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  3. I thought I knew C++ *sob* It has been inserting extra code on me this whole time.

I thought I knew C++ *sob* It has been inserting extra code on me this whole time.

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  • honey the codewitchH honey the codewitch

    But why is it only promoting it in one case? Sorry, you don't have to answer. I know you said you have nothing left to add. It's just I'm still confused. :confused:

    To err is human. Fortune favors the monsters.

    D Offline
    D Offline
    Daniel Pfeffer
    wrote on last edited by
    #9

    honey the codewitch wrote:

    But why is it only promoting it in one case?

    Perhaps because 65 is already an int? Try this with printf("%c\n", 'A') and see what happens. (Yes, a clever enough compiler could optimize the first assembly-language sequence to mov esi,65. Obviously, optimizers still have a way to go...)

    Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows. -- 6079 Smith W.

    honey the codewitchH 1 Reply Last reply
    0
    • D Daniel Pfeffer

      honey the codewitch wrote:

      But why is it only promoting it in one case?

      Perhaps because 65 is already an int? Try this with printf("%c\n", 'A') and see what happens. (Yes, a clever enough compiler could optimize the first assembly-language sequence to mov esi,65. Obviously, optimizers still have a way to go...)

      Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows. -- 6079 Smith W.

      honey the codewitchH Offline
      honey the codewitchH Offline
      honey the codewitch
      wrote on last edited by
      #10

      Same result. *scratches head*

      To err is human. Fortune favors the monsters.

      1 Reply Last reply
      0
      • L Lost User

        No clue, you haven't even mentioned what compiler you are using. I can only point to the language standard documents. All I can say is that it's [well documented](https://www.google.com/search?q="default+argument+promotion"). Read through the language spec, this was changed in C++11 and maybe the later specs, I don't feel like looking for you right now.

        honey the codewitchH Offline
        honey the codewitchH Offline
        honey the codewitch
        wrote on last edited by
        #11

        Tried on clang x86, gcc x86, gcc xtensa, gcc AVR.

        To err is human. Fortune favors the monsters.

        K CPalliniC 2 Replies Last reply
        0
        • L Lost User

          No clue, you haven't even mentioned what compiler you are using. I can only point to the language standard documents. All I can say is that it's [well documented](https://www.google.com/search?q="default+argument+promotion"). Read through the language spec, this was changed in C++11 and maybe the later specs, I don't feel like looking for you right now.

          honey the codewitchH Offline
          honey the codewitchH Offline
          honey the codewitch
          wrote on last edited by
          #12

          I get that promotion is a thing. Again what I don't get is why it's only doing it in one case. The thing is, all the documentation you've pointed me to suggests it should be doing the same thing in both cases. But whatever, it doesn't matter because you're obviously tired of this.

          To err is human. Fortune favors the monsters.

          L 1 Reply Last reply
          0
          • honey the codewitchH honey the codewitch

            I get that promotion is a thing. Again what I don't get is why it's only doing it in one case. The thing is, all the documentation you've pointed me to suggests it should be doing the same thing in both cases. But whatever, it doesn't matter because you're obviously tired of this.

            To err is human. Fortune favors the monsters.

            L Offline
            L Offline
            Lost User
            wrote on last edited by
            #13

            i think you should see the rule at [C++11 7.16.1.4 paragraph 4](https://www.google.com/search?q="7.16.1.4"+c%2B%2B11) You are passing a function as an argument to a variadic function. That falls under the 'undefined behavior' description. This is why you get the default argument promotion. As I said, just look it up and read the language spec.

            honey the codewitch wrote:

            The thing is, all the documentation you've pointed me to suggests it should be doing the same thing in both cases.

