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Arm / Thumb Interworking
========================
The Cygnus GNU Pro Toolkit for the ARM7T processor supports function
calls between code compiled for the ARM instruction set and code
compiled for the Thumb instruction set and vice versa. This document
describes how that interworking support operates and explains the
command line switches that should be used in order to produce working
programs.
Note: The Cygnus GNU Pro Toolkit does not support switching between
compiling for the ARM instruction set and the Thumb instruction set
on anything other than a per file basis. There are in fact two
completely separate compilers, one that produces ARM assembler
instructions and one that produces Thumb assembler instructions. The
two compilers share the same assembler, linker and so on.
1. Explicit interworking support for C and C++ files
====================================================
By default if a file is compiled without any special command line
switches then the code produced will not support interworking.
Provided that a program is made up entirely from object files and
libraries produced in this way and which contain either exclusively
ARM instructions or exclusively Thumb instructions then this will not
matter and a working executable will be created. If an attempt is
made to link together mixed ARM and Thumb object files and libraries,
then warning messages will be produced by the linker and a non-working
executable will be created.
In order to produce code which does support interworking it should be
compiled with the
-mthumb-interwork
command line option. Provided that a program is made up entirely from
object files and libraries built with this command line switch a
working executable will be produced, even if both ARM and Thumb
instructions are used by the various components of the program. (No
warning messages will be produced by the linker either).
Note that specifying -mthumb-interwork does result in slightly larger,
slower code being produced. This is why interworking support must be
specifically enabled by a switch.
2. Explicit interworking support for assembler files
====================================================
If assembler files are to be included into an interworking program
then the following rules must be obeyed:
* Any externally visible functions must return by using the BX
instruction.
* Normal function calls can just use the BL instruction. The
linker will automatically insert code to switch between ARM
and Thumb modes as necessary.
* Calls via function pointers should use the BX instruction if
the call is made in ARM mode:
.code 32
mov lr, pc
bx rX
This code sequence will not work in Thumb mode however, since
the mov instruction will not set the bottom bit of the lr
register. Instead a branch-and-link to the _call_via_rX
functions should be used instead:
.code 16
bl _call_via_rX
where rX is replaced by the name of the register containing
the function address.
* All externally visible functions which should be entered in
Thumb mode must have the .thumb_func pseudo op specified just
before their entry point. e.g.:
.code 16
.global function
.thumb_func
function:
...start of function....
* All assembler files must be assembled with the switch
-mthumb-interwork specified on the command line. (If the file
is assembled by calling gcc it will automatically pass on the
-mthumb-interwork switch to the assembler, provided that it
was specified on the gcc command line in the first place.)
3. Support for old, non-interworking aware code.
================================================
If it is necessary to link together code produced by an older,
non-interworking aware compiler, or code produced by the new compiler
but without the -mthumb-interwork command line switch specified, then
there are two command line switches that can be used to support this.
The switch
-mcaller-super-interworking
will allow calls via function pointers in Thumb mode to work,
regardless of whether the function pointer points to old,
non-interworking aware code or not. Specifying this switch does
produce slightly slower code however.
Note: There is no switch to allow calls via function pointers in ARM
mode to be handled specially. Calls via function pointers from
interworking aware ARM code to non-interworking aware ARM code work
without any special considerations by the compiler. Calls via
function pointers from interworking aware ARM code to non-interworking
aware Thumb code however will not work. (Actually under some
circumstances they may work, but there are no guarantees). This is
because only the new compiler is able to produce Thumb code, and this
compiler already has a command line switch to produce interworking
aware code.
The switch
-mcallee-super-interworking
will allow non-interworking aware ARM or Thumb code to call Thumb
functions, either directly or via function pointers. Specifying this
switch does produce slightly larger, slower code however.
Note: There is no switch to allow non-interworking aware ARM or Thumb
code to call ARM functions. There is no need for any special handling
of calls from non-interworking aware ARM code to interworking aware
ARM functions, they just work normally. Calls from non-interworking
aware Thumb functions to ARM code however, will not work. There is no
option to support this, since it is always possible to recompile the
Thumb code to be interworking aware.
