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87 lines
3.9 KiB
87 lines
3.9 KiB
Contributing
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============
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Getting Started
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---------------
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Please refer to the `LLVM Getting Started Guide
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<https://llvm.org/docs/GettingStarted.html>`_ for general information on how to
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get started on the LLVM project. A detailed explanation on how to build and
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test LLDB can be found in the `build instructions <build.html>`_ and `test
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instructions <test.html>`_ respecitvely.
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Contributing to LLDB
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--------------------
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Please refer to the `LLVM Developer Policy
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<https://llvm.org/docs/DeveloperPolicy.html>`_ for information about
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authoring and uploading a patch. LLDB differs from the LLVM Developer
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Policy in the following respects.
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- **Test infrastructure**: Like LLVM it is important to submit tests with your
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patches, but note that LLDB uses a different system for tests. Refer to the
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`test documentation <test.html>`_ for more details and the `lldb/test`
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folder on disk for examples.
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- **Coding Style**: LLDB's code style differs from LLVM's coding style.
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Unfortunately there is no document describing the differences. Please be
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consistent with the existing code.
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For anything not explicitly listed here, assume that LLDB follows the LLVM
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policy.
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Error handling and use of assertions in LLDB
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--------------------------------------------
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Contrary to Clang, which is typically a short-lived process, LLDB
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debuggers stay up and running for a long time, often serving multiple
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debug sessions initiated by an IDE. For this reason LLDB code needs to
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be extra thoughtful about how to handle errors. Below are a couple
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rules of thumb:
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* Invalid input. To deal with invalid input, such as malformed DWARF,
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missing object files, or otherwise inconsistent debug info, LLVM's
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error handling types such as `llvm::Expected<T>
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<https://llvm.org/doxygen/classllvm_1_1Expected.html>`_ or
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`llvm::Optional<T>
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<https://llvm.org/doxygen/classllvm_1_1Optional.html>`_ should be
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used. Functions that may fail should return their result using these
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wrapper types instead of using a bool to indicate success. Returning
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a default value when an error occurred is also discouraged.
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* Assertions. Assertions (from `assert.h`) should be used liberally
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to assert internal consistency. Assertions shall **never** be
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used to detect invalid user input, such as malformed DWARF. An
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assertion should be placed to assert invariants that the developer
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is convinced will always hold, regardless what an end-user does with
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LLDB. Because assertions are not present in release builds, the
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checks in an assertion may be more expensive than otherwise
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permissible. In combination with the LLDB test suite, assertions are
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what allows us to refactor and evolve the LLDB code base.
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* Logging. LLDB provides a very rich logging API. When recoverable
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errors cannot reasonably be surfaced to the end user, the error may
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be written to a topical log channel.
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* Soft assertions. LLDB provides `lldb_assert()` as a soft
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alternative to cover the middle ground of situations that indicate a
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recoverable bug in LLDB. In a Debug configuration `lldb_assert()`
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behaves like `assert()`. In a Release configuration it will print a
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warning and encourage the user to file a bug report, similar to
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LLVM's crash handler, and then return execution. Use these sparingly
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and only if error handling is not otherwise feasible. Specifically,
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new code should not be using `lldb_assert()` and existing
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uses should be replaced by other means of error handling.
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* Fatal errors. Aborting LLDB's process using
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`llvm::report_fatal_error()` or `abort()` should be avoided at all
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costs. It's acceptable to use `llvm_unreachable()
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<https://llvm.org/doxygen/Support_2ErrorHandling_8h.html>`_ for
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actually unreachable code such as the default in an otherwise
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exhaustive switch statement.
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Overall, please keep in mind that the debugger is often used as a last
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resort, and a crash in the debugger is rarely appreciated by the
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end-user.
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