            Well, there are two things you need to look at - The rules of default argument promotion. - The rules of passing arguments to variadic functions. The spec clearly says that passing a function as an argument to a variadic function is undefined behavior. This is likely why you see the 'default argument promotion'. It also mentions addressable object types and register storage.

            printf("%c\n",65);

            This is passed in a register, this is defined behavior. ...

            printf("%c\n",foo<-1>::test());

            This is passed as a function. C11 7.16.1.4 paragraph 4 says this is undefined behavior. I do see a [proposal for C23 in the pipeline](https://www.open-std.org/jtc1/sc22/wg14/www/docs/n2975.pdf) but it hasn't been voted on yet as far as I can tell. I was wrong, looks like N2975 passed with 17 Yes, 0 No and two abstains. You still haven't said what language version you are using or compiler.

            honey the codewitchH 1 Reply Last reply
            0
            • L Lost User

              i think you should see the rule at [C++11 7.16.1.4 paragraph 4](https://www.google.com/search?q="7.16.1.4"+c%2B%2B11) You are passing a function as an argument to a variadic function. That falls under the 'undefined behavior' description. This is why you get the default argument promotion. As I said, just look it up and read the language spec.

              honey the codewitch wrote:

              The thing is, all the documentation you've pointed me to suggests it should be doing the same thing in both cases.

              Well, there are two things you need to look at - The rules of default argument promotion. - The rules of passing arguments to variadic functions. The spec clearly says that passing a function as an argument to a variadic function is undefined behavior. This is likely why you see the 'default argument promotion'. It also mentions addressable object types and register storage.

              printf("%c\n",65);

              This is passed in a register, this is defined behavior. ...

              printf("%c\n",foo<-1>::test());

              This is passed as a function. C11 7.16.1.4 paragraph 4 says this is undefined behavior. I do see a [proposal for C23 in the pipeline](https://www.open-std.org/jtc1/sc22/wg14/www/docs/n2975.pdf) but it hasn't been voted on yet as far as I can tell. I was wrong, looks like N2975 passed with 17 Yes, 0 No and two abstains. You still haven't said what language version you are using or compiler.

              honey the codewitchH Offline
              honey the codewitchH Offline
              honey the codewitch
              wrote on last edited by
              #14

              I'm using C++17 gcc 12.2 or whatever. relatively recent i think. i've tried it on several platforms. clearly you're better at poring over that stuff than I am. It reads like japanese stereo instructions to me, and I get lost pretty easily. I didn't realize taking the return value of a function to a function that takes variadic arguments is undefined behavior. That's very weird to me, as I would have thought it would simply evaluate the function and then stick the return value in the register. Particularly since this is a constexpr function that's const all the way through I figured it would be optimized out. And it is kind of, in that it never calls anything. Anyway, thanks. I'll leave it there, as you seem impatient. Sorry to bother you.

              To err is human. Fortune favors the monsters.

              L 2 Replies Last reply
              0
              • honey the codewitchH honey the codewitch

                I'm using C++17 gcc 12.2 or whatever. relatively recent i think. i've tried it on several platforms. clearly you're better at poring over that stuff than I am. It reads like japanese stereo instructions to me, and I get lost pretty easily. I didn't realize taking the return value of a function to a function that takes variadic arguments is undefined behavior. That's very weird to me, as I would have thought it would simply evaluate the function and then stick the return value in the register. Particularly since this is a constexpr function that's const all the way through I figured it would be optimized out. And it is kind of, in that it never calls anything. Anyway, thanks. I'll leave it there, as you seem impatient. Sorry to bother you.

                To err is human. Fortune favors the monsters.

                L Offline
                L Offline
                Lost User
                wrote on last edited by
                #15

                I'm not on a PC tonight, it takes longer to type on my TV onscreen keyboard. It's not easy! :sigh: Anyways, I found some better material for you to read. [Variadic arguments - cppreference.com](https://en.cppreference.com/w/cpp/language/variadic\_arguments#Default\_conversions)

                honey the codewitchH 1 Reply Last reply
                0
                • honey the codewitchH honey the codewitch

                  I'm using C++17 gcc 12.2 or whatever. relatively recent i think. i've tried it on several platforms. clearly you're better at poring over that stuff than I am. It reads like japanese stereo instructions to me, and I get lost pretty easily. I didn't realize taking the return value of a function to a function that takes variadic arguments is undefined behavior. That's very weird to me, as I would have thought it would simply evaluate the function and then stick the return value in the register. Particularly since this is a constexpr function that's const all the way through I figured it would be optimized out. And it is kind of, in that it never calls anything. Anyway, thanks. I'll leave it there, as you seem impatient. Sorry to bother you.

                  To err is human. Fortune favors the monsters.

                  L Offline
                  L Offline
                  Lost User
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #16

                  Sorry, I was [wrong, about N2975](https://www.open-std.org/jtc1/sc22/WG14/www/docs/n3044.txt). It passed back in July with 17 Yes, 0 No and two abstains. I updated my post.

