1@c Copyright (C) 2002-2016 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
2@c This is part of the GAS manual.
3@c For copying conditions, see the file as.texinfo.
4@c
5@c man end
6@ifset GENERIC
7@page
8@node Xtensa-Dependent
9@chapter Xtensa Dependent Features
10@end ifset
11@ifclear GENERIC
12@node Machine Dependencies
13@chapter Xtensa Dependent Features
14@end ifclear
15
16@cindex Xtensa architecture
17This chapter covers features of the @sc{gnu} assembler that are specific
18to the Xtensa architecture.  For details about the Xtensa instruction
19set, please consult the @cite{Xtensa Instruction Set Architecture (ISA)
20Reference Manual}.
21
22@menu
23* Xtensa Options::              Command-line Options.
24* Xtensa Syntax::               Assembler Syntax for Xtensa Processors.
25* Xtensa Optimizations::        Assembler Optimizations.
26* Xtensa Relaxation::           Other Automatic Transformations.
27* Xtensa Directives::           Directives for Xtensa Processors.
28@end menu
29
30@node Xtensa Options
31@section Command Line Options
32
33@c man begin OPTIONS
34@table @gcctabopt
35
36@item --text-section-literals | --no-text-section-literals
37@kindex --text-section-literals
38@kindex --no-text-section-literals
39Control the treatment of literal pools.  The default is
40@samp{--no-@-text-@-section-@-literals}, which places literals in
41separate sections in the output file.  This allows the literal pool to be
42placed in a data RAM/ROM.  With @samp{--text-@-section-@-literals}, the
43literals are interspersed in the text section in order to keep them as
44close as possible to their references.  This may be necessary for large
45assembly files, where the literals would otherwise be out of range of the
46@code{L32R} instructions in the text section.  Literals are grouped into
47pools following @code{.literal_position} directives or preceding
48@code{ENTRY} instructions.  These options only affect literals referenced
49via PC-relative @code{L32R} instructions; literals for absolute mode
50@code{L32R} instructions are handled separately.
51@xref{Literal Directive, ,literal}.
52
53@item --auto-litpools | --no-auto-litpools
54@kindex --auto-litpools
55@kindex --no-auto-litpools
56Control the treatment of literal pools.  The default is
57@samp{--no-@-auto-@-litpools}, which in the absence of
58@samp{--text-@-section-@-literals} places literals in separate sections
59in the output file.  This allows the literal pool to be placed in a data
60RAM/ROM.  With @samp{--auto-@-litpools}, the literals are interspersed
61in the text section in order to keep them as close as possible to their
62references, explicit @code{.literal_position} directives are not
63required.  This may be necessary for very large functions, where single
64literal pool at the beginning of the function may not be reachable by
65@code{L32R} instructions at the end.  These options only affect
66literals referenced via PC-relative @code{L32R} instructions; literals
67for absolute mode @code{L32R} instructions are handled separately.
68When used together with @samp{--text-@-section-@-literals},
69@samp{--auto-@-litpools} takes precedence.
70@xref{Literal Directive, ,literal}.
71
72@item --absolute-literals | --no-absolute-literals
73@kindex --absolute-literals
74@kindex --no-absolute-literals
75Indicate to the assembler whether @code{L32R} instructions use absolute
76or PC-relative addressing.  If the processor includes the absolute
77addressing option, the default is to use absolute @code{L32R}
78relocations.  Otherwise, only the PC-relative @code{L32R} relocations
79can be used.
80
81@item --target-align | --no-target-align
82@kindex --target-align
83@kindex --no-target-align
84Enable or disable automatic alignment to reduce branch penalties at some
85expense in code size.  @xref{Xtensa Automatic Alignment, ,Automatic
86Instruction Alignment}.  This optimization is enabled by default.  Note
87that the assembler will always align instructions like @code{LOOP} that
88have fixed alignment requirements.
89
90@item --longcalls | --no-longcalls
91@kindex --longcalls
92@kindex --no-longcalls
93Enable or disable transformation of call instructions to allow calls
94across a greater range of addresses.  @xref{Xtensa Call Relaxation,
95,Function Call Relaxation}.  This option should be used when call
96targets can potentially be out of range.  It may degrade both code size
97and performance, but the linker can generally optimize away the
98unnecessary overhead when a call ends up within range.  The default is
99@samp{--no-@-longcalls}.