As an alternative to the command line switch
-mcallee-super-interworking, which affects all externally visible
functions in a file, it is possible to specify an attribute or
declspec for individual functions, indicating that that particular
function should support being called by non-interworking aware code.
The function should be defined like this:
int __attribute__((interfacearm)) function
{
... body of function ...
}
or
int __declspec(interfacearm) function
{
... body of function ...
}
4. Interworking support in dlltool
==================================
It is possible to create DLLs containing mixed ARM and Thumb code. It
is also possible to call Thumb code in a DLL from an ARM program and
vice versa. It is even possible to call ARM DLLs that have been compiled
without interworking support (say by an older version of the compiler),
from Thumb programs and still have things work properly.
A version of the `dlltool' program which supports the `--interwork'
command line switch is needed, as well as the following special
considerations when building programs and DLLs:
*Use `-mthumb-interwork'*
When compiling files for a DLL or a program the `-mthumb-interwork'
command line switch should be specified if calling between ARM and
Thumb code can happen. If a program is being compiled and the
mode of the DLLs that it uses is not known, then it should be
assumed that interworking might occur and the switch used.
*Use `-m thumb'*
If the exported functions from a DLL are all Thumb encoded then the
`-m thumb' command line switch should be given to dlltool when
building the stubs. This will make dlltool create Thumb encoded
stubs, rather than its default of ARM encoded stubs.
If the DLL consists of both exported Thumb functions and exported
ARM functions then the `-m thumb' switch should not be used.
Instead the Thumb functions in the DLL should be compiled with the
`-mcallee-super-interworking' switch, or with the `interfacearm'
attribute specified on their prototypes. In this way they will be
given ARM encoded prologues, which will work with the ARM encoded
stubs produced by dlltool.
*Use `-mcaller-super-interworking'*
If it is possible for Thumb functions in a DLL to call
non-interworking aware code via a function pointer, then the Thumb
code must be compiled with the `-mcaller-super-interworking'
command line switch. This will force the function pointer calls
to use the _interwork_call_via_rX stub functions which will
correctly restore Thumb mode upon return from the called function.
*Link with `libgcc.a'*
When the dll is built it may have to be linked with the GCC
library (`libgcc.a') in order to extract the _call_via_rX functions
or the _interwork_call_via_rX functions. This represents a partial
redundancy since the same functions *may* be present in the
application itself, but since they only take up 372 bytes this
should not be too much of a consideration.
*Use `--support-old-code'*
When linking a program with an old DLL which does not support
interworking, the `--support-old-code' command line switch to the
linker should be used. This causes the linker to generate special
interworking stubs which can cope with old, non-interworking aware
ARM code, at the cost of generating bulkier code. The linker will
still generate a warning message along the lines of:
"Warning: input file XXX does not support interworking, whereas YYY does."
but this can now be ignored because the --support-old-code switch
has been used.
5. How interworking support works
=================================
Switching between the ARM and Thumb instruction sets is accomplished
via the BX instruction which takes as an argument a register name.
Control is transfered to the address held in this register (with the
bottom bit masked out), and if the bottom bit is set, then Thumb
instruction processing is enabled, otherwise ARM instruction
processing is enabled.
When the -mthumb-interwork command line switch is specified, gcc
arranges for all functions to return to their caller by using the BX
instruction. Thus provided that the return address has the bottom bit
correctly initialized to indicate the instruction set of the caller,
correct operation will ensue.
When a function is called explicitly (rather than via a function
pointer), the compiler generates a BL instruction to do this. The
Thumb version of the BL instruction has the special property of
setting the bottom bit of the LR register after it has stored the
return address into it, so that a future BX instruction will correctly
return the instruction after the BL instruction, in Thumb mode.
The BL instruction does not change modes itself however, so if an ARM
function is calling a Thumb function, or vice versa, it is necessary
to generate some extra instructions to handle this. This is done in
the linker when it is storing the address of the referenced function
into the BL instruction. If the BL instruction is an ARM style BL
instruction, but the referenced function is a Thumb function, then the
linker automatically generates a calling stub that converts from ARM
mode to Thumb mode, puts the address of this stub into the BL
instruction, and puts the address of the referenced function into the
stub. Similarly if the BL instruction is a Thumb BL instruction, and
the referenced function is an ARM function, the linker generates a
stub which converts from Thumb to ARM mode, puts the address of this
stub into the BL instruction, and the address of the referenced
function into the stub.