                  1 Reply Last reply
                  0
                  • honey the codewitchH honey the codewitch

                    Tried on clang x86, gcc x86, gcc xtensa, gcc AVR.

                    To err is human. Fortune favors the monsters.

                    K Offline
                    K Offline
                    k5054
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #17

                    What release of gcc/clang are you using? According to [Compiler Explorer](https://godbolt.org/) I get the following with clang 5.0 with -O1 -std=C++17:

                    main: # @main
                    push rax
                    mov edi, .L.str
                    mov esi, 65
                    xor eax, eax
                    call printf
                    mov edi, .L.str
                    mov esi, 65
                    xor eax, eax
                    call printf
                    xor eax, eax
                    pop rcx
                    ret
                    .L.str:
                    .asciz "%c\n"

                    And x86-64 gcc 5.1 with the same flags gives:

                    .LC0:
                    .string "%c\n"
                    main:
                    sub rsp, 8
                    mov esi, 65
                    mov edi, OFFSET FLAT:.LC0
                    mov eax, 0
                    call printf
                    mov esi, 65
                    mov edi, OFFSET FLAT:.LC0
                    mov eax, 0
                    call printf
                    mov eax, 0
                    add rsp, 8
                    ret

                    Those are both pretty old compilers - the first of their lines to support C++17 AFAICT. Both produce the same code for each call. So maybe something in the compiler flags you're passing?

                    Keep Calm and Carry On

                    honey the codewitchH 1 Reply Last reply
                    0
                    • K k5054

                      What release of gcc/clang are you using? According to [Compiler Explorer](https://godbolt.org/) I get the following with clang 5.0 with -O1 -std=C++17:

                      main: # @main
                      push rax
                      mov edi, .L.str
                      mov esi, 65
                      xor eax, eax
                      call printf
                      mov edi, .L.str
                      mov esi, 65
                      xor eax, eax
                      call printf
                      xor eax, eax
                      pop rcx
                      ret
                      .L.str:
                      .asciz "%c\n"

                      And x86-64 gcc 5.1 with the same flags gives:

                      .LC0:
                      .string "%c\n"
                      main:
                      sub rsp, 8
                      mov esi, 65
                      mov edi, OFFSET FLAT:.LC0
                      mov eax, 0
                      call printf
                      mov esi, 65
                      mov edi, OFFSET FLAT:.LC0
                      mov eax, 0
                      call printf
                      mov eax, 0
                      add rsp, 8
                      ret

                      Those are both pretty old compilers - the first of their lines to support C++17 AFAICT. Both produce the same code for each call. So maybe something in the compiler flags you're passing?

                      Keep Calm and Carry On

                      honey the codewitchH Offline
                      honey the codewitchH Offline
                      honey the codewitch
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #18

                      It probably has to do with the fact that I can't convince godbolt.org to allow me to remove their default compiler options and replace them with my own. I'm stuck with -o -whole-program or whatever. I used to be able to change it there somehow. Maybe someone exploited it and they turned off the feature.

                      To err is human. Fortune favors the monsters.

                      K 1 Reply Last reply
                      0
                      • L Lost User

                        I'm not on a PC tonight, it takes longer to type on my TV onscreen keyboard. It's not easy! :sigh: Anyways, I found some better material for you to read. [Variadic arguments - cppreference.com](https://en.cppreference.com/w/cpp/language/variadic\_arguments#Default\_conversions)

                        honey the codewitchH Offline
                        honey the codewitchH Offline
                        honey the codewitch
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #19

                        Well it's tomorrow. In case you're curious, I took the variadic arguments out of the code. I replaced printf with putchar. Same result.

                            push    rbp
                            mov     rbp, rsp
                            sub     rsp, 16
                            mov     DWORD PTR \[rbp-4\], edi
                            mov     QWORD PTR \[rbp-16\], rsi
                            mov     eax, 65 ; \*\*\*
                            movsx   eax, al ; \*\*\*
                            mov     edi, eax ;\*\*\*
                            call    putchar
                            mov     edi, 65  ;\*\*\*
                            call    putchar
                            mov     eax, 0
                            leave
                            ret
                        

                        To err is human. Fortune favors the monsters.