100
101@item --transform | --no-transform
102@kindex --transform
103@kindex --no-transform
104Enable or disable all assembler transformations of Xtensa instructions,
105including both relaxation and optimization.  The default is
106@samp{--transform}; @samp{--no-transform} should only be used in the
107rare cases when the instructions must be exactly as specified in the
108assembly source.  Using @samp{--no-transform} causes out of range
109instruction operands to be errors.
110
111@item --rename-section @var{oldname}=@var{newname}
112@kindex --rename-section
113Rename the @var{oldname} section to @var{newname}.  This option can be used
114multiple times to rename multiple sections.
115
116@item --trampolines | --no-trampolines
117@kindex --trampolines
118@kindex --no-trampolines
119Enable or disable transformation of jump instructions to allow jumps
120across a greater range of addresses.  @xref{Xtensa Jump Relaxation,
121,Jump Trampolines}.  This option should be used when jump targets can
122potentially be out of range.  In the absence of such jumps this option
123does not affect code size or performance.  The default is
124@samp{--trampolines}.
125@end table
126
127@c man end
128
129@node Xtensa Syntax
130@section Assembler Syntax
131@cindex syntax, Xtensa assembler
132@cindex Xtensa assembler syntax
133@cindex FLIX syntax
134
135Block comments are delimited by @samp{/*} and @samp{*/}.  End of line
136comments may be introduced with either @samp{#} or @samp{//}.
137
138If a @samp{#} appears as the first character of a line then the whole
139line is treated as a comment, but in this case the line could also be
140a logical line number directive (@pxref{Comments}) or a preprocessor
141control command (@pxref{Preprocessing}).
142
143Instructions consist of a leading opcode or macro name followed by
144whitespace and an optional comma-separated list of operands:
145
146@smallexample
147@var{opcode} [@var{operand}, @dots{}]
148@end smallexample
149
150Instructions must be separated by a newline or semicolon (@samp{;}).
151
152FLIX instructions, which bundle multiple opcodes together in a single
153instruction, are specified by enclosing the bundled opcodes inside
154braces:
155
156@smallexample
157@group
158@{
159[@var{format}]
160@var{opcode0} [@var{operands}]
161@end group
162@var{opcode1} [@var{operands}]
163@group
164@var{opcode2} [@var{operands}]
165@dots{}
166@}
167@end group
168@end smallexample
169
170The opcodes in a FLIX instruction are listed in the same order as the
171corresponding instruction slots in the TIE format declaration.
172Directives and labels are not allowed inside the braces of a FLIX
173instruction.  A particular TIE format name can optionally be specified
174immediately after the opening brace, but this is usually unnecessary.
175The assembler will automatically search for a format that can encode the
176specified opcodes, so the format name need only be specified in rare
177cases where there is more than one applicable format and where it
178matters which of those formats is used.  A FLIX instruction can also be
179specified on a single line by separating the opcodes with semicolons:
180
181@smallexample
182@{ [@var{format};] @var{opcode0} [@var{operands}]; @var{opcode1} [@var{operands}]; @var{opcode2} [@var{operands}]; @dots{} @}
183@end smallexample
184
185If an opcode can only be encoded in a FLIX instruction but is not
186specified as part of a FLIX bundle, the assembler will choose the
187smallest format where the opcode can be encoded and
188will fill unused instruction slots with no-ops.
189
190@menu
191* Xtensa Opcodes::              Opcode Naming Conventions.
192* Xtensa Registers::            Register Naming.
193@end menu
194
195@node Xtensa Opcodes
196@subsection Opcode Names
197@cindex Xtensa opcode names
198@cindex opcode names, Xtensa
199
200See the @cite{Xtensa Instruction Set Architecture (ISA) Reference
201Manual} for a complete list of opcodes and descriptions of their
202semantics.
203
204@cindex _ opcode prefix
205If an opcode name is prefixed with an underscore character (@samp{_}),
206@command{@value{AS}} will not transform that instruction in any way.  The
207underscore prefix disables both optimization (@pxref{Xtensa
208Optimizations, ,Xtensa Optimizations}) and relaxation (@pxref{Xtensa
209Relaxation, ,Xtensa Relaxation}) for that particular instruction.  Only
210use the underscore prefix when it is essential to select the exact
211opcode produced by the assembler.  Using this feature unnecessarily
212makes the code less efficient by disabling assembler optimization and
213less flexible by disabling relaxation.
