Question

Thu Aug 2 15:38:44 PDT 2007

Ted -

In early July, Sun's legal department gave the OK to open source a
disassembler based on GNU binutils 2.17.  Any delay in progress since
then is purely my own fault, as I have been attending to other
engineering duties.

Based on advice I received so far, the plan is to start an OpenJDK
subproject, and distribute the disassembler as a set of diffs and
additions to the latest GNU binutils.  To use with +PrintAssembly, one
would get binutils, apply the source patches, build using the supplied
makefile into a .dll or .so, and install the library into a known
location.

Internally, I still need to do some cleanup and testing of the
disassembler...hopefully I haven't broken it moving it forward to
2.17.

Externally, I need to figure out how the OpenJDK process works, and
make sure the distribution and packaging method is reasonable. I am a
novice in the open source world, and recommendations from those more
experienced than me are welcome.

-- Chuck

Ted Neward wrote:
> Two questions:
> (*) Are we any further on this?
> (*) What about disassembly under Linux or Solaris? Anybody have good
> suggestions for a disassembler to use for -XX:+PrintAssembly?
> 
> Ted Neward
> Java, .NET, XML Services
> Consulting, Teaching, Speaking, Writing
> http://www.tedneward.com
>  
> 
> 
>>-----Original Message-----
>>From: Chuck.Rasbold at Sun.COM [mailto:Chuck.Rasbold at Sun.COM]
>>Sent: Tuesday, April 17, 2007 3:25 PM
>>To: Ted Neward
>>Cc: hotspot-compiler-dev at openjdk.dev.java.net
>>Subject: Re: Question
>>
>>I can't apologize enough on how long this is taking.  We still working on
>>it.
>>
>>-- Chuck
>>
>>Ted Neward wrote:
>>
>>>Any followup here? I'm still hoping to get the one that Sun uses, rather
>>>than spend the energy/time/effort to write my own....
>>>
>>>Ted Neward
>>>Java, .NET, XML Services
>>>Consulting, Teaching, Speaking, Writing
>>>http://www.tedneward.com
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>>-----Original Message-----
>>>>From: Ted Neward [mailto:ted at tedneward.com]
>>>>Sent: Monday, January 15, 2007 4:30 PM
>>>>To: hotspot-compiler-dev at openjdk.dev.java.net
>>>>Subject: RE: Question
>>>>
>>>>Any word on getting this thing open-sourced? I know it's probably
>>
>>possible
>>
>>>>to build one for myself, but.... Oy. Would *much* rather not have to do
>>>>that.
>>>>
>>>>Ted Neward
>>>>Java, .NET, XML Services
>>>>Consulting, Teaching, Speaking, Writing
>>>>http://www.tedneward.com
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>-----Original Message-----
>>>>>From: Chuck.Rasbold at Sun.COM [mailto:Chuck.Rasbold at Sun.COM]
>>>>>Sent: Thursday, December 07, 2006 2:44 PM
>>>>>To: hotspot-compiler-dev at openjdk.dev.java.net
>>>>>Subject: Re: Question
>>>>>
>>>>>Sun has a disassembler which is based on the disassembler source code
>>>>
>>>>from
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>a gdb
>>>>>of many years past.
>>>>>
>>>>>The disassembler is built into a .so or .dll. Typically, I place that
>>>>>disassembler.so file in the same directory as the libjvm.so of
>>
>>interest.
>>
>>>>>Other
>>>>>times, on Solaris, I will set my LD_LIBRARY_PATH to include the
>>>>
>>>>directory
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>where
>>>>>the .so resides.  I'm not much of a Windows guy, so I can't advise you
>>>>>there.
>>>>>
>>>>>Until now, the disassembler source has been kept separate from the
>>>>
>>>>HotSpot
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>source tree and the binary not distributed to customers in order to
>>>>
>>>>avoid
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>the
>>>>>complications that would be incurred by Sun due to the GPL.
>>>>>
>>>>>Of course, the world is now different and due to an oversight, it was
>>>>
>>>>not
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>included when HotSpot was open sourced.  We're currently working on
>>>>>getting it
>>>>>distributed with HotSpot.
>>>>>
>>>>>Hopefully, I've made things a bit clearer.
>>>>>
>>>>>-- Chuck
>>>>>
>>>>>Ted Neward wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>>So help me out here, if you don't mind--when you say I will "need the
>>>>>>disassembler", you're saying I have to download (what?) and put it
>>>>>
>>>>>(where?)?
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>>Unfortunately, the link you sent, Steve, doesn't say much beyond that
>>>>>
>>>>>fact
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>>that the poster hacked it--I'm not sure what to do with it once I find
>>>>>
>>>>>it.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>>Can I grab the GNU disassembler and use it, since I'm not in the same
>>>>>
>>>>>boat
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>>as Sun re: licensning and distribution issues?
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Bear in mind, I want to do this under Windows if I can; I dunno if
>>>>
>>>>that
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>>makes a difference.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Sorry for being such the noob, but one hope I have is to sort through
>>>>>
