1===================================
2TableGen Backend Developer's Guide
3===================================
4
5.. sectnum::
6
7.. contents::
8   :local:
9
10Introduction
11============
12
13The purpose of TableGen is to generate complex output files based on
14information from source files that are significantly easier to code than the
15output files would be, and also easier to maintain and modify over time. The
16information is coded in a declarative style involving classes and records,
17which are then processed by TableGen. The internalized records are passed on
18to various backends, which extract information from a subset of the records
19and generate an output file. These output files are typically ``.inc`` files
20for C++, but may be any type of file that the backend developer needs.
21
22This document is a guide to writing a backend for TableGen. It is not a
23complete reference manual, but rather a guide to using the facilities
24provided by TableGen for the backends. For a complete reference to the
25various data structures and functions involved, see the primary TableGen
26header file (``record.h``) and/or the Doxygen documentation.
27
28This document assumes that you have read the :doc:`TableGen Programmer's
29Reference <./ProgRef>`, which provides a detailed reference for coding
30TableGen source files. For a description of the existing backends, see
31:doc:`TableGen BackEnds <./BackEnds>`.
32
33Data Structures
34===============
35
36The following sections describe the data structures that contain the classes
37and records that are collected from the TableGen source files by the
38TableGen parser. Note that the term *class* refers to an abstract record
39class, while the term *record* refers to a concrete record.
40
41Unless otherwise noted, functions associated with classes are instance
42functions.
43
44``RecordKeeper``
45----------------
46
47An instance of the ``RecordKeeper`` class acts as the container for all the
48classes and records parsed and collected by TableGen. The ``RecordKeeper``
49instance is passed to the backend when it is invoked by TableGen. This class
50is usually abbreviated ``RK``.
51
52There are two maps in the recordkeeper, one for classes and one for records
53(the latter often referred to as *defs*). Each map maps the class or record
54name to an instance of the ``Record`` class (see `Record`_), which contains
55all the information about that class or record.
56
57In addition to the two maps, the ``RecordKeeper`` instance contains:
58
59* A map that maps the names of global variables to their values.
60  Global variables are defined in TableGen files with outer
61  ``defvar`` statements.
62
63* A counter for naming anonymous records.
64
65The ``RecordKeeper`` class provides a few useful functions.
66
67* Functions to get the complete class and record maps.
68
69* Functions to get a subset of the records based on their parent classes.
70
71* Functions to get individual classes, records, and globals, by name.
72
73A ``RecordKeeper`` instance can be printed to an output stream with the ``<<``
74operator.
75
76``Record``
77----------
78
79Each class or record built by TableGen is represented by an instance of
80the ``Record`` class. The ``RecordKeeper`` instance contains one map for the
81classes and one for the records. The primary data members of a record are
82the record name, the vector of field names and their values, and the vector of
83superclasses of the record.
84
85The record name is stored as a pointer to an ``Init`` (see `Init`_), which
86is a class whose instances hold TableGen values (sometimes referred to as
87*initializers*). The field names and values are stored in a vector of
88``RecordVal`` instances (see `RecordVal`_), each of which contains both the
89field name and its value. The superclass vector contains a sequence of
90pairs, with each pair including the superclass record and its source
91file location.
92
93In addition to those members, a ``Record`` instance contains:
94
95* A vector of source file locations that includes the record definition
96  itself, plus the locations of any multiclasses involved in its definition.
97
98* For a class record, a vector of the class's template arguments.
99
100* An instance of ``DefInit`` (see `DefInit`_) corresponding to this record.
101
102* A unique record ID.
103
104* A boolean that specifies whether this is a class definition.
105
106* A boolean that specifies whether this is an anonymous record.
107
108The ``Record`` class provides many useful functions.
109
110* Functions to get the record name, fields, source file locations,
111  template arguments, and unique ID.
112
113* Functions to get all the record's superclasses or just its direct
114  superclasses.
115
116* Functions to get a particular field value by specifying its name in various
117  forms, and returning its value in various forms
118  (see `Getting Record Names and Fields`_).
