6 If you are using a released version of LLVM, see `the download page
7 <http://llvm.org/releases/>`_ to find your documentation.
9 The LLVM compiler infrastructure supports a wide range of projects, from
10 industrial strength compilers to specialized JIT applications to small
13 Similarly, documentation is broken down into several high-level groupings
14 targeted at different audiences:
16 LLVM Design & Overview
17 ======================
19 Several introductory papers and presentations.
27 Defines the LLVM intermediate representation.
29 `Introduction to the LLVM Compiler`__
30 Presentation providing a users introduction to LLVM.
32 .. __: http://llvm.org/pubs/2008-10-04-ACAT-LLVM-Intro.html
35 Book chapter providing a compiler hacker's introduction to LLVM.
37 .. __: http://www.aosabook.org/en/llvm.html
40 `LLVM: A Compilation Framework for Lifelong Program Analysis & Transformation`__
43 .. __: http://llvm.org/pubs/2004-01-30-CGO-LLVM.html
45 `LLVM: An Infrastructure for Multi-Stage Optimization`__
46 More details (quite old now).
48 .. __: http://llvm.org/pubs/2002-12-LattnerMSThesis.html
50 `Publications mentioning LLVM <http://llvm.org/pubs>`_
56 For those new to the LLVM system.
58 NOTE: If you are a user who is only interested in using LLVM-based
59 compilers, you should look into `Clang <http://clang.llvm.org>`_ or
60 `DragonEgg <http://dragonegg.llvm.org>`_ instead. The documentation here is
61 intended for users who have a need to work with the intermediate LLVM
80 SphinxQuickstartTemplate
88 Frontend/PerformanceTips
89 MCJITDesignAndImplementation
97 Discusses how to get up and running quickly with the LLVM infrastructure.
98 Everything from unpacking and compilation of the distribution to execution
102 An addendum to the main Getting Started guide for those using the `CMake
103 build system <http://www.cmake.org>`_.
105 :doc:`HowToBuildOnARM`
106 Notes on building and testing LLVM/Clang on ARM.
108 :doc:`HowToCrossCompileLLVM`
109 Notes on cross-building and testing LLVM/Clang.
111 :doc:`GettingStartedVS`
112 An addendum to the main Getting Started guide for those using Visual Studio
115 :doc:`tutorial/index`
116 Tutorials about using LLVM. Includes a tutorial about making a custom
119 :doc:`LLVM Command Guide <CommandGuide/index>`
120 A reference manual for the LLVM command line utilities ("man" pages for LLVM
124 A list of optimizations and analyses implemented in LLVM.
127 A list of common questions and problems and their solutions.
129 :doc:`Release notes for the current release <ReleaseNotes>`
130 This describes new features, known bugs, and other limitations.
132 :doc:`HowToSubmitABug`
133 Instructions for properly submitting information about any bugs you run into
136 :doc:`SphinxQuickstartTemplate`
137 A template + tutorial for writing new Sphinx documentation. It is meant
138 to be read in source form.
140 :doc:`LLVM Testing Infrastructure Guide <TestingGuide>`
141 A reference manual for using the LLVM testing infrastructure.
143 `How to build the C, C++, ObjC, and ObjC++ front end`__
144 Instructions for building the clang front-end from source.
146 .. __: http://clang.llvm.org/get_started.html
149 Definition of acronyms, terms and concepts used in LLVM.
151 :doc:`HowToAddABuilder`
152 Instructions for adding new builder to LLVM buildbot master.
155 A reference guide for using LLVM's YAML I/O library.
158 Answers to some very frequent questions about LLVM's most frequently
159 misunderstood instruction.
161 :doc:`Frontend/PerformanceTips`
162 A collection of tips for frontend authors on how to generate IR
163 which LLVM is able to effectively optimize.
166 A reference for using Dockerfiles provided with LLVM.
169 Programming Documentation
170 =========================
172 For developers of applications which use LLVM as a library.
182 HowToSetUpLLVMStyleRTTI
186 ScudoHardenedAllocator
189 :doc:`LLVM Language Reference Manual <LangRef>`
190 Defines the LLVM intermediate representation and the assembly form of the
194 Information about LLVM's concurrency model.
196 :doc:`ProgrammersManual`
197 Introduction to the general layout of the LLVM sourcebase, important classes
198 and APIs, and some tips & tricks.
