KOBAYASHI Shuji
456878ba06
The accuracy is greatly improved by using the C preprocessor to scan C
sources for presym. C preprocessor can perfectly interpret all comments and
preprocessor directives, so it can detect all symbols defined, for example
`mrbgems/mruby-socket/src/const.cstub`.
Also, as described later, this change will greatly improve the accuracy of
presym detection from Ruby sources.
## Result
The number of lines in the `presym` file for all gems is as follows:
```console
Previous: 999 (false positive = 89, undetected = 297)
New: 1207
```
## Build process
The new build process (with presym) is as follows:
1. Build `mrbc` without presym (more on building without presym later).
2. Compile Ruby sources to C struct format with the `mrbc` created in
step 1, and create` mrblib.c` and `gem_init.c`. Note that the symbols
in the created files are output as `MRB_SYM` family macros or
`mrb_intern_lit` instead of IDs (details will be described later).
3. C preprocessor processes C sources including the created files of
step 2 and outputs them as `.i` files. In these files, for example,
`MRB_IVSYM(foo)` is converted to `<@! "@" "foo" !@>` and
`mrb_define_module(mrb, "Foo")` is converted to `<@! "Foo" !@>`.
4. Scan the files created in step 3 and create `presym` and` presym.inc`
files.
The files created in step 2 should output all static symbols defined in Ruby
sources, including local variables, so we can detect all presyms by just
scanning C sources without scanning Ruby sources directly.
Further, by this process, the files to be scanned becomes the same as the
files to be compiled, so that there is no excess or deficiency.
## Related changes
The following changes have been made in relation to realizing this feature.
### Allow build without presym
It enables build without presym to achieve the "Build process: 1". This
incorporates #5202, see its issue for details.
Note that when presym is enabled, even adding a local variable to a Ruby
source may change contents of presym and require recompilation of almost
all C sources. This is inconvenient, especially during trial and error in
development, but this feature is also useful because it does not cause
this problem if presym is disabled.
### Automatically create build target for `mrbc` without presym
The `mrbc` used in the "Build process: 1" will be built by automatically
creating a build target for it. The build name is `SOURCE_BUILD_NAME/mrbc`.
### Constantize output of C struct format by `mrbc`
To realizing the "Build process: 2", as mentioned above, symbol IDs are not
output directly in C struct format output by `mrbc`. As a result, the output
becomes constant regardless of the state of presym at the time of `mrbc`
build, and it is possible to detect symbols of Ruby sources in the same way
as other C sources.
Note that `mrb_intern_lit` is used for symbols that do not become presym,
but in this state, the corresponding element in the symbol array cannot be
statically initialized, so it is initialized at run time (therefore, in this
case, the `const` qualifier is not added to the symbol array).
### Specify arbitrary `mrbc` file
To realizing the "Build process: 2", enabled to specify `mrbc` created by
another build target or pre-built` mrbc`. Use `MRuby::Build#mrbcfile =` to
specify it explicitly. You can omit the "Build process: 1" by specifying
pre-built `mrbc`, and you can always use an optimized build to compile Ruby
sources faster. I think changes that affect the output of `mrbc` are rare,
so in many cases it helps to improve efficiency.
With presym, the build will be a little slower due to more build steps, but
this feature will improve it a bit.
### Create presym files for each build target
This feature was proposed at #5194 and merged once, but was reverted in
5c205e6e due to problems especially with cross-compilation. It has been
introduced again because this change solves the problem.
The presym files will be created below.
* `build/NAME/presym`
* `build/NAME/include/mruby/presym.inc`
### Other changes
* Because presym detection accuracy is greatly improved as mentioned above,
`MRuby::Gem::Specification#cdump?` is set to true by default, and
`disable_cdump` is added instead of `enable_cdump`. Also, support for gem
specific presym files has been discontinued (https://github.com/mruby/mruby/issues/5151#issuecomment-730967232).