119
120* Boolean functions to check the various attributes of the record.
121
122A ``Record`` instance can be printed to an output stream with the ``<<``
123operator.
124
125
126``RecordVal``
127-------------
128
129Each field of a record is stored in an instance of the ``RecordVal`` class.
130The ``Record`` instance includes a vector of these value instances. A
131``RecordVal`` instance contains the name of the field, stored in an ``Init``
132instance. It also contains the value of the field, likewise stored in an
133``Init``. (A better name for this class might be ``RecordField``.)
134
135In addition to those primary members, the ``RecordVal`` has other data members.
136
137* The source file location of the field definition.
138
139* The type of the field, stored as an instance
140  of the ``RecTy`` class (see `RecTy`_).
141
142The ``RecordVal`` class provides some useful functions.
143
144* Functions to get the name of the field in various forms.
145
146* A function to get the type of the field.
147
148* A function to get the value of the field.
149
150* A function to get the source file location.
151
152Note that field values are more easily obtained directly from the ``Record``
153instance (see `Record`_).
154
155A ``RecordVal`` instance can be printed to an output stream with the ``<<``
156operator.
157
158``RecTy``
159---------
160
161The ``RecTy`` class is used to represent the types of field values. It is
162the base class for a series of subclasses, one for each of the
163available field types. The ``RecTy`` class has one data member that is an
164enumerated type specifying the specific type of field value. (A better
165name for this class might be ``FieldTy``.)
166
167The ``RecTy`` class provides a few useful functions.
168
169* A virtual function to get the type name as a string.
170
171* A virtual function to check whether all the values of this type can
172  be converted to another given type.
173
174* A virtual function to check whether this type is a subtype of
175  another given type.
176
177* A function to get the corresponding ``list``
178  type for lists with elements of this type. For example, the function
179  returns the ``list<int>`` type when called with the ``int`` type.
180
181The subclasses that inherit from ``RecTy`` are
182``BitRecTy``,
183``BitsRecTy``,
184``CodeRecTy``,
185``DagRecTy``,
186``IntRecTy``,
187``ListRecTy``,
188``RecordRecTy``, and
189``StringRecTy``.
190Some of these classes have additional members that
191are described in the following subsections.
192
193*All* of the classes derived from ``RecTy`` provide the ``get()`` function.
194It returns an instance of ``Recty`` corresponding to the derived class.
195Some of the ``get()`` functions require an argument to
196specify which particular variant of the type is desired. These arguments are
197described in the following subsections.
198
199A ``RecTy`` instance can be printed to an output stream with the ``<<``
200operator.
201
202.. warning::
203  It is not specified whether there is a single ``RecTy`` instance of a
204  particular type or multiple instances.
205
206
207``BitsRecTy``
208~~~~~~~~~~~~~
209
210This class includes a data member with the size of the ``bits`` value and a
211function to get that size.
212
213The ``get()`` function takes the length of the sequence, *n*, and returns the
214``BitsRecTy`` type corresponding to ``bits<``\ *n*\ ``>``.
215
216``ListRecTy``
217~~~~~~~~~~~~~
218
219This class includes a data member that specifies the type of the list's
220elements and a function to get that type.
221
222The ``get()`` function takes the ``RecTy`` *type* of the list members and
223returns the ``ListRecTy`` type corresponding to ``list<``\ *type*\ ``>``.
224
225
226``RecordRecTy``
227~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
228
229This class includes data members that contain the list of parent classes of
230this record. It also provides a function to obtain the array of classes and
231two functions to get the iterator ``begin()`` and ``end()`` values. The
232class defines a type for the return values of the latter two functions.
233
234.. code-block:: text
235
236  using const_record_iterator = Record * const *;
237
238The ``get()`` function takes an ``ArrayRef`` of pointers to the ``Record``
239instances of the *direct* superclasses of the record and returns the ``RecordRecTy``
240corresponding to the record inheriting from those superclasses.
