[docs] Add ReST version of all the man pages.

[oota-llvm.git] / docs / CommandGuide / llvm-diff.rst

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+llvm-diff - LLVM structural 'diff'
+==================================
+
+
+SYNOPSIS
+--------
+
+
+**llvm-diff** [*options*] *module 1* *module 2* [*global name ...*]
+
+
+DESCRIPTION
+-----------
+
+
+**llvm-diff** compares the structure of two LLVM modules, primarily
+focusing on differences in function definitions.  Insignificant
+differences, such as changes in the ordering of globals or in the
+names of local values, are ignored.
+
+An input module will be interpreted as an assembly file if its name
+ends in '.ll';  otherwise it will be read in as a bitcode file.
+
+If a list of global names is given, just the values with those names
+are compared; otherwise, all global values are compared, and
+diagnostics are produced for globals which only appear in one module
+or the other.
+
+**llvm-diff** compares two functions by comparing their basic blocks,
+beginning with the entry blocks.  If the terminators seem to match,
+then the corresponding successors are compared; otherwise they are
+ignored.  This algorithm is very sensitive to changes in control flow,
+which tend to stop any downstream changes from being detected.
+
+**llvm-diff** is intended as a debugging tool for writers of LLVM
+passes and frontends.  It does not have a stable output format.
+
+
+EXIT STATUS
+-----------
+
+
+If **llvm-diff** finds no differences between the modules, it will exit
+with 0 and produce no output.  Otherwise it will exit with a non-zero
+value.
+
+
+BUGS
+----
+
+
+Many important differences, like changes in linkage or function
+attributes, are not diagnosed.
+
+Changes in memory behavior (for example, coalescing loads) can cause
+massive detected differences in blocks.