This is why it is necessary to mark Thumb functions with the
.thumb_func pseudo op when creating assembler files. This pseudo op
allows the assembler to distinguish between ARM functions and Thumb
functions. (The Thumb version of GCC automatically generates these
pseudo ops for any Thumb functions that it generates).
Calls via function pointers work differently. Whenever the address of
a function is taken, the linker examines the type of the function
being referenced. If the function is a Thumb function, then it sets
the bottom bit of the address. Technically this makes the address
incorrect, since it is now one byte into the start of the function,
but this is never a problem because:
a. with interworking enabled all calls via function pointer
are done using the BX instruction and this ignores the
bottom bit when computing where to go to.
b. the linker will always set the bottom bit when the address
of the function is taken, so it is never possible to take
the address of the function in two different places and
then compare them and find that they are not equal.
As already mentioned any call via a function pointer will use the BX
instruction (provided that interworking is enabled). The only problem
with this is computing the return address for the return from the
called function. For ARM code this can easily be done by the code
sequence:
mov lr, pc
bx rX
(where rX is the name of the register containing the function
pointer). This code does not work for the Thumb instruction set,
since the MOV instruction will not set the bottom bit of the LR
register, so that when the called function returns, it will return in
ARM mode not Thumb mode. Instead the compiler generates this
sequence:
bl _call_via_rX
(again where rX is the name if the register containing the function
pointer). The special call_via_rX functions look like this:
.thumb_func
_call_via_r0:
bx r0
nop
The BL instruction ensures that the correct return address is stored
in the LR register and then the BX instruction jumps to the address
stored in the function pointer, switch modes if necessary.
6. How caller-super-interworking support works
==============================================
When the -mcaller-super-interworking command line switch is specified
it changes the code produced by the Thumb compiler so that all calls
via function pointers (including virtual function calls) now go via a
different stub function. The code to call via a function pointer now
looks like this:
bl _interwork_call_via_r0
Note: The compiler does not insist that r0 be used to hold the
function address. Any register will do, and there are a suite of stub
functions, one for each possible register. The stub functions look
like this:
.code 16
.thumb_func
_interwork_call_via_r0
bx pc
nop
.code 32
tst r0, #1
stmeqdb r13!, {lr}
adreq lr, _arm_return
bx r0
The stub first switches to ARM mode, since it is a lot easier to
perform the necessary operations using ARM instructions. It then
tests the bottom bit of the register containing the address of the
function to be called. If this bottom bit is set then the function
being called uses Thumb instructions and the BX instruction to come
will switch back into Thumb mode before calling this function. (Note
that it does not matter how this called function chooses to return to
its caller, since the both the caller and callee are Thumb functions,
and mode switching is necessary). If the function being called is an
ARM mode function however, the stub pushes the return address (with
its bottom bit set) onto the stack, replaces the return address with
the address of the a piece of code called '_arm_return' and then
performs a BX instruction to call the function.
The '_arm_return' code looks like this:
.code 32
_arm_return:
ldmia r13!, {r12}
bx r12
.code 16
It simply retrieves the return address from the stack, and then
performs a BX operation to return to the caller and switch back into
Thumb mode.
7. How callee-super-interworking support works
==============================================
When -mcallee-super-interworking is specified on the command line the
Thumb compiler behaves as if every externally visible function that it
compiles has had the (interfacearm) attribute specified for it. What
this attribute does is to put a special, ARM mode header onto the
function which forces a switch into Thumb mode:
without __attribute__((interfacearm)):
.code 16
.thumb_func
function:
... start of function ...
with __attribute__((interfacearm)):
.code 32
function:
orr r12, pc, #1
bx r12
.code 16
.thumb_func
.real_start_of_function:
... start of function ...
Note that since the function now expects to be entered in ARM mode, it
no longer has the .thumb_func pseudo op specified for its name.