241
242``Init``
243--------
244
245The ``Init`` class is used to represent TableGen values.  The name derives
246from *initialization value*. This class should not be confused with the
247``RecordVal`` class, which represents record fields, both their names and
248values. The ``Init`` class is the base class for a series of subclasses, one
249for each of the available value types. The primary data member of ``Init``
250is an enumerated type that represents the specific type of the value.
251
252The ``Init`` class provides a few useful functions.
253
254* A function to get the type enumerator.
255
256* A boolean virtual function to determine whether a value is completely
257  specified; that is, has no uninitialized subvalues.
258
259* Virtual functions to get the value as a string.
260
261* Virtual functions to cast the value to other types, implement the bit
262  range feature of TableGen, and implement the list slice feature.
263
264* A virtual function to get a particular bit of the value.
265
266The subclasses that inherit directly from ``Init`` are
267``UnsetInit`` and ``TypedInit``.
268
269An ``Init`` instance can be printed to an output stream with the ``<<``
270operator.
271
272.. warning::
273  It is not specified whether two separate initialization values with
274  the same underlying type and value (e.g., two strings with the value
275  "Hello") are represented by two ``Init``\ s or share the same ``Init``.
276
277``UnsetInit``
278~~~~~~~~~~~~~
279
280This class, a subclass of ``Init``, represents the unset (uninitialized)
281value. The static function ``get()`` can be used to obtain the singleton
282``Init`` of this type.
283
284
285``TypedInit``
286~~~~~~~~~~~~~
287
288This class, a subclass of ``Init``, acts as the parent class of the classes
289that represent specific value types (except for the unset value). These
290classes include ``BitInit``, ``BitsInit``, ``CodeInit``, ``DagInit``,
291``DefInit``, ``IntInit``, ``ListInit``, and ``StringInit``. (There are
292additional derived types used by the TableGen parser.)
293
294This class includes a data member that specifies the ``RecTy`` type of the
295value. It provides a function to get that ``RecTy`` type.
296
297``BitInit``
298~~~~~~~~~~~
299
300The ``BitInit`` class is a subclass of ``TypedInit``. Its instances
301represent the possible values of a bit: 0 or 1. It includes a data member
302that contains the bit.
303
304*All* of the classes derived from ``TypedInit`` provide the following functions.
305
306* A static function named ``get()`` that returns an ``Init`` representing
307  the specified value(s). In the case of ``BitInit``, ``get(true)`` returns
308  an instance of ``BitInit`` representing true, while ``get(false)`` returns
309  an instance
310  representing false. As noted above, it is not specified whether there
311  is exactly one or more than one ``BitInit`` representing true (or false).
312
313* A function named ``GetValue()`` that returns the value of the instance
314  in a more direct form, in this case as a ``bool``.
315
316``BitsInit``
317~~~~~~~~~~~~
318
319The ``BitsInit`` class is a subclass of ``TypedInit``. Its instances
320represent sequences of bits, from high-order to low-order. It includes a
321data member with the length of the sequence and a vector of pointers to
322``Init`` instances, one per bit.
323
324The class provides the usual ``get()`` function. It does not provide the
325``getValue()`` function.
326
327The class provides the following additional functions.
328
329* A function to get the number of bits in the sequence.
330
331* A function that gets a bit specified by an integer index.
332
333``CodeInit``
334~~~~~~~~~~~~
335
336The ``CodeInit`` class is a subclass of ``TypedInit``. Its instances
337represent arbitrary-length strings produced from ``code`` literals in the
338TableGen files. It includes a data member that contains a ``StringRef`` of
339the value.
340
341The class provides the usual ``get()`` and ``getValue()`` functions. The
342latter function returns the ``StringRef``.
343
344
345``DagInit``
346~~~~~~~~~~~
347
348The ``DagInit`` class is a subclass of ``TypedInit``. Its instances
349represent the possible direct acyclic graphs (``dag``).
350
351The class includes a pointer to an ``Init`` for the DAG operator and a
352pointer to a ``StringInit`` for the operator name. It includes the count of
353DAG operands and the count of operand names. Finally, it includes a vector of
354pointers to ``Init`` instances for the operands and another to
355``StringInit`` instances for the operand names.
