[fpc-devel] Discussion: XML node dump extensions

[J. Gareth Moreton]

Hi everyone,

I would like to propose extending the XML node dumping feature for the 
compiler in order to help with development of new compiler features, 
especially where node optimisation is concerned (e.g. pure functions, 
vectorisation).  Currently, I have added support to show some elements 
of newly-defined classes and records in the unit, mostly in order to 
show the byte offsets and lengths of each field (to aid vectorisation):

https://bugs.freepascal.org/view.php?id=36882

One thing I like to add is to dump the node tree as it appears after the 
first pass, or at least right before it is converted into 
platform-specific assembly language, because that will allow developers 
to see how everything appears after simplication and node optimisation, 
especially if nodes are removed.  My question though... considering node 
dumps generate many megabytes of data and a single procedure can produce 
a massive tree, should the optimised tree appear in the same dump file 
as the rest, under a different XML branch, or in a separate node dump 
file to make visual side-by-side comparison with the regular node dump 
easier?

Gareth aka. Kit


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