[swift-evolution] Pitch: Cross-module inlining and specialization
Ole Begemann
ole at oleb.net
Wed Oct 4 11:51:08 CDT 2017
How does @inlinable relate to the @_specialize attribute described in
https://github.com/apple/swift/pull/6797 (original swift-evolution post
about it:
https://lists.swift.org/pipermail/swift-dev/Week-of-Mon-20160314/001449.html)?
Here's how I understand it:
@_specialize emits the specialized generic code (for the types specified
in the @_specialize declaration) in the module binary (module A). The
downside is that the author of module A has to decide for which types
they want to emit specialized code. Clients of module A that need
specialization for other types are out of luck.
@inlinable enables the optimizer to emit specialized code in the
binaries that import module A. It shifts the decision what to specialize
where it belongs (and where it can be made).
Is this understanding correct? Will @inlinable cover everything we'd
need @_specialize for, or is the plan to make @_specialize public as
well in the future?
Ole
On 02.10.17 22:31, Slava Pestov via swift-evolution wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> Here is a draft proposal that makes public a feature we’ve had for a
> while. Let me know what you think!
>
>
> Cross-module inlining and specialization ("@inlinable")
>
> * Proposal: SE-NNNN <file:///Users/slava/NNNN-filename.md>
> * Authors: Slava Pestov <https://github.com/slavapestov>, Jordan
> Rose <https://github.com/jrose-apple>
> * Review Manager: TBD
> * Status: *Initial pitch*
> * Implementation: Already implemented as an underscored attribute
> |@_inlineable|
>
>
> Introduction
>
> We propose introducing an |@inlinable| attribute which exports the
> body of a function as part of a module's interface, making it
> available to the optimizer when referenced from other modules.
>
>
> Motivation
>
> One of the top priorities of the Swift 5 release is a design and
> implementation of /the Swift ABI/. This effort consists of three major
> tasks:
>
> *
>
> Finalizing the low-level function calling convention, layout of
> data types, and various runtime data structures. The goal here is
> to maintain compatibility across compiler versions, ensuring that
> we can continue to make improvements to the Swift compiler without
> breaking binaries built with an older version of the compiler.
>
> *
>
> Implementing support for /library evolution/, or the ability to
> make certain source-compatible changes, without breaking binary
> compatibility. Examples of source-compatible changes we are
> considering include adding new stored properties to structs and
> classes, removing private stored properties from structs and
> classes, adding new public methods to a class, or adding new
> protocol requirements that have a default implementation. The goal
> here is to maintain compatibility across framework versions,
> ensuring that framework authors can evolve their API without
> breaking binaries built against an older version of the framework.
> For more information about the resilience model, see the library
> evolution document
> <https://github.com/apple/swift/blob/master/docs/LibraryEvolution.rst> in
> the Swift repository.
>
> *
>
> Stabilizing the API of the standard library. The goal here is to
> ensure that the standard library can be deployed separately from
> client binaries and frameworks, without forcing recompilation of
> existing code.
>
> All existing language features of Swift were designed with these goals
> in mind. In particular, the implementation of generic types and
> functions relies on runtime reified types to allow separate
> compilation and type checking of generic code.
>
> Within the scope of a single module, the Swift compiler performs very
> aggressive optimization, including full and partial specialization of
> generic functions, inlining, and various forms of interprocedural
> analysis.
>
> On the other hand, across module boundaries, runtime generics
> introduce unavoidable overhead, as reified type metadata must be
> passed between functions, and various indirect access patterns must be
> used to manipulate values of generic type. We believe that for most
> applications, this overhead is negligible compared to the actual work
> performed by the code itself.
>
> However, for some advanced use cases, and in particular for the
> standard library, the overhead of runtime generics can dominate any
> useful work performed by the library. Examples include the various
> algorithms defined in protocol extensions of |Sequence| and
> |Collection|, for instance the |map|method of the |Sequence| protocol.
> Here the algorithm is very simple and spends most of its time
> manipulating generic values and calling to a user-supplied closure;
> specialization and inlining can completely eliminate the algorithm of
> the higher-order function call and generate equivalent code to a
> hand-written loop manipulating concrete types.
>
> We would like to annotate such functions with the
> |@inlinable| attribute. This will make their bodies available to the
> optimizer when building client code; on the other hand, calling such a
> function will cause it to be emitted into the client binary, meaning
> that if a library were to change the definition of such a function,
> only binaries built against the newer version of library will use the
> new definition.
>
>
> Proposed solution
>
> The |@inlinable| attribute causes the body of a function to be emitted
> as part of the module interface. For example, a framework can define a
> rather impractical implementation of an algorithm which returns
> |true| if all elements of a sequence are equal or if the sequence is
> empty, and |false|otherwise:
>
> |@inlinable public func allEqual<T>(_ seq: T) -> Bool where T :
> Sequence, T.Element : Equatable { var iter = seq.makeIterator() guard
> let first = iter.next() else { return true } func rec(_ iter: inout
> T.Iterator) -> Bool { guard let next = iter.next() else { return true
> } return next == first && rec(&iter) } return rec(&iter) }|
>
> A client binary built against this framework can call |allEqual()| and
> enjoy a possible performance improvement when built with optimizations
> enabled, due to the elimination of abstraction overhead.
>
> On the other hand, once the framework author comes to their senses and
> implements an iterative solution to replace the recursive algorithm
> defined above, the client binary cannot make use of the more efficient
> implementation until recompiled.