356(The DAG operands are also referred to as *arguments*.)
357
358The class provides two forms of the usual ``get()`` function. It does not
359provide the usual ``getValue()`` function.
360
361The class provides many additional functions:
362
363* Functions to get the operator in various forms and to get the
364  operator name in various forms.
365
366* Functions to determine whether there are any operands and to get the
367  number of operands.
368
369* Functions to the get the operands, both individually and together.
370
371* Functions to determine whether there are any names and to
372  get the number of names
373
374* Functions to the get the names, both individually and together.
375
376* Functions to get the operand iterator ``begin()`` and ``end()`` values.
377
378* Functions to get the name iterator ``begin()`` and ``end()`` values.
379
380The class defines two types for the return values of the operand and name
381iterators.
382
383.. code-block:: text
384
385  using const_arg_iterator = SmallVectorImpl<Init*>::const_iterator;
386  using const_name_iterator = SmallVectorImpl<StringInit*>::const_iterator;
387
388
389``DefInit``
390~~~~~~~~~~~
391
392The ``DefInit`` class is a subclass of ``TypedInit``. Its instances
393represent the records that were collected by TableGen. It includes a data
394member that is a pointer to the record's ``Record`` instance.
395
396The class provides the usual ``get()`` function. It does not provide
397``getValue()``. Instead, it provides ``getDef()``, which returns the
398``Record`` instance.
399
400``IntInit``
401~~~~~~~~~~~
402
403The ``IntInit`` class is a subclass of ``TypedInit``. Its instances
404represent the possible values of a 64-bit integer. It includes a data member
405that contains the integer.
406
407The class provides the usual ``get()`` and ``getValue()`` functions. The
408latter function returns the integer as an ``int64_t``.
409
410The class also provides a function, ``getBit()``, to obtain a specified bit
411of the integer value.
412
413``ListInit``
414~~~~~~~~~~~~
415
416The ``ListInit`` class is a subclass of ``TypedInit``. Its instances
417represent lists of elements of some type. It includes a data member with the
418length of the list and a vector of pointers to ``Init`` instances, one per
419element.
420
421The class provides the usual ``get()`` and ``getValues()`` functions. The
422latter function returns an ``ArrayRef`` of the vector of pointers to ``Init``
423instances.
424
425The class provides these additional functions.
426
427* A function to get the element type.
428
429* Functions to get the length of the vector and to determine whether
430  it is empty.
431
432* Functions to get an element specified by an integer index and return
433  it in various forms.
434
435* Functions to get the iterator ``begin()`` and ``end()`` values. The
436  class defines a type for the return type of these two functions.
437
438.. code-block:: text
439
440  using const_iterator = Init *const *;
441
442
443``StringInit``
444~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
445
446The ``StringInit`` class is a subclass of ``TypedInit``. Its instances
447represent arbitrary-length strings. It includes a data member
448that contains a ``StringRef`` of the value.
449
450The class provides the usual ``get()`` and ``getValue()`` functions. The
451latter function returns the ``StringRef``.
452
453Creating a New Backend
454======================
455
456The following steps are required to create a new backend for TableGen.
457
458#. Invent a name for your backend C++ file, say ``GenAddressModes``.
459
460#. Write the new backend, using the file ``TableGenBackendSkeleton.cpp``
461   as a starting point.
462
463#. Determine which instance of TableGen requires the new backend. There is
464   one instance for Clang and another for LLVM. Or you may be building
465   your own instance.
466
467#. Modify the selected ``tablegen.cpp`` to include your new backend.
468
469  a. Add the name to the enumerated type ``ActionType``.
470
471  #. Add a keyword to the ``ActionType`` command option using the
472     ``clEnumValN()`` function.
473
474  #. Add a case to the ``switch`` statement in the *xxx*\ ``TableGenMain()``
475     function. It should invoke the "main function" of your backend, which
476     in this case, according to convention, is named ``EmitAddressModes``.
477
4785. Add a declaration of your "main function" to the corresponding
479   ``TableGenBackends.h`` header file.
