For example, calling int func( int a, int * b...) will put a and b into registers r0, r1 and so on, call the function and return the result in r0 (remark: speaking very generally here, not related to any specific processor or calling convention; also, let's assume fast-call passing of arguments in registers).
Now, wouldn't it be better that each function is compiled with arguments passed in registers that are already preferred for their types of arguments (pointers to preferred pointer/base registers, array-like data to vector registers...), and not following one of few calling-convention rules using the more-or-less strict order of function arguments as given in a function prototype ?
This way the code might avoid few instructions used to shuffle arguments in registers before and after such a function call, and also often avoid reusing the same basic registers all over again etc. Of course, this would require some extra data for each function (presumably kept in a database or object files), but it would be beneficial even in case of dynamic linking.
So, are there any strong arguments against doing something like that in the 21st century, except maybe historical reasons ?
Is there a particular reason for calling conventions with predetermined order of registers used for passing arguments?
gox
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For functions that are called from a single place, or that are at the very least static so the compiler can know every call place (assuming that the compiler can prove that the address of that function is not passed around as a function pointer) this could be done.
The catch is that almost every time this can be done it is done, but in a slightly different way: the compiler can inline code, and once inlined, the calling convention is no longer needed, because there is no longer a call being made.
But let's get back to the data base idea: you could argue that this has no runtime cost. When generating the code the compiler checks the data base and generates the appropriate code. This doesn't really help in any way. You still have a calling convention, but instead of having one (or a few) that is respected by all code, you now have a different calling convention for each function. Sure, the compiler no longer needs to put the first argument in r0, but it needs to put it in r1 for foo, in r5 for bar, etc. There's still overhead for setting up the proper registers with the proper values. Knowing what registers to restore after such a function call also becomes harder. Calling convention specify clearly which registers are volatile (so their values are lost upon returning from a called function) and non-volatile (so their values are preserved).
A far more useful feature is to generate the code of the called function in such a way that it uses the registers that already happen to hold those values. This can happen when inlining code.
To add to this, I believe this is what Rust does in Rust-to-Rust calls. As far as I know, the language does not have a fixed calling convention. Instead, the compiler tries to generate code based on in which registers the values for the arguments are already present. Unfortunately I can't seem to find any official docs about this, but this rust-lang discussion may be of help.
Going one step further: not all code paths are known at compile time. Think about function pointers: if I have the following code:
typedef void (*my_function_ptr_t)(int arg1);
my_function_ptr_t get_function(int value) {
switch (value) {
case 0: return foo;
case 1: return bar;
default: return baz;
}
}
void do_some_stuff(int a, int b) {
my_function_ptr_t handler = get_function(a);
handler(b);
}
Under the data base proposal foo, bar, and baz can have completely different calling conventions. This either means that you can't actually have working function pointers anymore, or that the data base needs to be accessible at runtime, and the compiler will generate code that will check it at runtime in order to properly call a function through a function pointer. This can have some serious overhead, for no actual gains.
This is by no means an exhaustive list of reasons, but the main idea is this: by having each function expect arguments to be in different registers you replace one calling convention with many calling conventions without gaining anything from it.
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