Re: [PATCH -v4 9/9] tracing: add function graph tracer support for MIPS

[Wu Zhangjin <wuzhangjin@gmail.com>]

(Added linux-mips mailing list and the other people to the CC list.)

On Thu, 2009-10-22 at 04:37 -0700, pajko wrote:
[...]
> > 
> 
> All this stuff can be avoided having PROFILE_BEFORE_PROLOGUE enabled in GCC
> (gcc/config/mips/mips.h), like it is done one several other architectures.
> Some of them even require it to be set for a working _mcount. 
> Putting the call of _mcount before the function prologue should make no harm
> (it's working for me), and this way RA can be hooked for function graph
> tracing
> before it is saved to stack in the function prologue. Thus there will be no
> difference between leaf and non-leaf functions.

Good idea! Seems PROFILE_BEFORE_PROLOGUE is commented by default in
gcc/config/mips/mips.h of gcc 4.4:

/* #define PROFILE_BEFORE_PROLOGUE */

if we enable this macro, the handling will be the same to non-leaf and
leaf function, so, David's patch to gcc is not need again.

> This change is no big deal as GCC has to be patched anyway to get dynamic
> ftracing (and with 4.2.1 I had to patch it to get ftracing in modules
> working
> - using -mlong-calls -, but it's possible that this is fixed in the newer
> releases).
> 

do you mean if enabling PROFILE_BEFORE_PROLOGUE, there will be some
problems with module support using -mlong-calls?

I have made dynamic ftrace support module with -mlong-calls, I think, if
we move the codes before prologue, it should have no side effect.

        lui     v1,HI16bit     (&_mcount -> v1)
        daddiu  v1,v1,LOW16bit
        move    at,ra
        jalr    v1

Regards,
        Wu Zhangjin