480
481#. Add your backend C++ file to the appropriate ``CMakeLists.txt`` file so
482   that it will be built.
483
484#. Add your C++ file to the system.
485
486The Backend Skeleton
487====================
488
489The file ``TableGenBackendSkeleton.cpp`` provides a skeleton C++ translation
490unit for writing a new TableGen backend. Here are a few notes on the file.
491
492* The list of includes is the minimal list required by most backends.
493
494* As with all LLVM C++ files, it has a ``using namespace llvm;`` statement.
495  It also has an anonymous namespace that contains all the file-specific
496  data structure definitions, along with the class embodying the emitter
497  data members and functions. Continuing with the ``GenAddressModes`` example,
498  this class is named ``AddressModesEmitter``.
499
500* The constructor for the emitter class accepts a ``RecordKeeper`` reference,
501  typically named ``RK``. The ``RecordKeeper`` reference is saved in a data
502  member so that records can be obtained from it. This data member is usually
503  named ``Records``.
504
505* One function is named ``run``. It is invoked by the backend's "main
506  function" to collect records and emit the output file. It accepts an instance
507  of the ``raw_ostream`` class, typically named ``OS``. The output file is
508  emitted by writing to this stream.
509
510* The ``run`` function should use the ``emitSourceFileHeader`` helper function
511  to include a standard header in the emitted file.
512
513* The only function in the ``llvm`` namespace is the backend "main function."
514  In this example, it is named ``EmitAddressModes``. It creates an instance
515  of the ``AddressModesEmitter`` class, passing the ``RecordKeeper``
516  instance, then invokes the ``run`` function, passing the ``raw_ostream``
517  instance.
518
519All the examples in the remainder of this document will assume the naming
520conventions used in the skeleton file.
521
522Getting Classes
523===============
524
525The ``RecordKeeper`` class provides two functions for getting the
526``Record`` instances for classes defined in the TableGen files.
527
528* ``getClasses()`` returns a ``RecordMap`` reference for all the classes.
529
530* ``getClass(``\ *name*\ ``)`` returns a ``Record`` reference for the named
531  class.
532
533If you need to iterate over all the class records:
534
535.. code-block:: text
536
537  for (auto ClassPair : Records.getClasses()) {
538    Record *ClassRec = ClassPair.second.get();
539    ...
540  }
541
542``ClassPair.second`` gets the class's ``unique_ptr``, then ``.get()`` gets the
543class ``Record`` itself.
544
545
546Getting Records
547===============
548
549The ``RecordKeeper`` class provides four functions for getting the
550``Record`` instances for concrete records defined in the TableGen files.
551
552* ``getDefs()`` returns a ``RecordMap`` reference for all the concrete
553  records.
554
555* ``getDef(``\ *name*\ ``)`` returns a ``Record`` reference for the named
556  concrete record.
557
558* ``getAllDerivedDefinitions(``\ *classname*\ ``)`` returns a vector of
559  ``Record`` references for the concrete records that derive from the
560  given class.
561
562* ``getAllDerivedDefinitions(``\ *classnames*\ ``)`` returns
563  a vector of ``Record`` references for the concrete records that derive from
564  *all* of the given classes.
565
566This statement obtains all the records that derive from the ``Attribute``
567class and iterates over them.
568
569.. code-block:: text
570
571  auto AttrRecords = Records.getAllDerivedDefinitions("Attribute");
572  for (Record *AttrRec : AttrRecords) {
573    ...
574  }
575
576Getting Record Names and Fields
577===============================
578
579As described above (see `Record`_), there are multiple functions that
580return the name of a record. One particularly useful one is
581``getNameInitAsString()``, which returns the name as a ``std::string``.
582
583There are also multiple functions that return the fields of a record. To
584obtain and iterate over all the fields:
585
586.. code-block:: text
587
588  for (const RecordVal &Field : SomeRec->getValues()) {
589    ...
590  }
591
592You will recall that ``RecordVal`` is the class whose instances contain
593information about the fields in records.