201 LLVM-specific extensions to tools and formats LLVM seeks compatibility with.
204 Provides information on using the command line parsing library.
206 :doc:`CodingStandards`
207 Details the LLVM coding standards and provides useful information on writing
210 :doc:`HowToSetUpLLVMStyleRTTI`
211 How to make ``isa<>``, ``dyn_cast<>``, etc. available for clients of your
215 Look here to see how to add instructions and intrinsics to LLVM.
217 `Doxygen generated documentation <http://llvm.org/doxygen/>`_
218 (`classes <http://llvm.org/doxygen/inherits.html>`_)
220 `Documentation for Go bindings <http://godoc.org/llvm.org/llvm/bindings/go/llvm>`_
222 `ViewVC Repository Browser <http://llvm.org/viewvc/>`_
225 :doc:`CompilerWriterInfo`
226 A list of helpful links for compiler writers.
229 A library for writing in-process guided fuzzers.
231 :doc:`ScudoHardenedAllocator`
232 A library that implements a security-hardened `malloc()`.
235 A command line option for debugging optimization-induced failures.
237 Subsystem Documentation
238 =======================
240 For API clients and LLVM developers.
248 BlockFrequencyTerminology
272 CoverageMappingFormat
285 :doc:`WritingAnLLVMPass`
286 Information on how to write LLVM transformations and analyses.
288 :doc:`WritingAnLLVMBackend`
289 Information on how to write LLVM backends for machine targets.
292 The design and implementation of the LLVM code generator. Useful if you are
293 working on retargetting LLVM to a new architecture, designing a new codegen
294 pass, or enhancing existing components.
296 :doc:`Machine IR (MIR) Format Reference Manual <MIRLangRef>`
297 A reference manual for the MIR serialization format, which is used to test
298 LLVM's code generation passes.
300 :doc:`TableGen <TableGen/index>`
301 Describes the TableGen tool, which is used heavily by the LLVM code
305 Information on how to write a new alias analysis implementation or how to
306 use existing analyses.
309 Information about the MemorySSA utility in LLVM, as well as how to use it.
311 :doc:`GarbageCollection`
312 The interfaces source-language compilers should use for compiling GC'd
315 :doc:`Source Level Debugging with LLVM <SourceLevelDebugging>`
316 This document describes the design and philosophy behind the LLVM
317 source-level debugger.
320 This document describes the current status of vectorization in LLVM.
322 :doc:`ExceptionHandling`
323 This document describes the design and implementation of exception handling
327 Automatic bug finder and test-case reducer description and usage
331 This describes the file format and encoding used for LLVM "bc" files.
333 :doc:`System Library <SystemLibrary>`
334 This document describes the LLVM System Library (``lib/System``) and
335 how to keep LLVM source code portable
337 :doc:`LinkTimeOptimization`
338 This document describes the interface between LLVM intermodular optimizer
339 and the linker and its design
342 How to build your programs with link-time optimization on Linux.
344 :doc:`DebuggingJITedCode`
345 How to debug JITed code with GDB.
347 :doc:`MCJITDesignAndImplementation`
348 Describes the inner workings of MCJIT execution engine.
350 :doc:`BranchWeightMetadata`
351 Provides information about Branch Prediction Information.
353 :doc:`BlockFrequencyTerminology`
354 Provides information about terminology used in the ``BlockFrequencyInfo``
357 :doc:`SegmentedStacks`
358 This document describes segmented stacks and how they are used in LLVM.
360 :doc:`MarkedUpDisassembly`
361 This document describes the optional rich disassembly output syntax.
363 :doc:`HowToUseAttributes`
364 Answers some questions about the new Attributes infrastructure.
367 This document describes using the NVPTX backend to compile GPU kernels.
370 This document describes using the AMDGPU backend to compile GPU kernels.
373 LLVM support for mapping instruction addresses to the location of
374 values and allowing code to be patched.
377 LLVM's support for generating NEON instructions on big endian ARM targets is
378 somewhat nonintuitive. This document explains the implementation and rationale.
