STALIN(1) General Commands Manual STALIN(1)
NAME
stalin - A global optimizing compiler for Scheme
SYNOPSIS
stalin [-version]
[-I include-directory]*
[[-s|-x|-q|-t]]
[[-treat-all-symbols-as-external|
-do-not-treat-all-symbols-as-external]]
[[-index-allocated-string-types-by-expression|
-do-not-index-allocated-string-types-by-expression]]
[[-index-constant-structure-types-by-slot-types|
-do-not-index-constant-structure-types-by-slot-types]]
[[-index-constant-structure-types-by-expression|
-do-not-index-constant-structure-types-by-expression]]
[[-index-allocated-structure-types-by-slot-types|
-do-not-index-allocated-structure-types-by-slot-types]]
[[-index-allocated-structure-types-by-expression|
-do-not-index-allocated-structure-types-by-expression]]
[[-index-constant-headed-vector-types-by-element-type|
-do-not-index-constant-headed-vector-types-by-element-type]]
[[-index-constant-headed-vector-types-by-expression|
-do-not-index-constant-headed-vector-types-by-expression]]
[[-index-allocated-headed-vector-types-by-element-type|
-do-not-index-allocated-headed-vector-types-by-element-type]]
[[-index-allocated-headed-vector-types-by-expression|
-do-not-index-allocated-headed-vector-types-by-expression]]
[[-index-constant-nonheaded-vector-types-by-element-type|
-do-not-index-constant-nonheaded-vector-types-by-element-type]]
[[-index-constant-nonheaded-vector-types-by-expression|
-do-not-index-constant-nonheaded-vector-types-by-expression]]
[[-index-allocated-nonheaded-vector-types-by-element-type|
-do-not-index-allocated-nonheaded-vector-types-by-element-type]]
[[-index-allocated-nonheaded-vector-types-by-expression|
-do-not-index-allocated-nonheaded-vector-types-by-expression]]
[[-no-clone-size-limit|
-clone-size-limit number-of-expressions]]
[-split-even-if-no-widening]
[[-fully-convert-to-CPS|
-no-escaping-continuations]]
[-du]
[-Ob] [-Om] [-On] [-Or] [-Ot]
[-d0] [-d1] [-d2] [-d3] [-d4] [-d5] [-d6] [-d7]
[-closure-conversion-statistics]
[-dc] [-dC] [-dH] [-dg] [-dh]
[-d]
[-architecture name]
[[-baseline|
-conventional|
-lightweight]]
[[-immediate-flat|
-indirect-flat|
-immediate-display|
-indirect-display|
-linked]]
[[-align-strings|-do-not-align-strings]]
[-de] [-df] [-dG] [-di] [-dI] [-dp] [-dP]
[-ds] [-dS] [-Tmk]
[-no-tail-call-optimization]
[-db] [-c] [-k]
[-cc C-compiler]
[-copt C-compiler-option]*
[pathname]
Compiles the Scheme source file pathname.sc first into a C file pathname.c and then into an executable image pathname. Also produces a
database file pathname.db. The pathname argument is required unless -version is specified.
DESCRIPTION
Stalin is an extremely efficient compiler for Scheme. It is designed to be used not as a development tool but rather as a means to gener-
ate efficient executable images either for application delivery or for production research runs. In contrast to traditional Scheme imple-
mentations, Stalin is a batch-mode compiler. There is no interactive READ-EVAL-PRINT loop. Stalin compiles a single Scheme source file
into an executable image (indirectly via C). Running that image has equivalent semantics to loading the Scheme source file into a virgin
Scheme interpreter and then terminating its execution. The chief limitation is that it is not possible to LOAD or EVAL new expressions or
procedure definitions into a running program after compilation. In return for this limitation, Stalin does substantial global compile-time
analysis of the source program under this closed-world assumption and produces executable images that are small, stand-alone, and fast.