>>>>>all
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>>this and put it into an article or paper or presentation and help
>>>>
>>>>others
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>to
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>>get into seeing all this stuff without having to wade through the same
>>>>>
>>>>>steps
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>>by hand. :-)
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Ted Neward
>>>>>>Java, .NET, XML Services
>>>>>>Consulting, Teaching, Speaking, Writing
>>>>>>http://www.tedneward.com
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>>-----Original Message-----
>>>>>>>From: Peter.Kessler at Sun.COM [mailto:Peter.Kessler at Sun.COM]
>>>>>>>Sent: Tuesday, December 05, 2006 11:57 AM
>>>>>>>To: hotspot-compiler-dev at openjdk.dev.java.net
>>>>>>>Subject: Re: Question
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>steve goldman wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>Ted Neward wrote:
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>So one thing I’d like to see (via console output or some other
>>>>>>>>>out-of-band
>>>>>>>>>form of view) is the code generated by the JIT compiler when it
>>
>>JITs
>>
>>>>a
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>>>>>method. What’s the best way for doing so?
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>You need two things, a "develop" version of hotspot and the
>>>>>>>>disassembler. There is a flag -XX:+PrintAssembly which will attempt
>>>>
>>>>to
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>>>>dynamically load the disassembler and as various code blobs are
>>>>>>>>generated will invoke the disassembler. The product version of
>>>>
>>>>hotspot
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>>>>doesn't enable this flag so you need to build a version that isn't
>>>>
>>>>the
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>>>>product (or convert the switch from "develop" to "product"). In any
>>>>>
>>>>>case
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>>>>I think you'll have to build the jvm. Additionally you need the
>>>>>>>>disassembler. Unfortunately that got left out of the initial source
>>>>>>>>release. The disassembler we use is based on the gnu disassembler
>>
>>and
>>
>>>>>>>>because it was gpl before hotspot was gpl'd it was kept separate
>>
>>from
>>
>>>>>>>>the hotspot code. That should be fixed soon I'd guess. There was a
>>>>
>>>>note
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>>>>here
>>>>>>>>http://c1.complang.tuwien.ac.at/pipermail/cacao/2006-
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>November/000195.html
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>where someone hacked the cacao disassembler to get around this. The
>>>>>>>>disassembler you build (.dll or .so) needs to go into the jvm (or
>>>>>>>>somewhere in your LD_LIBRARY_PATH or equivalent) were it will get
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>loaded.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>With the server version of hotspot there is another develop flag
>>>>>>>>-XX:+PrintOptoAssembly which will print a very stylized version of
>>>>
>>>>the
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>>>>code the jit produces. It will do this without the disassembler
>>
>>being
>>
>>>>>>>>present.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>You can also use the "fastdebug" version of HotSpot to get
>>>>>>>access to the -XX:+PrintAssembly flag.  The fastdebug version
>>>>>>>is built as part of the "make world" target.  You still need
>>>>>>>the dissassembler, as Steve says.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>			... peter
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>--
>>>>>>>No virus found in this incoming message.
>>>>>>>Checked by AVG Free Edition.
>>>>>>>Version: 7.5.432 / Virus Database: 268.15.9/573 - Release Date:
>>>>>
>>>>>12/5/2006
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>>>4:07 PM
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>--
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>>>>>Checked by AVG Free Edition.
>>>>>Version: 7.5.432 / Virus Database: 268.15.15/579 - Release Date:
>>>>
>>>>12/7/2006
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>1:31 PM
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>--
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>>>>Checked by AVG Free Edition.
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>>
>>1/15/2007
>>
>>>>11:04 AM
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>--
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>>>>Checked by AVG Free Edition.
>>>>Version: 7.5.432 / Virus Database: 268.16.12/628 - Release Date:
>>
>>1/15/2007
>>
>>>>11:04 AM
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>--
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>>Checked by AVG Free Edition.
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>>4:22 PM
>>
> 
> 
> No virus found in this outgoing message.
> Checked by AVG Free Edition. 
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> 5:26 PM
>  
> 