380 :doc:`CoverageMappingFormat`
381 This describes the format and encoding used for LLVM’s code coverage mapping.
384 This describes a set of experimental extensions for garbage
387 :doc:`MergeFunctions`
388 Describes functions merging optimization.
391 Description of the ``inalloca`` argument attribute.
394 LLVM support for folding control flow into faulting machine instructions.
396 :doc:`CompileCudaWithLLVM`
397 LLVM support for CUDA.
400 LLVM support for coroutines.
403 This describes the prototype instruction selection replacement, GlobalISel.
406 High-level documentation of how to use XRay in LLVM.
409 An example of how to debug an application with XRay.
411 :doc:`The Microsoft PDB File Format <PDB/index>`
412 A detailed description of the Microsoft PDB (Program Database) file format.
414 Development Process Documentation
415 =================================
417 Information about LLVM's development process.
430 :doc:`DeveloperPolicy`
431 The LLVM project's policy towards developers and their contributions.
434 How-to guide and templates for new projects that *use* the LLVM
435 infrastructure. The templates (directory organization, Makefiles, and test
436 tree) allow the project code to be located outside (or inside) the ``llvm/``
437 tree, while using LLVM header files and libraries.
440 Describes the LLVMBuild organization and files used by LLVM to specify
441 component descriptions.
443 :doc:`HowToReleaseLLVM`
444 This is a guide to preparing LLVM releases. Most developers can ignore it.
446 :doc:`ReleaseProcess`
447 This is a guide to validate a new release, during the release process. Most developers can ignore it.
450 Advice on packaging LLVM into a distribution.
453 Describes how to use the Phabricator code review tool hosted on
454 http://reviews.llvm.org/ and its command line interface, Arcanist.
459 LLVM has a thriving community of friendly and helpful developers.
460 The two primary communication mechanisms in the LLVM community are mailing
466 If you can't find what you need in these docs, try consulting the mailing
469 `Developer's List (llvm-dev)`__
470 This list is for people who want to be included in technical discussions of
471 LLVM. People post to this list when they have questions about writing code
472 for or using the LLVM tools. It is relatively low volume.
474 .. __: http://lists.llvm.org/mailman/listinfo/llvm-dev
476 `Commits Archive (llvm-commits)`__
477 This list contains all commit messages that are made when LLVM developers
478 commit code changes to the repository. It also serves as a forum for
479 patch review (i.e. send patches here). It is useful for those who want to
480 stay on the bleeding edge of LLVM development. This list is very high
483 .. __: http://lists.llvm.org/pipermail/llvm-commits/
485 `Bugs & Patches Archive (llvm-bugs)`__
486 This list gets emailed every time a bug is opened and closed. It is
487 higher volume than the LLVM-dev list.
489 .. __: http://lists.llvm.org/pipermail/llvm-bugs/
491 `Test Results Archive (llvm-testresults)`__
492 A message is automatically sent to this list by every active nightly tester
493 when it completes. As such, this list gets email several times each day,
494 making it a high volume list.
496 .. __: http://lists.llvm.org/pipermail/llvm-testresults/
498 `LLVM Announcements List (llvm-announce)`__
499 This is a low volume list that provides important announcements regarding
500 LLVM. It gets email about once a month.
502 .. __: http://lists.llvm.org/mailman/listinfo/llvm-announce
507 Users and developers of the LLVM project (including subprojects such as Clang)
508 can be found in #llvm on `irc.oftc.net <irc://irc.oftc.net/llvm>`_.
510 This channel has several bots.
514 * llvmbb - Bot for the main LLVM buildbot master.
515 http://lab.llvm.org:8011/console
516 * bb-chapuni - An individually run buildbot master. http://bb.pgr.jp/console
517 * smooshlab - Apple's internal buildbot master.
519 * robot - Bugzilla linker. %bug <number>
521 * clang-bot - A `geordi <http://www.eelis.net/geordi/>`_ instance running
522 near-trunk clang instead of gcc.
524 Community wide proposals
525 ------------------------
527 Proposals for massive changes in how the community behaves and how the work flow
535 Proposals/VectorizationPlan
538 Proposal to adopt a code of conduct on the LLVM social spaces (lists, events,
541 :doc:`Proposals/GitHubMove`
542 Proposal to move from SVN/Git to GitHub.
544 :doc:`Proposals/VectorizationPlan`
545 Proposal to model the process and upgrade the infrastructure of LLVM's Loop Vectorizer.