Stalin incorporates numerous strategies for generating efficient code. Among them, Stalin does global static type analysis using a soft
type system that supports recursive union types. Stalin can determine a narrow or even monomorphic type for each source code expression in
arbitrary Scheme programs with no type declarations. This allows Stalin to reduce, or often eliminate, run-time type checking and dis-
patching. Stalin also does low-level representation selection on a per-expression basis. This allows the use of unboxed base machine data
representations for all monomorphic types resulting in extremely high-performance numeric code. Stalin also does global static life-time
analysis for all allocated data. This allows much temporary allocated storage to be reclaimed without garbage collection. Finally, Stalin
has very efficient strategies for compiling closures. Together, these compilation techniques synergistically yield efficient object code.
Furthermore, the executable images created by Stalin do not contain (user-defined or library) procedures that aren't called, variables and
parameters that aren't used, and expressions that cannot be reached. This encourages a programming style whereby one creates and uses very
general library procedures without fear that executable images will suffer from code bloat.
OPTIONS
-version
Prints the version of Stalin and exits immediately.
The following options control preprocessing:
-I Specifies the directories to search for Scheme include files. This option can be repeated to specify multiple directories. Stalin
first searches for include files in the current directory, then each of the directories specified in the command line, and finally
in the default installation include directory.
-s Includes the macros from the Scheme->C compatibility library. Currently, this defines the WHEN and UNLESS syntax.
-x Includes the macros from the Xlib and GL library. Currently, this defines the FOREIGN-FUNCTION and FOREIGN-DEFINE syntax. This
implies -s.
-q Includes the macros from the QobiScheme library. Currently, this defines the DEFINE-STRUCTURE syntax, among other things. This
implies -x.
-t Includes the macros needed to compile Stalin with itself. This implies -q.
The following options control the precision of flow analysis:
-treat-all-symbols-as-external
During flow analysis, generate a single abstract external symbol that is shared among all symbols.
-do-not-treat-all-symbols-as-external
During flow analysis, when processing constant expressions that contain symbols, generate a new abstract internal symbol for each
distinct symbol constant in the program. This is the default.
-index-allocated-string-types-by-expression
During flow analysis, when processing procedure-call expressions that can allocate strings, generate a new abstract string for each
such expression. This is the default.
-do-not-index-allocated-string-types-by-expression
During flow analysis, when processing procedure-call expressions that can allocate strings, generate a single abstract string that
is shared among all such expressions.
Note that there are no versions of the above options for element type because the element type of a string is always char. Furthermore,
there are no versions of the above options for constant expressions because there is always only a single abstract constant string.
-index-constant-structure-types-by-slot-types
During flow analysis, when processing constant expressions that contain structures, generate a new abstract structure for each set
of potential slot types for that structure.
-do-not-index-constant-structure-types-by-slot-types
During flow analysis, when processing constant expressions that contain structures, generate a single abstract structure that is
shared among all sets of potential slot types for that structure. This is the default.
-index-constant-structure-types-by-expression
During flow analysis, when processing constant expression that contain structures, generate a new abstract structure for each such
expression. This is the default.
-do-not-index-constant-structure-types-by-expression
During flow analysis, when processing constant expressions that contain structures, generate a single abstract structure that is
shared among all such expressions.
-index-allocated-structure-types-by-slot-types
During flow analysis, when processing procedure-call expressions that can allocate structures, generate a new abstract structure for
each set of potential slot types for that structure.
-do-not-index-allocated-structure-types-by-slot-types
During flow analysis, when processing procedure-call expressions that can allocate structures, generate a single abstract structure
that is shared among all sets of potential slot types for that structure. This is the default.
-index-allocated-structure-types-by-expression
During flow analysis, when processing procedure-call expressions that can allocate structures, generate a new abstract structure for
each such expression. This is the default.
-do-not-index-allocated-structure-types-by-expression
During flow analysis, when processing procedure-call expressions that can allocate structures, generate a single abstract structure
that is shared among all such expressions.
Note that, currently, pairs are the only kind of structure that can appear in constant expressions. This may change in the future, if the
reader is extended to support other kinds of structures.
-index-constant-headed-vector-types-by-element-type
During flow analysis, when processing constant expressions that contain headed vectors, generate a new abstract headed vector for
each potential element type for that headed vector.
-do-not-index-constant-headed-vector-types-by-element-type
During flow analysis, when processing constant expressions that contain headed vectors, generate a single abstract headed vector
that is shared among all potential element types for that headed vector. This is the default.