>
>
> Detailed design
>
> The new |@inlinable| attribute can only be applied to the following
> kinds of declarations:
>
> * Functions and methods
> * Subscripts
> * Computed properties
> * Initializers
> * Deinitializers
>
> The attribute can only be applied to public declarations. This is
> because the attribute only has an effect when the declaration is used
> from outside of the module. Within a module, the optimizer can always
> rely on the function body being available.
>
> For similar reasons, the attribute cannot be applied to local
> declarations, that is, declarations nested inside functions or
> statements. However, local functions and closure expressions defined
> inside public |@inlinable| functions are always implicitly |@inlinable|.
>
> When applied to subscripts or computed properties, the attribute
> applies to the getter, setter, |didSet|and |willSet|, if present.
>
> The compiler will enforce certain restrictions on bodies of inlinable
> declarations:
>
> *
>
> inlinable declarations cannot define local types. This is because
> all types have a unique identity in the Swift runtime, visible to
> the language in the form of the |==| operator on metatype values.
> It is not clear what it would mean if two different libraries
> inline the same local type from a third library, with all three
> libraries linked together into the same binary. This becomes even
> worse if two /different/ versions of the same inlinable function
> appear inside the same binary.
>
> *
>
> inlinable declarations can only reference other public
> declarations. This is because they can be emitted into the client
> binary, and are therefore limited to referencing symbols that the
> client binary can reference.
>
> *Note:* The restrictions enforced on the bodies of
> |@inlinable| declarations are exactly those that we have in place on
> default argument expressions of |public| functions in Swift 4.
>
>
> Source compatibility
>
> The introduction of the |@inlinable| attribute is an additive change
> to the language and has no impact on source compatibility.
>
>
> Effect on ABI stability
>
> The introduction of the |@inlinable| attribute does not change the ABI
> of existing declarations. However, adding |@inlinable| to an existing
> declaration changes ABI, because the declaration will no longer have a
> public entry point in the generated library. Removing
> |@inlinable| from an existing declaration does not change ABI, because
> it merely introduces a new public symbol in the generated library.
>
> We have discussed adding a "versioned |@inlinable|" variant that
> preserves the public entry point for older clients, while making the
> declaration inlinable for newer clients. This will likely be a
> separate proposal and discussion.
>
>
> Effect on API resilience
>
> Because a declaration marked |@inlinable| is not part of the library
> ABI, removing such a declaration is a binary-compatible, but
> source-incompatible change.
>
> Any changes to the body of a declaration marked |@inlinable| should be
> considered very carefully. As a general guideline, we feel that
> |@inlinable| makes the most sense with "obviously correct" algorithms
> which manipulate other data types abstractly through protocols, so
> that any future changes to an |@inlinable| declaration are
> optimizations that do not change observed behavior.
>
>
> Comparison with other languages
>
> The closest language feature to the |@inlinable| attribute is found in
> C and C++. In C and C++, the concept of a header file is similar to
> Swift's binary |swiftmodule| files, except they are written by hand
> and not generated by the compiler. Swift's |public| declarations are
> roughly analogous to declarations whose prototypes appear in a header
> file.
>
> Header files mostly contain declarations without bodies, but can also
> declare |static inline|functions with bodies. Such functions are not
> part of the binary interface of the library, and are instead emitted
> into client code when referenced. As with |@inlinable| declarations,
> |static inline|functions can only reference other "public"
> declarations, that is, those that are defined in other header files.
>
>
> Alternatives considered
>
> One possible alterative would be to add a new compiler mode where
> /all/ declarations become implicitly |@inlinable|.
>
> However, such a compilation mode would not solve the problem of
> delivering a stable ABI and standard library which can be deployed
> separately from user code. We /don't want/ all declaration bodies in
> the standard library to be available to the optimizer when building
> user code.
>
> While such a feature might be useful for users who build private
> frameworks that are always shipped together their application without
> resilience concerns, we do not feel it aligns with our goals for ABI
> stability, and at best it should be a separate discussion.
>
> For similar reasons, we do not feel that an "opt-out" attribute that
> can be applied to declarations to mark them non-inlinable makes sense.
>
> We have also considered generalizing |@inlinable| to allow it to be
> applied to entire blocks of declarations, for example at the level of
> an extension. As we gain more experience with using this attribute in
> the standard library we might decide this would be a useful addition,
> but we feel that for now, it makes sense to focus on the case of a
> single inlinable declaration instead. Any future generalizations can
> be introduced as additive language features.
>
> We originally used the spelling |@inlineable| for the attribute.
> However, we settled on |@inlinable| for consistency with the
> |Decodable| and |Encodable| protocols, which are named as they are and
> not |Decodeable| and |Encodeable|.
>
> Finally, we have considered some alternate spellings for this
> attribute. The name |@inlinable| is somewhat of a misnomer, because
> nothing about it actually forces the compiler to inline the
> declaration; it might simply generate a concrete specialization of it,
> or look at the body as part of an interprocedural analysis, or
> completely ignore the body. We have considered
> |@alwaysEmitIntoClient| as a more accurate, but awkward, spelling of
> the attribute's behavior.
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> swift-evolution mailing list
> swift-evolution at swift.org
> https://lists.swift.org/mailman/listinfo/swift-evolution
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://lists.swift.org/pipermail/swift-evolution/attachments/20171004/001547df/attachment.html>
More information about the swift-evolution
mailing list