Instead the pseudo op is attached to a new label .real_start_of_<name>
(where <name> is the name of the function) which indicates the start
of the Thumb code. This does have the interesting side effect in that
if this function is now called from a Thumb mode piece of code
outside of the current file, the linker will generate a calling stub
to switch from Thumb mode into ARM mode, and then this is immediately
overridden by the function's header which switches back into Thumb
mode.
In addition the (interfacearm) attribute also forces the function to
return by using the BX instruction, even if has not been compiled with
the -mthumb-interwork command line flag, so that the correct mode will
be restored upon exit from the function.
8. Some examples
================
Given these two test files:
int arm (void) { return 1 + thumb (); }
int thumb (void) { return 2 + arm (); }
The following pieces of assembler are produced by the ARM and Thumb
version of GCC depending upon the command line options used:
`-O2':
.code 32 .code 16
.global _arm .global _thumb
.thumb_func
_arm: _thumb:
mov ip, sp
stmfd sp!, {fp, ip, lr, pc} push {lr}
sub fp, ip, #4
bl _thumb bl _arm
add r0, r0, #1 add r0, r0, #2
ldmea fp, {fp, sp, pc} pop {pc}
Note how the functions return without using the BX instruction. If
these files were assembled and linked together they would fail to work
because they do not change mode when returning to their caller.
`-O2 -mthumb-interwork':
.code 32 .code 16
.global _arm .global _thumb
.thumb_func
_arm: _thumb:
mov ip, sp
stmfd sp!, {fp, ip, lr, pc} push {lr}
sub fp, ip, #4
bl _thumb bl _arm
add r0, r0, #1 add r0, r0, #2
ldmea fp, {fp, sp, lr} pop {r1}
bx lr bx r1
Now the functions use BX to return their caller. They have grown by
4 and 2 bytes respectively, but they can now successfully be linked
together and be expect to work. The linker will replace the
destinations of the two BL instructions with the addresses of calling
stubs which convert to the correct mode before jumping to the called
function.
`-O2 -mcallee-super-interworking':
.code 32 .code 32
.global _arm .global _thumb
_arm: _thumb:
orr r12, pc, #1
bx r12
mov ip, sp .code 16
stmfd sp!, {fp, ip, lr, pc} push {lr}
sub fp, ip, #4
bl _thumb bl _arm
add r0, r0, #1 add r0, r0, #2
ldmea fp, {fp, sp, lr} pop {r1}
bx lr bx r1
The thumb function now has an ARM encoded prologue, and it no longer
has the `.thumb-func' pseudo op attached to it. The linker will not
generate a calling stub for the call from arm() to thumb(), but it will
still have to generate a stub for the call from thumb() to arm(). Also
note how specifying `--mcallee-super-interworking' automatically
implies `-mthumb-interworking'.
9. Some Function Pointer Examples
=================================
Given this test file:
int func (void) { return 1; }
int call (int (* ptr)(void)) { return ptr (); }
The following varying pieces of assembler are produced by the Thumb
version of GCC depending upon the command line options used:
`-O2':
.code 16
.globl _func
.thumb_func
_func:
mov r0, #1
bx lr
.globl _call
.thumb_func
_call:
push {lr}
bl __call_via_r0
pop {pc}
Note how the two functions have different exit sequences. In
particular call() uses pop {pc} to return, which would not work if the
caller was in ARM mode. func() however, uses the BX instruction, even
though `-mthumb-interwork' has not been specified, as this is the most
efficient way to exit a function when the return address is held in the
link register.
`-O2 -mthumb-interwork':
.code 16
.globl _func
.thumb_func
_func:
mov r0, #1
bx lr
.globl _call
.thumb_func
_call:
push {lr}
bl __call_via_r0
pop {r1}
bx r1
This time both functions return by using the BX instruction. This
means that call() is now two bytes longer and several cycles slower
than the previous version.
`-O2 -mcaller-super-interworking':
.code 16
.globl _func
.thumb_func
_func:
mov r0, #1
bx lr
.globl _call
.thumb_func
_call:
push {lr}
bl __interwork_call_via_r0
pop {pc}
Very similar to the first (non-interworking) version, except that a
different stub is used to call via the function pointer. This new stub
will work even if the called function is not interworking aware, and
tries to return to call() in ARM mode. Note that the assembly code for
call() is still not interworking aware itself, and so should not be
called from ARM code.