-index-constant-headed-vector-types-by-expression
During flow analysis, when processing constant expressions that contain headed vectors, generate a new abstract headed vector for
each such expression. This is the default.
-do-not-index-constant-headed-vector-types-by-expression
During flow analysis, when processing constant expressions that contain headed vectors, generate a single abstract headed vector
that is shared among all such expressions.
-index-allocated-headed-vector-types-by-element-type
During flow analysis, when processing procedure-call expressions that can allocate headed vectors, generate a new abstract headed
vector for each potential element type for that headed vector.
-do-not-index-allocated-headed-vector-types-by-element-type
During flow analysis, when processing procedure-call expressions that can allocate headed vectors, generate a single abstract headed
vector that is shared among all potential element types for that headed vector. This is the default.
-index-allocated-headed-vector-types-by-expression
During flow analysis, when processing procedure-call expressions that can allocate headed vectors, generate a new abstract headed
vector for each such expression. This is the default.
-do-not-index-allocated-headed-vector-types-by-expression
During flow analysis, when processing procedure-call expressions that can allocate headed vectors, generate a single abstract headed
vector that is shared among all such expressions.
-index-constant-nonheaded-vector-types-by-element-type
During flow analysis, when processing constant expressions that contain nonheaded vectors, generate a new abstract nonheaded vector
for each potential element type for that nonheaded vector.
-do-not-index-constant-nonheaded-vector-types-by-element-type
During flow analysis, when processing constant expressions that contain nonheaded vectors, generate a single abstract nonheaded vec-
tor that is shared among all potential element types for that nonheaded vector. This is the default.
-index-constant-nonheaded-vector-types-by-expression
During flow analysis, when processing constant expressions that contain nonheaded vectors, generate a new abstract nonheaded vector
for each such expression. This is the default.
-do-not-index-constant-nonheaded-vector-types-by-expression
During flow analysis, when processing constant expressions that contain nonheaded vectors, generate a single abstract nonheaded vec-
tor that is shared among all such expressions.
-index-allocated-nonheaded-vector-types-by-element-type
During flow analysis, when processing procedure-call expressions that can allocate nonheaded vectors, generate a new abstract non-
headed vector for each potential element type for that nonheaded vector.
-do-not-index-allocated-nonheaded-vector-types-by-element-type
During flow analysis, when processing procedure-call expressions that can allocate nonheaded vectors, generate a single abstract
nonheaded vector that is shared among all potential element types for that nonheaded vector. This is the default.
-index-allocated-nonheaded-vector-types-by-expression
During flow analysis, when processing procedure-call expressions that can allocate nonheaded vectors, generate a new abstract non-
headed vector for each such expression. This is the default.
-do-not-index-allocated-nonheaded-vector-types-by-expression
During flow analysis, when processing procedure-call expressions that can allocate nonheaded vectors, generate a single abstract
nonheaded vector that is shared among all such expressions.
Note that, currently, constant expressions cannot contain nonheaded vectors and nonheaded vectors are never allocated by any procedure-call
expression. ARGV is the only nonheaded vector. These options are included only for completeness and in case future extensions to the lan-
guage allow nonheaded vector constants and procedures that allocate nonheaded vectors.
-no-clone-size-limit
Allow unlimited polyvariance, i.e. make copies of procedures of any size.
-clone-size-limit
Specify the polyvariance limit, i.e. make copies of procedures that have fewer than this many expressions. Must be a nonnegative
integer. Defaults to 80. Specify 0 to disable polyvariance.
-split-even-if-no-widening
Normally, polyvariance will make a copy of a procedure only if it is called with arguments of different types. Specify this option
to make copies of procedures even when they are called with arguments of the same type. This will allow them to be in-lined.
-fully-convert-to-CPS
Normally, lightweight CPS conversion is applied, converting only those expressions and procedures needed to support escaping contin-
uations. When this option is specified, the program is fully converted to CPS.
-no-escaping-continuations
Normally, full continuations are supported. When this option is specified, the only continuations that are supported are those that
cannot be called after the procedure that created the continuation has returned.
