RFR(L): 8031755: Type speculation should be used to optimize explicit null checks

[Vladimir Kozlov]

On 2/28/14 9:43 AM, Roland Westrelin wrote:
> http://cr.openjdk.java.net/~roland/8031755/webrev.00/
>
> Most Type profiling points record whether a null reference was seen but type speculation doesn’t currently take advantage of it. With this change, not only is the type seen at a profiling point feed to type speculation but also whether a null pointer was seen or not. This is then used to optimize null checks.
>
> The _speculative field becomes:
> const TypePtr*   _speculative;
>
> so that if all we know from profiling is that a reference is not null:
> _speculative = TypePtr::NOT NULL;
>
> When a type is met with a TypePtr (NULL_PTR for instance), the meet must be applied to the speculative types as well. To keep the type system symmetric, the _speculative field had to be moved to class TypePtr. I also moved the _inline_depth there to keep all speculative stuff together but with the current code it could have stayed in class TypeOopPtr.
>
> Traps caused by a failed speculative null check are recorded with speculative traps, similarly to what is done for a failed class check.

The idea is good, I think, but I need time to go through changes.

What about changes in arguments.cpp and phaseX.cpp?
I don't understand why you changed higher_equal_speculative() in parse2.cpp.

>
> I made the following change:
>
> *** 3561,3571 ****
>
>
>        // Since klasses are different, we require a LCA in the Java
>        // class hierarchy - which means we have to fall to at least NotNull.
>        if( ptr == TopPTR || ptr == AnyNull || ptr == Constant )
>          ptr = NotNull;
>
> -     instance_id = InstanceBot;
>
>
>        // Now we find the LCA of Java classes
>        ciKlass* k = this_klass->least_common_ancestor(tinst_klass);
>        return make(ptr, k, false, NULL, off, instance_id, speculative, depth);
>      } // End of case InstPtr
>
> --- 3706,3715 ——
>
> because I hit a type not symmetric failure that I think it causes:
>
> === Meet Not Symmetric ===
> t   =                   javax/management/openmbean/OpenType:AnyNull * (inline_depth=-2)
> this=                   javax/management/openmbean/ArrayType:TopPTR *,iid=top (inline_depth=InlineDepthTop)
> mt=(t meet this)=       javax/management/openmbean/ArrayType:AnyNull * (inline_depth=-2)
> t_dual=                 javax/management/openmbean/OpenType:NotNull *,iid=top (inline_depth=2)
> this_dual=              javax/management/openmbean/ArrayType *
> mt_dual=                javax/management/openmbean/ArrayType:NotNull *,iid=top (inline_depth=2)
> mt_dual meet t_dual=    javax/management/openmbean/OpenType:NotNull * (inline_depth=2)
> mt_dual meet this_dual= javax/management/openmbean/ArrayType *

The question is why OpenType:AnyNull does not have iid=top. It is in 
upper type lattice.

Thanks,
Vladimir

>
> Roland.
>