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"safe" [to be compiled with the C backend] modules), and instructions for
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reproducing the problem. This module assume the C backend produces good
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code.<p>
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If you are using this mode and get an error message that says "Non-instruction
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is using an external function!", try using the <tt>-run-llc</tt> option instead
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of the <tt>-run-jit</tt> option. This is due to an unimplemented feature in the
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code generator debugging mode.<p>
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<a name="miscompilationdebug">
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<h4>Miscompilation debugging mode</h4>
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The miscompilation debugging mode works similarly to the code generator
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debugging mode. It works by splitting the program into two pieces, running the
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optimizations specified on one piece, relinking the program, then executing it.
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It attempts to narrow down the list of passes to the one (or few) which are
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causing the miscompilation, then reduce the portion of the program which is
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being miscompiled. This module assumes that the selected code generator is
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working properly.<p>
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<a name="bugpoint notes">
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<h4>Advice for using <tt>bugpoint</tt></h4>
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<tt>bugpoint</tt> can be a remarkably useful tool, but it sometimes works in
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non-obvious ways. Here are some hints and tips:<p>
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<ol>
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<li>In code generator and miscompilation debugging modes, <tt>bugpoint</tt> only
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works with programs that have deterministic output. Thus, if the program
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outputs the date, time, or any other "random" data, <tt>bugpoint</tt> may
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misinterpret differences in these data, when output, as the result of a
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miscompilation. Programs should be temporarily modified to disable
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outputs that are likely to vary from run to run.
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<li>In code generator and miscompilation debugging modes, debugging will go
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faster if you manually modify the program or its inputs to reduce the
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runtime, but still exhibit the problem.
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<li><tt>bugpoint</tt> is extremely useful when working on a new optimization:
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it helps track down regressions quickly. To avoid having to relink
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<tt>bugpoint</tt> every time you change your optimization however, have
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<tt>bugpoint</tt> dynamically load your optimization with the <a
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href="#opt_load"><tt>-load</tt></a> option.
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<li><tt>bugpoint</tt> can generate a lot of output and run for a long period of
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time. It is often useful to capture the output of the program to file. For
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example, in the C shell, you can type:<br>
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<tt>bugpoint ..... |& tee bugpoint.log</tt>
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<br>to get a copy of <tt>bugpoint</tt>'s output in the file
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<tt>bugpoint.log</tt>, as well as on your terminal.<p>
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</ol>
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<h3>OPTIONS</h3>
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<ul>
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<li><tt>-additional-so <library.so></tt><br>
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Load <tt><library.so></tt> into the test program whenever it is run.
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This is useful if you are debugging programs which depend on non-LLVM
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libraries (such as the X or curses libraries) to run.<p>
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<li><tt>-args <program args></tt><br>
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Pass all arguments specified after <tt>-args</tt> to the
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test program whenever it runs. Note that if any of
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the <tt><program args></tt> start with a '-', you should use:
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<p>
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<tt>bugpoint <bugpoint args> -args -- <program args></tt>
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<p>
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The "<tt>--</tt>" right after the <tt>-args</tt> option tells
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<tt>bugpoint</tt> to consider any options starting with <tt>-</tt> to be
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part of the <tt>-args</tt> option, not as options to <tt>bugpoint</tt>
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itself.<p>
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<li><tt>-disable-{adce,dce,final-cleanup,simplifycfg}</tt><br>
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Do not run the specified passes to clean up and reduce the size of the
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test program. By default, <tt>bugpoint</tt> uses these passes internally
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when attempting to reduce test programs. If you're trying to find
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a bug in one of these passes, <tt>bugpoint</tt> may crash.<p>
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<li> <tt>-help</tt><br>
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Print a summary of command line options.<p>
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<a name="opt_input"><li><tt>-input <filename></tt><br>
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Open <tt><filename></tt> and redirect the standard input of the
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test program, whenever it runs, to come from that file.
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<p>
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<a name="opt_load"><li> <tt>-load <plugin.so></tt><br>
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Load the dynamic object <tt><plugin.so></tt> into <tt>bugpoint</tt>
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itself. This object should register new
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optimization passes. Once loaded, the object will add new command line
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options to enable various optimizations. To see the new complete list
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of optimizations, use the -help and -load options together:
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<p>
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<tt>bugpoint -load <plugin.so> -help</tt>
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<p>
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<a name="opt_output"><li><tt>-output <filename></tt><br>
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Whenever the test program produces output on its standard output
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stream, it should match the contents of <tt><filename></tt>
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(the "reference output"). If you do not use this option,
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<tt>bugpoint</tt> will attempt to generate a reference output by
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compiling the program with the C backend and running it.<p>
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<a name="opt_run-"><li><tt>-run-{int|jit|llc|cbe}</tt><br>
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Whenever the test program is compiled, <tt>bugpoint</tt> should generate
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code for it using the specified code generator. These options allow
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you to choose the interpreter, the JIT compiler, the static native
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code compiler, or the C backend, respectively.<p>
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</ul>
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<h3>EXIT STATUS</h3>
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If <tt>bugpoint</tt> succeeds in finding a problem, it will exit with 0.
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Otherwise, if an error occurs, it will exit with a non-zero value.
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<h3>SEE ALSO</h3>
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<a href="opt.html"><tt>opt</tt></a>,
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<a href="analyze.html"><tt>analyze</tt></a>
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<HR>
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Maintained by the <a href="http://llvm.cs.uiuc.edu">LLVM Team</a>.
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