-du Normally, after flow analysis, Stalin forces each type set to have at most one structure-type member of a given name, at most one
headed-vector-type member, and at most one nonheaded-vector-type member. This option disables this, allowing type sets to have mul-
tiple structure-type members of a given name, multiple headed-vector-type members, and multiple nonheaded-vector-type members.
Sometimes yields more efficient code and sometimes yields less efficient code.
The following options control the amount of run-time error-checking code generated. Note that, independent of the settings of these
options, Stalin will always generate code that obeys the semantics of the Scheme language for correct programs. These options only control
the level of safety, that is the degree of run-time error checking for incorrect programs.
-Ob Specifies that code to check for out-of-bound vector or string subscripts is to be suppressed. If not specified, a run-time error
will be issued if a vector or string subscript is out of bounds. If specified, the behavior of programs that have an out-of-bound
vector or string subscript is undefined.
-Om Specifies that code to check for out-of-memory errors is to be suppressed. If not specified, a run-time error will be issued if
sufficient memory cannot be allocated. If specified, the behavior of programs that run out of memory is undefined.
-On Specifies that code to check for exact integer overflow is to be suppressed. If not specified, a run-time error will be issued on
exact integer overflow. If specified, the behavior of programs that cause exact integer overflow is undefined. Currently, Stalin
does not know how to generate overflow checking code so this option must be specified.
-Or Specifies that code to check for various run-time file-system errors is to be suppressed. If not specified, a run-time error will
be issued when an unsuccessful attempt is made to open or close a file. If specified, the behavior of programs that make such
unsuccessful file-access attempts is undefined.
-Ot Specifies that code to check that primitive procedures are passed arguments of the correct type is suppressed. If not specified, a
run-time error will be issued if a primitive procedure is called with arguments of the wrong type. If specified, the behavior of
programs that call a primitive procedure with data of the wrong type is undefined.
The following options control the verbosity of the compiler:
-d0 Produces a compile-time backtrace upon a compiler error.
-d1 Produces commentary during compilation describing what the compiler is doing.
-d2 Produces a decorated listing of the source program after flow analysis.
-d3 Produces a decorated listing of the source program after equivalent types have been merged.
-d4 Produces a call graph of the source program.
-d5 Produces a description of all nontrivial native procedures generated.
-d6 Produces a list of all expressions and closures that allocate storage along with a description of where that storage is allocated.
-d7 Produces a trace of the lightweight closure-conversion process.
-closure-conversion-statistics
Produces a summary of the closure-conversion statistics. These are automatically processed by the program bcl-to-latex.sc which is
run by the bcl-benchmark script (both in the /usr/local/stalin/benchmarks directory) to produce tables II, III, and IV, of the paper
Flow-Directed Lightweight Closure Conversion.
The following options control the storage management strategy used by compiled code:
-dc Disables the use of alloca(3). Normally, the compiler will use alloca(3) to allocate on the call stack when possible.
-dC Disables the use of the Boehm conservative garbage collector. Normally, the compiler will use the Boehm collector to allocate data
whose lifetime is not known to be short. Note that the compiler will still use the Boehm collector for some data if it cannot allo-
cate that data on the stack or on a region.
-dH Disables the use of regions for allocating data.
-dg Generate code to produce diagnostic messages when region segments are allocated and freed.
-dh Disables the use of expandable regions and uses fixed-size regions instead.
The following options control code generation:
-d Specifies that inexact reals are represented as C doubles. Normally, inexact reals are represented as C floats.
-architecture
Specify the architecture for which to generate code. The default is to generate code for whatever architecture the compiler is run
on. Currently, the known architectures are IA32, IA32-align-double, SPARC, SPARCv9, SPARC64, MIPS, Alpha, ARM, M68K, PowerPC, and
S390.
-baseline
Do not perform lightweight closure conversion. Closures are created for all procedures. The user would not normally specify this
option. It is only intended to measure the effectiveness of lightweight closure conversion. It is used by the bcl-benchmark script
(in the /usr/local/stalin/benchmarks directory) to produce tables II, III, and IV, of the paper Flow-Directed Lightweight Closure
Conversion.