`-O2 -mcallee-super-interworking':
.code 32
.globl _func
_func:
orr r12, pc, #1
bx r12
.code 16
.globl .real_start_of_func
.thumb_func
.real_start_of_func:
mov r0, #1
bx lr
.code 32
.globl _call
_call:
orr r12, pc, #1
bx r12
.code 16
.globl .real_start_of_call
.thumb_func
.real_start_of_call:
push {lr}
bl __call_via_r0
pop {r1}
bx r1
Now both functions have an ARM coded prologue, and both functions
return by using the BX instruction. These functions are interworking
aware therefore and can safely be called from ARM code. The code for
the call() function is now 10 bytes longer than the original, non
interworking aware version, an increase of over 200%.
If a prototype for call() is added to the source code, and this
prototype includes the `interfacearm' attribute:
int __attribute__((interfacearm)) call (int (* ptr)(void));
then this code is produced (with only -O2 specified on the command
line):
.code 16
.globl _func
.thumb_func
_func:
mov r0, #1
bx lr
.globl _call
.code 32
_call:
orr r12, pc, #1
bx r12
.code 16
.globl .real_start_of_call
.thumb_func
.real_start_of_call:
push {lr}
bl __call_via_r0
pop {r1}
bx r1
So now both call() and func() can be safely called via
non-interworking aware ARM code. If, when such a file is assembled,
the assembler detects the fact that call() is being called by another
function in the same file, it will automatically adjust the target of
the BL instruction to point to .real_start_of_call. In this way there
is no need for the linker to generate a Thumb-to-ARM calling stub so
that call can be entered in ARM mode.
10. How to use dlltool to build ARM/Thumb DLLs
==============================================
Given a program (`prog.c') like this:
extern int func_in_dll (void);
int main (void) { return func_in_dll(); }
And a DLL source file (`dll.c') like this:
int func_in_dll (void) { return 1; }
Here is how to build the DLL and the program for a purely ARM based
environment:
*Step One
Build a `.def' file describing the DLL:
; example.def
; This file describes the contents of the DLL
LIBRARY example
HEAPSIZE 0x40000, 0x2000
EXPORTS
func_in_dll 1
*Step Two
Compile the DLL source code:
arm-pe-gcc -O2 -c dll.c
*Step Three
Use `dlltool' to create an exports file and a library file:
dlltool --def example.def --output-exp example.o --output-lib example.a
*Step Four
Link together the complete DLL:
arm-pe-ld dll.o example.o -o example.dll
*Step Five
Compile the program's source code:
arm-pe-gcc -O2 -c prog.c
*Step Six
Link together the program and the DLL's library file:
arm-pe-gcc prog.o example.a -o prog
If instead this was a Thumb DLL being called from an ARM program, the
steps would look like this. (To save space only those steps that are
different from the previous version are shown):
*Step Two
Compile the DLL source code (using the Thumb compiler):
thumb-pe-gcc -O2 -c dll.c -mthumb-interwork
*Step Three
Build the exports and library files (and support interworking):
dlltool -d example.def -z example.o -l example.a --interwork -m thumb
*Step Five
Compile the program's source code (and support interworking):
arm-pe-gcc -O2 -c prog.c -mthumb-interwork
If instead, the DLL was an old, ARM DLL which does not support
interworking, and which cannot be rebuilt, then these steps would be
used.
*Step One
Skip. If you do not have access to the sources of a DLL, there is
no point in building a `.def' file for it.
*Step Two
Skip. With no DLL sources there is nothing to compile.
*Step Three
Skip. Without a `.def' file you cannot use dlltool to build an
exports file or a library file.
*Step Four
Skip. Without a set of DLL object files you cannot build the DLL.
Besides it has already been built for you by somebody else.
*Step Five
Compile the program's source code, this is the same as before:
arm-pe-gcc -O2 -c prog.c
*Step Six
Link together the program and the DLL's library file, passing the
`--support-old-code' option to the linker:
arm-pe-gcc prog.o example.a -Wl,--support-old-code -o prog
Ignore the warning message about the input file not supporting
interworking as the --support-old-code switch has taken care if this.