594
595The ``getValue()`` function returns the ``RecordVal`` instance for a field
596specified by name. There are multiple overloaded functions, some taking a
597``StringRef`` and others taking a ``const Init *``. Some functions return a
598``RecordVal *`` and others return a ``const RecordVal *``. If the field does
599not exist, a fatal error message is printed.
600
601More often than not, you are interested in the value of the field, not all
602the information in the ``RecordVal``. There is a large set of functions that
603take a field name in some form and return its value. One function,
604``getValueInit``, returns the value as an ``Init *``. Another function,
605``isValueUnset``, returns a boolean specifying whether the value is unset
606(uninitialized).
607
608Most of the functions return the value in some more useful form. For
609example:
610
611.. code-block:: text
612
613  std::vector<int64_t> RegCosts =
614      SomeRec->getValueAsListOfInts("RegCosts");
615
616The field ``RegCosts`` is assumed to be a list of integers. That list is
617returned as a ``std::vector`` of 64-bit integers. If the field is not a list
618of integers, a fatal error message is printed.
619
620Here is a function that returns a field value as a ``Record``, but returns
621null if the field does not exist.
622
623.. code-block:: text
624
625  if (Record *BaseRec = SomeRec->getValueAsOptionalDef(BaseFieldName)) {
626    ...
627  }
628
629The field is assumed to have another record as its value. That record is returned
630as a pointer to a ``Record``. If the field does not exist or is unset, the
631functions returns null.
632
633Getting Record Superclasses
634===========================
635
636The ``Record`` class provides a function to obtain the superclasses of a
637record. It is named ``getSuperClasses`` and returns an ``ArrayRef`` of an
638array of ``std::pair`` pairs. The superclasses are in post-order: the order
639in which the superclasses were visited while copying their fields into the
640record. Each pair consists of a pointer to the ``Record`` instance for a
641superclass record and an instance of the ``SMRange`` class. The range
642indicates the source file locations of the beginning and end of the class
643definition.
644
645This example obtains the superclasses of the ``Prototype`` record and then
646iterates over the pairs in the returned array.
647
648.. code-block:: text
649
650  ArrayRef<std::pair<Record *, SMRange>>
651      Superclasses = Prototype->getSuperClasses();
652  for (const auto &SuperPair : Superclasses) {
653    ...
654  }
655
656The ``Record`` class also provides a function, ``getDirectSuperClasses``, to
657append the *direct* superclasses of a record to a given vector of type
658``SmallVectorImpl<Record *>``.
659
660Emitting Text to the Output Stream
661==================================
662
663The ``run`` function is passed a ``raw_ostream`` to which it prints the
664output file. By convention, this stream is saved in the emitter class member
665named ``OS``, although some ``run`` functions are simple and just use the
666stream without saving it. The output can be produced by writing values
667directly to the output stream, or by using the ``std::format()`` or
668``llvm::formatv()`` functions.
669
670.. code-block:: text
671
672  OS << "#ifndef " << NodeName << "\n";
673
674  OS << format("0x%0*x, ", Digits, Value);
675
676Instances of the following classes can be printed using the ``<<`` operator:
677``RecordKeeper``,
678``Record``,
679``RecTy``,
680``RecordVal``, and
681``Init``.
682
683The helper function ``emitSourceFileHeader()`` prints the header comment
684that should be included at the top of every output file. A call to it is
685included in the skeleton backend file ``TableGenBackendSkeleton.cpp``.
686
687Printing Error Messages
688=======================
689
690TableGen records are often derived from multiple classes and also often
691defined through a sequence of multiclasses. Because of this, it can be
692difficult for backends to report clear error messages with accurate source
693file locations.  To make error reporting easier, five error reporting
694functions are provided, each with four overloads.
695
696* ``PrintWarning`` prints a message tagged as a warning.
697
698* ``PrintError`` prints a message tagged as an error.
699
700* ``PrintFatalError`` prints a message tagged as an error and then terminates.
701
702* ``PrintNote`` prints a note. It is often used after one of the previous
703  functions to provide more information.
