6 If you are using a released version of LLVM, see `the download page
7 <http://llvm.org/releases/>`_ to find your documentation.
9 The LLVM compiler infrastructure supports a wide range of projects, from
10 industrial strength compilers to specialized JIT applications to small
13 Similarly, documentation is broken down into several high-level groupings
14 targeted at different audiences:
16 LLVM Design & Overview
17 ======================
19 Several introductory papers and presentations.
27 Defines the LLVM intermediate representation.
29 `Introduction to the LLVM Compiler`__
30 Presentation providing a users introduction to LLVM.
32 .. __: http://llvm.org/pubs/2008-10-04-ACAT-LLVM-Intro.html
35 Book chapter providing a compiler hacker's introduction to LLVM.
37 .. __: http://www.aosabook.org/en/llvm.html
40 `LLVM: A Compilation Framework for Lifelong Program Analysis & Transformation`__
43 .. __: http://llvm.org/pubs/2004-01-30-CGO-LLVM.html
45 `LLVM: An Infrastructure for Multi-Stage Optimization`__
46 More details (quite old now).
48 .. __: http://llvm.org/pubs/2002-12-LattnerMSThesis.html
50 `Publications mentioning LLVM <http://llvm.org/pubs>`_
56 For those new to the LLVM system.
58 NOTE: If you are a user who is only interested in using LLVM-based
59 compilers, you should look into `Clang <http://clang.llvm.org>`_ or
60 `DragonEgg <http://dragonegg.llvm.org>`_ instead. The documentation here is
61 intended for users who have a need to work with the intermediate LLVM
78 SphinxQuickstartTemplate
88 Discusses how to get up and running quickly with the LLVM infrastructure.
89 Everything from unpacking and compilation of the distribution to execution
93 An addendum to the main Getting Started guide for those using the `CMake
94 build system <http://www.cmake.org>`_.
96 :doc:`HowToBuildOnARM`
97 Notes on building and testing LLVM/Clang on ARM.
99 :doc:`HowToCrossCompileLLVM`
100 Notes on cross-building and testing LLVM/Clang.
102 :doc:`GettingStartedVS`
103 An addendum to the main Getting Started guide for those using Visual Studio
106 :doc:`tutorial/index`
107 Tutorials about using LLVM. Includes a tutorial about making a custom
110 :doc:`LLVM Command Guide <CommandGuide/index>`
111 A reference manual for the LLVM command line utilities ("man" pages for LLVM
115 A list of optimizations and analyses implemented in LLVM.
118 A list of common questions and problems and their solutions.
120 :doc:`Release notes for the current release <ReleaseNotes>`
121 This describes new features, known bugs, and other limitations.
123 :doc:`HowToSubmitABug`
124 Instructions for properly submitting information about any bugs you run into
127 :doc:`SphinxQuickstartTemplate`
128 A template + tutorial for writing new Sphinx documentation. It is meant
129 to be read in source form.
131 :doc:`LLVM Testing Infrastructure Guide <TestingGuide>`
132 A reference manual for using the LLVM testing infrastructure.
134 `How to build the C, C++, ObjC, and ObjC++ front end`__
135 Instructions for building the clang front-end from source.
137 .. __: http://clang.llvm.org/get_started.html
140 Definition of acronyms, terms and concepts used in LLVM.
142 :doc:`HowToAddABuilder`
143 Instructions for adding new builder to LLVM buildbot master.
146 A reference guide for using LLVM's YAML I/O library.
149 Answers to some very frequent questions about LLVM's most frequently
150 misunderstood instruction.
152 Programming Documentation
153 =========================
155 For developers of applications which use LLVM as a library.
165 HowToSetUpLLVMStyleRTTI
169 :doc:`LLVM Language Reference Manual <LangRef>`
170 Defines the LLVM intermediate representation and the assembly form of the
174 Information about LLVM's concurrency model.
176 :doc:`ProgrammersManual`
177 Introduction to the general layout of the LLVM sourcebase, important classes
178 and APIs, and some tips & tricks.
181 LLVM-specific extensions to tools and formats LLVM seeks compatibility with.
184 Provides information on using the command line parsing library.
186 :doc:`CodingStandards`
187 Details the LLVM coding standards and provides useful information on writing
190 :doc:`HowToSetUpLLVMStyleRTTI`
191 How to make ``isa<>``, ``dyn_cast<>``, etc. available for clients of your
195 Look here to see how to add instructions and intrinsics to LLVM.
197 `Doxygen generated documentation <http://llvm.org/doxygen/>`_
198 (`classes <http://llvm.org/doxygen/inherits.html>`_)
199 (`tarball <http://llvm.org/doxygen/doxygen.tar.gz>`_)
201 `ViewVC Repository Browser <http://llvm.org/viewvc/>`_
204 :doc:`CompilerWriterInfo`
205 A list of helpful links for compiler writers.
207 Subsystem Documentation
208 =======================
210 For API clients and LLVM developers.
237 :doc:`WritingAnLLVMPass`
238 Information on how to write LLVM transformations and analyses.
240 :doc:`WritingAnLLVMBackend`
241 Information on how to write LLVM backends for machine targets.
244 The design and implementation of the LLVM code generator. Useful if you are
245 working on retargetting LLVM to a new architecture, designing a new codegen
246 pass, or enhancing existing components.