214
215Note that this special handling of underscore prefixes only applies to
216Xtensa opcodes, not to either built-in macros or user-defined macros.
217When an underscore prefix is used with a macro (e.g., @code{_MOV}), it
218refers to a different macro.  The assembler generally provides built-in
219macros both with and without the underscore prefix, where the underscore
220versions behave as if the underscore carries through to the instructions
221in the macros.  For example, @code{_MOV} may expand to @code{_MOV.N}@.
222
223The underscore prefix only applies to individual instructions, not to
224series of instructions.  For example, if a series of instructions have
225underscore prefixes, the assembler will not transform the individual
226instructions, but it may insert other instructions between them (e.g.,
227to align a @code{LOOP} instruction).  To prevent the assembler from
228modifying a series of instructions as a whole, use the
229@code{no-transform} directive.  @xref{Transform Directive, ,transform}.
230
231@node Xtensa Registers
232@subsection Register Names
233@cindex Xtensa register names
234@cindex register names, Xtensa
235@cindex sp register
236
237The assembly syntax for a register file entry is the ``short'' name for
238a TIE register file followed by the index into that register file.  For
239example, the general-purpose @code{AR} register file has a short name of
240@code{a}, so these registers are named @code{a0}@dots{}@code{a15}.
241As a special feature, @code{sp} is also supported as a synonym for
242@code{a1}.  Additional registers may be added by processor configuration
243options and by designer-defined TIE extensions.  An initial @samp{$}
244character is optional in all register names.
245
246@node Xtensa Optimizations
247@section Xtensa Optimizations
248@cindex optimizations
249
250The optimizations currently supported by @command{@value{AS}} are
251generation of density instructions where appropriate and automatic
252branch target alignment.
253
254@menu
255* Density Instructions::        Using Density Instructions.
256* Xtensa Automatic Alignment::  Automatic Instruction Alignment.
257@end menu
258
259@node Density Instructions
260@subsection Using Density Instructions
261@cindex density instructions
262
263The Xtensa instruction set has a code density option that provides
26416-bit versions of some of the most commonly used opcodes.  Use of these
265opcodes can significantly reduce code size.  When possible, the
266assembler automatically translates instructions from the core
267Xtensa instruction set into equivalent instructions from the Xtensa code
268density option.  This translation can be disabled by using underscore
269prefixes (@pxref{Xtensa Opcodes, ,Opcode Names}), by using the
270@samp{--no-transform} command-line option (@pxref{Xtensa Options, ,Command
271Line Options}), or by using the @code{no-transform} directive
272(@pxref{Transform Directive, ,transform}).
273
274It is a good idea @emph{not} to use the density instructions directly.
275The assembler will automatically select dense instructions where
276possible.  If you later need to use an Xtensa processor without the code
277density option, the same assembly code will then work without modification.
278
279@node Xtensa Automatic Alignment
280@subsection Automatic Instruction Alignment
281@cindex alignment of @code{LOOP} instructions
282@cindex alignment of branch targets
283@cindex @code{LOOP} instructions, alignment
284@cindex branch target alignment
285
286The Xtensa assembler will automatically align certain instructions, both
287to optimize performance and to satisfy architectural requirements.
288
289As an optimization to improve performance, the assembler attempts to
290align branch targets so they do not cross instruction fetch boundaries.
291(Xtensa processors can be configured with either 32-bit or 64-bit
292instruction fetch widths.)  An
293instruction immediately following a call is treated as a branch target
294in this context, because it will be the target of a return from the
295call.  This alignment has the potential to reduce branch penalties at
296some expense in code size.
297This optimization is enabled by default.  You can disable it with the
298@samp{--no-target-@-align} command-line option (@pxref{Xtensa Options,
299,Command Line Options}).
300
301The target alignment optimization is done without adding instructions
302that could increase the execution time of the program.  If there are
303density instructions in the code preceding a target, the assembler can
304change the target alignment by widening some of those instructions to
305the equivalent 24-bit instructions.  Extra bytes of padding can be
306inserted immediately following unconditional jump and return
307instructions.
308This approach is usually successful in aligning many, but not all,
309branch targets.