* Previously, `mrbc` was automatically created for the `host` build, but it
will not be created if the build target for `mrbc` mentioned above is
automatically created. At this time, `mrbc` file of the `mrbc` build is
copied to` bin/`.
* Two types of `.d` files will be created, `.o.d` and `.i.d`. oThis is
because if `.i` depends on `presym.inc`, the dependency will circulate, so
the `.d` file cannot be shared.
* Changed file created with `enable_cxx_exception` to `X-cxx.cxx` from
`X.cxx` to use the mruby standard Rake rule.
### Note
Almost all C sources will need to be recompiled if there are any changes to
`persym.inc` (if not recompiled properly, it will often result in run-time
error). If `gcc` toolchain is used, dependencies are resolved by the `.d`
file, so it become automatically recompile target, but if not (e.g. MSVC),
it is necessary to manually make it recompile target.
Also, even if `gcc` toolchain is used, it may not become recompile target if
external gems does not use the mruby standard Rake rule. In particular, if
the standard rule is overwritten, such as
https://github.com/mruby/mruby/pull/5112/files, `.d` file will not be read,
so be careful.
What is mruby
mruby is the lightweight implementation of the Ruby language complying to (part of) the ISO standard. Its syntax is Ruby 2.x compatible.
mruby can be linked and embedded within your application. We provide the interpreter program "mruby" and the interactive mruby shell "mirb" as examples. You can also compile Ruby programs into compiled byte code using the mruby compiler "mrbc". All those tools reside in the "bin" directory. "mrbc" is also able to generate compiled byte code in a C source file, see the "mrbtest" program under the "test" directory for an example.
This achievement was sponsored by the Regional Innovation Creation R&D Programs of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan.
How to get mruby
The preview version 3.0.0 of mruby can be downloaded via the following URL: https://github.com/mruby/mruby/archive/3.0.0-preview.zip
The stable version 2.1.2 of mruby can be downloaded via the following URL: https://github.com/mruby/mruby/archive/2.1.2.zip
The latest development version of mruby can be downloaded via the following URL: https://github.com/mruby/mruby/zipball/master
The trunk of the mruby source tree can be checked out with the following command:
$ git clone https://github.com/mruby/mruby.git
You can also install and compile mruby using ruby-install, ruby-build or rvm.
mruby home-page
The URL of the mruby home-page is: https://mruby.org.
Mailing list
We don't have a mailing list, but you can use GitHub issues.
How to compile, test, and install (mruby and gems)
See the compile.md file.
Building documentation
There are two sets of documentation in mruby: the mruby API (generated by yard) and C API (Doxygen)
To build both of them, simply go
rake doc
You can also view them in your browser
rake view_api
rake view_capi
How to customize mruby (mrbgems)
mruby contains a package manager called mrbgems. To create extensions in C and/or Ruby you should create a GEM. For a documentation of how to use mrbgems consult the file mrbgems.md. For example code of how to use mrbgems look into the folder examples/mrbgems/.
License
mruby is released under the MIT License.
Note for License
mruby has chosen a MIT License due to its permissive license allowing developers to target various environments such as embedded systems. However, the license requires the display of the copyright notice and license information in manuals for instance. Doing so for big projects can be complicated or troublesome. This is why mruby has decided to display "mruby developers" as the copyright name to make it simple conventionally. In the future, mruby might ask you to distribute your new code (that you will commit,) under the MIT License as a member of "mruby developers" but contributors will keep their copyright. (We did not intend for contributors to transfer or waive their copyrights, Actual copyright holder name (contributors) will be listed in the AUTHORS file.)
Please ask us if you want to distribute your code under another license.
How to Contribute
See the contribution guidelines, and then send a pull request to http://github.com/mruby/mruby. We consider you have granted non-exclusive right to your contributed code under MIT license. If you want to be named as one of mruby developers, please include an update to the AUTHORS file in your pull request.