704
705* ``PrintFatalNote`` prints a note and then terminates.
706
707Each of these five functions is overloaded four times.
708
709* ``PrintError(const Twine &Msg)``:
710  Prints the message with no source file location.
711
712* ``PrintError(ArrayRef<SMLoc> ErrorLoc, const Twine &Msg)``:
713  Prints the message followed by the specified source line,
714  along with a pointer to the item in error. The array of
715  source file locations is typically taken from a ``Record`` instance.
716
717* ``PrintError(const Record *Rec, const Twine &Msg)``:
718  Prints the message followed by the source line associated with the
719  specified record (see `Record`_).
720
721* ``PrintError(const RecordVal *RecVal, const Twine &Msg)``:
722  Prints the message followed by the source line associated with the
723  specified record field (see `RecordVal`_).
724
725Using these functions, the goal is to produce the most specific error report
726possible.
727
728Debugging Tools
729===============
730
731TableGen provides some tools to aid in debugging backends.
732
733The ``PrintRecords`` Backend
734----------------------------
735
736The TableGen command option ``--print-records`` invokes a simple backend
737that prints all the classes and records defined in the source files. This is
738the default backend option. The format of the output is guaranteed to be
739constant over time, so that the output can be compared in tests. The output
740looks like this:
741
742.. code-block:: text
743
744  ------------- Classes -----------------
745  ...
746  class XEntry<string XEntry:str = ?, int XEntry:val1 = ?> { // XBase
747    string Str = XEntry:str;
748    bits<8> Val1 = { !cast<bits<8>>(XEntry:val1){7}, ... };
749    bit Val3 = 1;
750  }
751  ...
752  ------------- Defs -----------------
753  def ATable {	// GenericTable
754    string FilterClass = "AEntry";
755    string CppTypeName = "AEntry";
756    list<string> Fields = ["Str", "Val1", "Val2"];
757    list<string> PrimaryKey = ["Val1", "Val2"];
758    string PrimaryKeyName = "lookupATableByValues";
759    bit PrimaryKeyEarlyOut = 0;
760  }
761  ...
762  def anonymous_0 {	// AEntry
763    string Str = "Bob";
764    bits<8> Val1 = { 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 1 };
765    bits<10> Val2 = { 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1, 1 };
766  }
767
768Classes are shown with their template arguments, parent classes (following
769``//``), and fields. Records are shown with their parent classes and
770fields. Note that anonymous records are named ``anonymous_0``,
771``anonymous_1``, etc.
772
773The ``PrintDetailedRecords`` Backend
774------------------------------------
775
776The TableGen command option ``--print-detailed-records`` invokes a backend
777that prints all the global variables, classes, and records defined in the
778source files. The format of the output is *not* guaranteed to be constant
779over time. The output looks like this.
780
781.. code-block:: text
782
783  DETAILED RECORDS for file llvm-project\llvm\lib\target\arc\arc.td
784
785  -------------------- Global Variables (5) --------------------
786
787  AMDGPUBufferIntrinsics = [int_amdgcn_buffer_load_format, ...
788  AMDGPUImageDimAtomicIntrinsics = [int_amdgcn_image_atomic_swap_1d, ...
789  ...
790  -------------------- Classes (758) --------------------
791
792  AMDGPUBufferLoad  |IntrinsicsAMDGPU.td:879|
793    Template args:
794      LLVMType AMDGPUBufferLoad:data_ty = llvm_any_ty  |IntrinsicsAMDGPU.td:879|
795    Superclasses: (SDPatternOperator) Intrinsic AMDGPURsrcIntrinsic
796    Fields:
797      list<SDNodeProperty> Properties = [SDNPMemOperand]  |Intrinsics.td:348|
798      string LLVMName = ""  |Intrinsics.td:343|
799  ...