310
311The @code{LOOP} family of instructions must be aligned such that the
312first instruction in the loop body does not cross an instruction fetch
313boundary (e.g., with a 32-bit fetch width, a @code{LOOP} instruction
314must be on either a 1 or 2 mod 4 byte boundary).  The assembler knows
315about this restriction and inserts the minimal number of 2 or 3 byte
316no-op instructions to satisfy it.  When no-op instructions are added,
317any label immediately preceding the original loop will be moved in order
318to refer to the loop instruction, not the newly generated no-op
319instruction.  To preserve binary compatibility across processors with
320different fetch widths, the assembler conservatively assumes a 32-bit
321fetch width when aligning @code{LOOP} instructions (except if the first
322instruction in the loop is a 64-bit instruction).
323
324Previous versions of the assembler automatically aligned @code{ENTRY}
325instructions to 4-byte boundaries, but that alignment is now the
326programmer's responsibility.
327
328@node Xtensa Relaxation
329@section Xtensa Relaxation
330@cindex relaxation
331
332When an instruction operand is outside the range allowed for that
333particular instruction field, @command{@value{AS}} can transform the code
334to use a functionally-equivalent instruction or sequence of
335instructions.  This process is known as @dfn{relaxation}.  This is
336typically done for branch instructions because the distance of the
337branch targets is not known until assembly-time.  The Xtensa assembler
338offers branch relaxation and also extends this concept to function
339calls, @code{MOVI} instructions and other instructions with immediate
340fields.
341
342@menu
343* Xtensa Branch Relaxation::        Relaxation of Branches.
344* Xtensa Call Relaxation::          Relaxation of Function Calls.
345* Xtensa Jump Relaxation::          Relaxation of Jumps.
346* Xtensa Immediate Relaxation::     Relaxation of other Immediate Fields.
347@end menu
348
349@node Xtensa Branch Relaxation
350@subsection Conditional Branch Relaxation
351@cindex relaxation of branch instructions
352@cindex branch instructions, relaxation
353
354When the target of a branch is too far away from the branch itself,
355i.e., when the offset from the branch to the target is too large to fit
356in the immediate field of the branch instruction, it may be necessary to
357replace the branch with a branch around a jump.  For example,
358
359@smallexample
360    beqz    a2, L
361@end smallexample
362
363may result in:
364
365@smallexample
366@group
367    bnez.n  a2, M
368    j L
369M:
370@end group
371@end smallexample
372
373(The @code{BNEZ.N} instruction would be used in this example only if the
374density option is available.  Otherwise, @code{BNEZ} would be used.)
375
376This relaxation works well because the unconditional jump instruction
377has a much larger offset range than the various conditional branches.
378However, an error will occur if a branch target is beyond the range of a
379jump instruction.  @command{@value{AS}} cannot relax unconditional jumps.
380Similarly, an error will occur if the original input contains an
381unconditional jump to a target that is out of range.
382
383Branch relaxation is enabled by default.  It can be disabled by using
384underscore prefixes (@pxref{Xtensa Opcodes, ,Opcode Names}), the
385@samp{--no-transform} command-line option (@pxref{Xtensa Options,
386,Command Line Options}), or the @code{no-transform} directive
387(@pxref{Transform Directive, ,transform}).
388
389@node Xtensa Call Relaxation
390@subsection Function Call Relaxation
391@cindex relaxation of call instructions
392@cindex call instructions, relaxation
393
394Function calls may require relaxation because the Xtensa immediate call
395instructions (@code{CALL0}, @code{CALL4}, @code{CALL8} and
396@code{CALL12}) provide a PC-relative offset of only 512 Kbytes in either
397direction.  For larger programs, it may be necessary to use indirect
398calls (@code{CALLX0}, @code{CALLX4}, @code{CALLX8} and @code{CALLX12})
399where the target address is specified in a register.  The Xtensa
400assembler can automatically relax immediate call instructions into
401indirect call instructions.  This relaxation is done by loading the
402address of the called function into the callee's return address register
403and then using a @code{CALLX} instruction.  So, for example:
404
405@smallexample
406    call8 func
407@end smallexample
408
409might be relaxed to:
410
411@smallexample
412@group
413    .literal .L1, func
414    l32r    a8, .L1
415    callx8  a8
416@end group
417@end smallexample
418
419Because the addresses of targets of function calls are not generally
420known until link-time, the assembler must assume the worst and relax all
421the calls to functions in other source files, not just those that really
422will be out of range.  The linker can recognize calls that were
423unnecessarily relaxed, and it will remove the overhead introduced by the
424assembler for those cases where direct calls are sufficient.