-conventional
Perform a simplified version of lightweight closure conversion that does not rely on interprocedural analysis. Attempts to mimic
what `conventional' compilers do (whatever that is). The user would not normally specify this option. It is only intended to mea-
sure the effectiveness of lightweight closure conversion. It is used by the bcl-benchmark script (in the /usr/local/stalin/bench-
marks directory) to produce tables II, III, and IV of the paper Flow-Directed Lightweight Closure Conversion.
-lightweight
Perform lightweight closure conversion. This is the default.
-immediate-flat
Generate code using immediate flat closures. This is not (yet) implemented.
-indirect-flat
Generate code using indirect flat closures. This is not (yet) implemented.
-immediate-display
Generate code using immediate display closures.
-indirect-display
Generate code using indirect display closures. This is not (yet) implemented.
-linked
Generate code using linked closures. This is the default.
-align-strings
Align all strings to fixnum alignment. This will not work when strings are returned by foreign procedures that are not aligned to
fixnum alignment. It will also not work when ARGV is used, since those strings are also not aligned to fixnum alignment. This is
the default.
-do-not-align-strings
Do not align strings to fixnum alignment. This must be specified when strings returned by foreign procedures are not aligned to
fixnum alignment.
-de Enables the compiler optimization known as EQ? forgery. Sometimes yields more efficient code and sometimes yields less efficient
code.
-df Disables the compiler optimization known as forgery.
-dG Pass arguments using global variables instead of parameters whenever possible.
-di Generate if statements instead of switch statements for dispatching.
-dI Enables the use of immediate structures.
-dp Enables representation promotion. Promotes some type sets from squeezed to squished or squished to general if this will decrease
the amount of run-time branching or dispatching representation coercions. Sometimes yields more efficient code and sometimes yields
less efficient code.
-dP Enables copy propagation. Sometimes yields more efficient code and sometimes yields less efficient code.
-ds Disables the compiler optimization known as squeezing.
-dS Disables the compiler optimization known as squishing.
-Tmk Enables generation of code that works with the Treadmarks distributed-shared-memory package. Currently this option is not fully
implemented and is not known to work.
-no-tail-call-optimization
Stalin now generates code that is properly tail recursive, by default, in all but the rarest of circumstances. And it can be
coerced into generating properly tail-recursive code in all circumstances by appropriate options. Some tail-recursive calls, those
where the call site is in-lined in the target, are translated as C goto statements and always result in properly tail-recursive
code. The rest are translated as C function calls in tail position. This relies on the C compiler to perform tail-call optimiza-
tion. gcc(1) versions 2.96 and 3.0.2 (and perhaps other versions) perform tail-call optimization on IA32 (and perhaps other archi-
tectures) when -foptimize-sibling-calls is specified. (-O2 implies -foptimize-sibling-calls.) gcc(1) only performs tail-call opti-
mization on IA32 in certain circumstances. First, the target and the call site must have compatible signatures. To guarantee com-
patible signatures, Stalin passes parameters to C functions that are part of tail-recursive loops in global variables. Second, the
target must not be declared __attribute__ ((noreturn)). Thus Stalin will not generate a __attribute__ ((noreturn)) declaration for
a function that is part of a tail-recursive loop even if Stalin knows that it never returns. Third, the function containing the
call site cannot call alloca(3). gcc(1) does no flow analysis. Any call to alloca(3) in the function containing the call site, no
matter whether the allocated data escapes, will disable tail-call optimization. Thus Stalin disables stack allocation of data in
any procedure in-lined in a procedure that is part of a tail-recursive loop. Finally, the call site cannot contain a reentrant
region because reentrant regions are freed upon procedure exit and a tail call would require an intervening region reclamation.
Thus Stalin disables allocation of data on a reentrant region in any procedure that is part of a tail-recursive loop. Disabling
these optimizations incurs a cost for the benefit of achieving tail-call optimization. If your C compiler does not perform tail-
call optimization then you may wish not to pay the cost. The -no-tail-call-optimization option causes Stalin not to take these
above four measures to generate code on which gcc(1) would perform tail-call optimization. Even when specifying this option, Stalin
still translates calls, where the call site is in-lined in the target, as C goto statements. There are three rare occasions that
can still foil proper tail recursion. First, if you specify -dC you may force Stalin to use stack or region allocation even in a
tail-call cycle. You can avoid this by not specifying -dC. Second, gcc(1) will not perform tail-call optimization when the func-
tion containing the call site applies unary & to a local variable. gcc(1) does no flow analysis. Any application of unary & to a
local variable in the function containing the call site, no matter whether the pointer escapes, will disable tail-call optimization.