                        L 1 Reply Last reply
                        0
                        • honey the codewitchH honey the codewitch

                          It probably has to do with the fact that I can't convince godbolt.org to allow me to remove their default compiler options and replace them with my own. I'm stuck with -o -whole-program or whatever. I used to be able to change it there somehow. Maybe someone exploited it and they turned off the feature.

                          To err is human. Fortune favors the monsters.

                          K Offline
                          K Offline
                          k5054
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #20

                          I get the same results using g++ 5.5.0 on my local linux box. That would be a CentOS 7 system on which I compiled g++-5.5.0 from source. So, still wondering if its maybe the flags you're using.

                          Keep Calm and Carry On

                          honey the codewitchH 1 Reply Last reply
                          0
                          • K k5054

                            I get the same results using g++ 5.5.0 on my local linux box. That would be a CentOS 7 system on which I compiled g++-5.5.0 from source. So, still wondering if its maybe the flags you're using.

                            Keep Calm and Carry On

                            honey the codewitchH Offline
                            honey the codewitchH Offline
                            honey the codewitch
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #21

                            Looking at your output more carefully, your initial output is similar to mine. Your final output is less optimized, probably having to do with your compiler flags.

                            To err is human. Fortune favors the monsters.

                            1 Reply Last reply
                            0
                            • honey the codewitchH honey the codewitch

                              Well it's tomorrow. In case you're curious, I took the variadic arguments out of the code. I replaced printf with putchar. Same result.

                                  push    rbp
                                  mov     rbp, rsp
                                  sub     rsp, 16
                                  mov     DWORD PTR \[rbp-4\], edi
                                  mov     QWORD PTR \[rbp-16\], rsi
                                  mov     eax, 65 ; \*\*\*
                                  movsx   eax, al ; \*\*\*
                                  mov     edi, eax ;\*\*\*
                                  call    putchar
                                  mov     edi, 65  ;\*\*\*
                                  call    putchar
                                  mov     eax, 0
                                  leave
                                  ret
                              

                              To err is human. Fortune favors the monsters.

                              L Offline
                              L Offline
                              Lost User
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #22

                              Ok, I tested this on my dev box, everything we talked about above in the C standard applies. And I get the same exact assembler output you get. Only with optimizations disabled. So I guess you have optimization disabled?

                              honey the codewitchH 2 Replies Last reply
                              0
                              • L Lost User

                                Ok, I tested this on my dev box, everything we talked about above in the C standard applies. And I get the same exact assembler output you get. Only with optimizations disabled. So I guess you have optimization disabled?

                                honey the codewitchH Offline
                                honey the codewitchH Offline
                                honey the codewitch
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #23

                                I have -o on godbolt.org and as I said somewhere else on this thread (I don't remember where or to whom) it seems to not be letting me change that. It used to, so I either can't find it again, or they've removed the feature.

                                To err is human. Fortune favors the monsters.

                                1 Reply Last reply
                                0
                                • L Lost User

                                  Ok, I tested this on my dev box, everything we talked about above in the C standard applies. And I get the same exact assembler output you get. Only with optimizations disabled. So I guess you have optimization disabled?

                                  honey the codewitchH Offline
                                  honey the codewitchH Offline
                                  honey the codewitch
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #24

                                  I have -o on. I can't seem to find how to change that at godbolt.org. I just remembered there's a GCC pragma where I can change it but I can't remember what it is, and so I'm googling now to figure out what it is. Edit: Now I feel like an idiot. I thought -o did at least minimal optimizations but maybe the switch means something different unsuffixed. #pragma GCC optimize("Os") That reflects the default of my IoT build environment It fixes it, so maybe I'm worrying over nothing. I wish I could actually check my production code, but it relies on the Arduino framework, and I can't run that at godbolt. I've tried disassembler extensions in VSCode but none work with platformIO because it makes its own CMake/ninja scripts for everything on the fly.

                                  To err is human. Fortune favors the monsters.