800  -------------------- Records (12303) --------------------
801
802  AMDGPUSample_lz_o  |IntrinsicsAMDGPU.td:560|
803    Defm sequence: |IntrinsicsAMDGPU.td:584| |IntrinsicsAMDGPU.td:566|
804    Superclasses: AMDGPUSampleVariant
805    Fields:
806      string UpperCaseMod = "_LZ_O"  |IntrinsicsAMDGPU.td:542|
807      string LowerCaseMod = "_lz_o"  |IntrinsicsAMDGPU.td:543|
808  ...
809
810* Global variables defined with outer ``defvar`` statements are shown with
811  their values.
812
813* The classes are shown with their source location, template arguments,
814  superclasses, and fields.
815
816* The records are shown with their source location, ``defm`` sequence,
817  superclasses, and fields.
818
819Superclasses are shown in the order processed, with indirect superclasses in
820parentheses. Each field is shown with its value and the source location at
821which it was set.
822The ``defm`` sequence gives the locations of the ``defm`` statements that
823were involved in generating the record, in the order they were invoked.
824
825Timing TableGen Phases
826----------------------
827
828TableGen provides a phase timing feature that produces a report of the time
829used by the various phases of parsing the source files and running the
830selected backend. This feature is enabled with the ``--time-phases`` option
831of the TableGen command.
832
833If the backend is *not* instrumented for timing, then a report such as the
834following is produced. This is the timing for the
835``--print-detailed-records`` backend run on the AMDGPU target.
836
837.. code-block:: text
838
839  ===-------------------------------------------------------------------------===
840                               TableGen Phase Timing
841  ===-------------------------------------------------------------------------===
842    Total Execution Time: 101.0106 seconds (102.4819 wall clock)
843
844     ---User Time---   --System Time--   --User+System--   ---Wall Time---  --- Name ---
845    85.5197 ( 84.9%)   0.1560 ( 50.0%)  85.6757 ( 84.8%)  85.7009 ( 83.6%)  Backend overall
846    15.1789 ( 15.1%)   0.0000 (  0.0%)  15.1789 ( 15.0%)  15.1829 ( 14.8%)  Parse, build records
847     0.0000 (  0.0%)   0.1560 ( 50.0%)   0.1560 (  0.2%)   1.5981 (  1.6%)  Write output
848    100.6986 (100.0%)   0.3120 (100.0%)  101.0106 (100.0%)  102.4819 (100.0%)  Total
849
850Note that all the time for the backend is lumped under "Backend overall".
851
852If the backend is instrumented for timing, then its processing is
853divided into phases and each one timed separately. This is the timing for
854the ``--emit-dag-isel`` backend run on the AMDGPU target.
855
856.. code-block:: text
857
858  ===-------------------------------------------------------------------------===
859                               TableGen Phase Timing
860  ===-------------------------------------------------------------------------===
861    Total Execution Time: 746.3868 seconds (747.1447 wall clock)
862
863     ---User Time---   --System Time--   --User+System--   ---Wall Time---  --- Name ---
864    657.7938 ( 88.1%)   0.1404 ( 90.0%)  657.9342 ( 88.1%)  658.6497 ( 88.2%)  Emit matcher table
865    70.2317 (  9.4%)   0.0000 (  0.0%)  70.2317 (  9.4%)  70.2700 (  9.4%)  Convert to matchers
866    14.8825 (  2.0%)   0.0156 ( 10.0%)  14.8981 (  2.0%)  14.9009 (  2.0%)  Parse, build records
867     2.1840 (  0.3%)   0.0000 (  0.0%)   2.1840 (  0.3%)   2.1791 (  0.3%)  Sort patterns
868     1.1388 (  0.2%)   0.0000 (  0.0%)   1.1388 (  0.2%)   1.1401 (  0.2%)  Optimize matchers
869     0.0000 (  0.0%)   0.0000 (  0.0%)   0.0000 (  0.0%)   0.0050 (  0.0%)  Write output
870    746.2308 (100.0%)   0.1560 (100.0%)  746.3868 (100.0%)  747.1447 (100.0%)  Total
871
872The backend has been divided into four phases and timed separately.
873
874If you want to instrument a backend, refer to the backend ``DAGISelEmitter.cpp``
875and search for ``Records.startTimer``.