248 :doc:`TableGenFundamentals`
249 Describes the TableGen tool, which is used heavily by the LLVM code
253 Information on how to write a new alias analysis implementation or how to
254 use existing analyses.
256 :doc:`GarbageCollection`
257 The interfaces source-language compilers should use for compiling GC'd
260 :doc:`Source Level Debugging with LLVM <SourceLevelDebugging>`
261 This document describes the design and philosophy behind the LLVM
262 source-level debugger.
265 This document describes the current status of vectorization in LLVM.
267 :doc:`ExceptionHandling`
268 This document describes the design and implementation of exception handling
272 Automatic bug finder and test-case reducer description and usage
276 This describes the file format and encoding used for LLVM "bc" files.
278 :doc:`System Library <SystemLibrary>`
279 This document describes the LLVM System Library (``lib/System``) and
280 how to keep LLVM source code portable
282 :doc:`LinkTimeOptimization`
283 This document describes the interface between LLVM intermodular optimizer
284 and the linker and its design
287 How to build your programs with link-time optimization on Linux.
289 :doc:`DebuggingJITedCode`
290 How to debug JITed code with GDB.
292 :doc:`MCJITDesignAndImplementation`
293 Describes the inner workings of MCJIT execution engine.
295 :doc:`BranchWeightMetadata`
296 Provides information about Branch Prediction Information.
298 :doc:`SegmentedStacks`
299 This document describes segmented stacks and how they are used in LLVM.
301 :doc:`MarkedUpDisassembly`
302 This document describes the optional rich disassembly output syntax.
304 :doc:`HowToUseAttributes`
305 Answers some questions about the new Attributes infrastructure.
308 This document describes using the NVPTX back-end to compile GPU kernels.
311 Development Process Documentation
312 =================================
314 Information about LLVM's development process.
326 :doc:`DeveloperPolicy`
327 The LLVM project's policy towards developers and their contributions.
330 How-to guide and templates for new projects that *use* the LLVM
331 infrastructure. The templates (directory organization, Makefiles, and test
332 tree) allow the project code to be located outside (or inside) the ``llvm/``
333 tree, while using LLVM header files and libraries.
336 Describes the LLVMBuild organization and files used by LLVM to specify
337 component descriptions.
340 Describes how the LLVM makefiles work and how to use them.
342 :doc:`HowToReleaseLLVM`
343 This is a guide to preparing LLVM releases. Most developers can ignore it.
345 :doc:`ReleaseProcess`
346 This is a validate a new release, during the release process. Most developers can ignore it.
349 Advice on packaging LLVM into a distribution.
354 LLVM has a thriving community of friendly and helpful developers.
355 The two primary communication mechanisms in the LLVM community are mailing
361 If you can't find what you need in these docs, try consulting the mailing
364 `Developer's List (llvmdev)`__
365 This list is for people who want to be included in technical discussions of
366 LLVM. People post to this list when they have questions about writing code
367 for or using the LLVM tools. It is relatively low volume.
369 .. __: http://lists.cs.uiuc.edu/mailman/listinfo/llvmdev
371 `Commits Archive (llvm-commits)`__
372 This list contains all commit messages that are made when LLVM developers
373 commit code changes to the repository. It also serves as a forum for
374 patch review (i.e. send patches here). It is useful for those who want to
375 stay on the bleeding edge of LLVM development. This list is very high
378 .. __: http://lists.cs.uiuc.edu/pipermail/llvm-commits/
380 `Bugs & Patches Archive (llvmbugs)`__
381 This list gets emailed every time a bug is opened and closed. It is
382 higher volume than the LLVMdev list.
384 .. __: http://lists.cs.uiuc.edu/pipermail/llvmbugs/
386 `Test Results Archive (llvm-testresults)`__
387 A message is automatically sent to this list by every active nightly tester
388 when it completes. As such, this list gets email several times each day,
389 making it a high volume list.
391 .. __: http://lists.cs.uiuc.edu/pipermail/llvm-testresults/
393 `LLVM Announcements List (llvm-announce)`__
394 This is a low volume list that provides important announcements regarding
395 LLVM. It gets email about once a month.
397 .. __: http://lists.cs.uiuc.edu/mailman/listinfo/llvm-announce
402 Users and developers of the LLVM project (including subprojects such as Clang)
403 can be found in #llvm on `irc.oftc.net <irc://irc.oftc.net/llvm>`_.
405 This channel has several bots.
409 * llvmbb - Bot for the main LLVM buildbot master.
410 http://lab.llvm.org:8011/console
411 * bb-chapuni - An individually run buildbot master. http://bb.pgr.jp/console
412 * smooshlab - Apple's internal buildbot master.
414 * robot - Bugzilla linker. %bug <number>
416 * clang-bot - A `geordi <http://www.eelis.net/geordi/>`_ instance running
417 near-trunk clang instead of gcc.