                                  L 2 Replies Last reply
                                  0
                                  • honey the codewitchH honey the codewitch

                                    I have -o on. I can't seem to find how to change that at godbolt.org. I just remembered there's a GCC pragma where I can change it but I can't remember what it is, and so I'm googling now to figure out what it is. Edit: Now I feel like an idiot. I thought -o did at least minimal optimizations but maybe the switch means something different unsuffixed. #pragma GCC optimize("Os") That reflects the default of my IoT build environment It fixes it, so maybe I'm worrying over nothing. I wish I could actually check my production code, but it relies on the Arduino framework, and I can't run that at godbolt. I've tried disassembler extensions in VSCode but none work with platformIO because it makes its own CMake/ninja scripts for everything on the fly.

                                    To err is human. Fortune favors the monsters.

                                    L Offline
                                    L Offline
                                    Lost User
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #25

                                    honey the codewitch wrote:

                                    #pragma GCC optimize("Os") It fixes it

                                    Awesome, I'm glad it's sorted out! Congratulations. Don't rely on the optimization pass. The C++ standards are correct. It's just that the optimization pass can rearrange code, remove functions and/or use intrinsics instead. The unoptimized code would be more standards compliant. :-D

                                    honey the codewitchH 1 Reply Last reply
                                    0
                                    • L Lost User

                                      honey the codewitch wrote:

                                      #pragma GCC optimize("Os") It fixes it

                                      Awesome, I'm glad it's sorted out! Congratulations. Don't rely on the optimization pass. The C++ standards are correct. It's just that the optimization pass can rearrange code, remove functions and/or use intrinsics instead. The unoptimized code would be more standards compliant. :-D

                                      honey the codewitchH Offline
                                      honey the codewitchH Offline
                                      honey the codewitch
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #26

                                      In general you're right, but in this case, there are special considerations. For starters, the toolchain is fixed to GCC, and other compilers simply don't have the backends to target what I target. So I have the luxury of using GCC specific things, and expecting GCC specific behavior, but I'm also saddled with GNU C++ vs STD C++ because the frameworks my code runs under require it, despite my code being (more) standard than GNU. That being said, I am counting on those optimizations because this is IoT, and this is critical code paths. That's why I'm looking at the asm output in the first place. :)

                                      To err is human. Fortune favors the monsters.

                                      1 Reply Last reply
                                      0
                                      • honey the codewitchH honey the codewitch

                                        I have -o on. I can't seem to find how to change that at godbolt.org. I just remembered there's a GCC pragma where I can change it but I can't remember what it is, and so I'm googling now to figure out what it is. Edit: Now I feel like an idiot. I thought -o did at least minimal optimizations but maybe the switch means something different unsuffixed. #pragma GCC optimize("Os") That reflects the default of my IoT build environment It fixes it, so maybe I'm worrying over nothing. I wish I could actually check my production code, but it relies on the Arduino framework, and I can't run that at godbolt. I've tried disassembler extensions in VSCode but none work with platformIO because it makes its own CMake/ninja scripts for everything on the fly.

                                        To err is human. Fortune favors the monsters.

                                        L Offline
                                        L Offline
                                        Lost User
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #27

                                        honey the codewitch wrote:

                                        I wish I could actually check my production code, but it relies on the Arduino framework, and I can't run that at godbolt. I've tried disassembler extensions in VSCode but none work with platformIO because it makes its own CMake/ninja scripts for everything on the fly.

                                        If you are comfortable looking at assembler then you could analyze your Arduino code with [Ghidra](https://github.com/NationalSecurityAgency/ghidra).

                                        honey the codewitchH 1 Reply Last reply
                                        0
                                        • L Lost User

                                          honey the codewitch wrote:

                                          I wish I could actually check my production code, but it relies on the Arduino framework, and I can't run that at godbolt. I've tried disassembler extensions in VSCode but none work with platformIO because it makes its own CMake/ninja scripts for everything on the fly.

                                          If you are comfortable looking at assembler then you could analyze your Arduino code with [Ghidra](https://github.com/NationalSecurityAgency/ghidra).

                                          honey the codewitchH Offline
                                          honey the codewitchH Offline
                                          honey the codewitch
                                          wrote on last edited by
                                          #28

                                          Ooooh, you just made my morning. I was just looking for something like that and gave up at the time. Thanks. Edit: NVM it wasn't what I was thinking. I might be able to use it on my firmware.bin but I'm not sure how I would match the symbols back up to the source without it being aware of my build environment so it could load the symbols for each library's C or C++ source translation unit.

                                          To err is human. Fortune favors the monsters.

                                          1 Reply Last reply
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