Stalin can generate such uses of unary & when you specify -de or don't specify -df. You can avoid such cases by specifying -df and
not specifying -de. Finally, gcc(1) will not perform tail-call optimization when the function containing the call site calls
setjmp(3). gcc(1) does no flow analysis. Any call to setjmp(3) in the function containing the call site, no matter whether the
jmp_buf escapes, will disable tail-call optimization. Stalin translates certain calls to call-with-current-continuation as calls
to setjmp(3). You can force Stalin not to do so by specifying -fully-convert-to-CPS. Stalin will generate a warning in the first
and third cases, namely, when tail-call optimization is foiled by reentrant-region allocation or calls to alloca(3) or setjmp(3).
So you can hold off specifying -fully-convert-to-CPS or refraining from specifying -dC until you see such warnings. No such warning
is generated, however, when uses of unary & foil tail-call optimization. So you might want to always specify -df and refrain from
specifying -de if you desire your programs to be properly tail recursive.
The following options control the C-compilation phase:
-db Disables the production of a database file.
-c Specifies that the C compiler is not to be called after generating the C code. Normally, the C compiler is called after generating
the C code to produce an executable image. This implies -k.
-k Specifies that the generated C file is not to be deleted. Normally, the generated C file is deleted after it is compiled.
-cc Specifies the C compiler to use. Defaults to gcc(1).
-copt Specifies the options that the C compiler is to be called with. Normally the C compiler is called without any options. This option
can be repeated to allow passing multiple options to the C compiler.
FILES
/usr/local/stalin/include/ default directory for Scheme include files and library archive files
/usr/local/stalin/include/Scheme-to-C-compatibility.sc include file for Scheme->C compatibility
/usr/local/stalin/include/QobiScheme.sc include file for QobiScheme
/usr/local/stalin/include/xlib.sc include file for Xlib FPI
/usr/local/stalin/include/xlib-original.sc include file for Xlib FPI
/usr/local/stalin/include/libstalin.a library archive for Xlib FPI
/usr/local/stalin/include/gc.h include file for the Boehm conservative garbage collector
/usr/local/stalin/include/libgc.a library archive for the Boehm conservative garbage collector
/usr/local/stalin/include/stalin.architectures the known architectures and their code-generation parameters
/usr/local/stalin/include/stalin-architecture-name shell script that determines the architecture on which Stalin is running
/usr/local/stalin/stalin-architecture.c program to construct a new entry for stalin.architectures with the code-generation parameters for
the machine on which it is run
/usr/local/stalin/benchmarks directory containing benchmarks from the paper Flow-Directed Lightweight Closure Conversion
/usr/local/stalin/benchmarks/bcl-benchmark script for producing tables II, III, and IV from the paper Flow-Directed Lightweight Closure
Conversion
/usr/local/stalin/benchmarks/bcl-to-latex.sc Scheme program for producing tables II, III, and IV from the paper Flow-Directed Lightweight
Closure Conversion
SEE ALSO
sci(2), scc(2), gcc(1), ld(1), alloca(3), setjmp(3), gc(8)
BUGS
Version 0.11 is an alpha release and contains many known bugs. Not everything is fully implemented. Bug mail should be addressed to Bug-
Stalin@AI.MIT.EDU and not to the author. Please include the version number (0.11) in the message. Periodic announcements of bug fixes,
enhancements, and new releases will be made to Info-Stalin@AI.MIT.EDU. Send mail to Info-Stalin-Request@AI.MIT.EDU to be added to the
Info-Stalin@AI.MIT.EDU mailing list.
AUTHOR
Jeffrey Mark Siskind
THANKS
Rob Browning packaged version 0.11 for Debian Linux.
0.11 August 2006 STALIN(1)