425
426Call relaxation is disabled by default because it can have a negative
427effect on both code size and performance, although the linker can
428usually eliminate the unnecessary overhead.  If a program is too large
429and some of the calls are out of range, function call relaxation can be
430enabled using the @samp{--longcalls} command-line option or the
431@code{longcalls} directive (@pxref{Longcalls Directive, ,longcalls}).
432
433@node Xtensa Jump Relaxation
434@subsection Jump Relaxation
435@cindex relaxation of jump instructions
436@cindex jump instructions, relaxation
437
438Jump instruction may require relaxation because the Xtensa jump instruction
439(@code{J}) provide a PC-relative offset of only 128 Kbytes in either
440direction.  One option is to use jump long (@code{J.L}) instruction, which
441depending on jump distance may be assembled as jump (@code{J}) or indirect
442jump (@code{JX}).  However it needs a free register.  When there's no spare
443register it is possible to plant intermediate jump sites (trampolines)
444between the jump instruction and its target.  These sites may be located in
445areas unreachable by normal code execution flow, in that case they only
446contain intermediate jumps, or they may be inserted in the middle of code
447block, in which case there's an additional jump from the beginning of the
448trampoline to the instruction past its end.  So, for example:
449
450@smallexample
451@group
452    j 1f
453    ...
454    retw
455    ...
456    mov a10, a2
457    call8 func
458    ...
4591:
460    ...
461@end group
462@end smallexample
463
464might be relaxed to:
465
466@smallexample
467@group
468    j .L0_TR_1
469    ...
470    retw
471.L0_TR_1:
472    j 1f
473    ...
474    mov a10, a2
475    call8 func
476    ...
4771:
478    ...
479@end group
480@end smallexample
481
482or to:
483
484@smallexample
485@group
486    j .L0_TR_1
487    ...
488    retw
489    ...
490    mov a10, a2
491    j .L0_TR_0
492.L0_TR_1:
493    j 1f
494.L0_TR_0:
495    call8 func
496    ...
4971:
498    ...
499@end group
500@end smallexample
501
502The Xtensa assempler uses trampolines with jump around only when it cannot
503find suitable unreachable trampoline.  There may be multiple trampolines
504between the jump instruction and its target.
505
506This relaxation does not apply to jumps to undefined symbols, assuming they
507will reach their targets once resolved.
508
509Jump relaxation is enabled by default because it does not affect code size
510or performance while the code itself is small.  This relaxation may be
511disabled completely with @samp{--no-trampolines} or @samp{--no-transform}
512command-line options (@pxref{Xtensa Options, ,Command Line Options}).
513
514@node Xtensa Immediate Relaxation
515@subsection Other Immediate Field Relaxation
516@cindex immediate fields, relaxation
517@cindex relaxation of immediate fields
518
519The assembler normally performs the following other relaxations.  They
520can be disabled by using underscore prefixes (@pxref{Xtensa Opcodes,
521,Opcode Names}), the @samp{--no-transform} command-line option
522(@pxref{Xtensa Options, ,Command Line Options}), or the
523@code{no-transform} directive (@pxref{Transform Directive, ,transform}).
524
525@cindex @code{MOVI} instructions, relaxation
526@cindex relaxation of @code{MOVI} instructions
527The @code{MOVI} machine instruction can only materialize values in the
528range from -2048 to 2047.  Values outside this range are best
529materialized with @code{L32R} instructions.  Thus:
530
531@smallexample
532    movi a0, 100000
533@end smallexample
534
535is assembled into the following machine code:
536
537@smallexample
538@group
539    .literal .L1, 100000
540    l32r a0, .L1
541@end group
542@end smallexample
543
544@cindex @code{L8UI} instructions, relaxation
545@cindex @code{L16SI} instructions, relaxation
546@cindex @code{L16UI} instructions, relaxation
547@cindex @code{L32I} instructions, relaxation
548@cindex relaxation of @code{L8UI} instructions
549@cindex relaxation of @code{L16SI} instructions
550@cindex relaxation of @code{L16UI} instructions
551@cindex relaxation of @code{L32I} instructions
552The @code{L8UI} machine instruction can only be used with immediate
553offsets in the range from 0 to 255. The @code{L16SI} and @code{L16UI}
554machine instructions can only be used with offsets from 0 to 510.  The
555@code{L32I} machine instruction can only be used with offsets from 0 to
5561020.  A load offset outside these ranges can be materialized with
557an @code{L32R} instruction if the destination register of the load
558is different than the source address register.  For example:
559
560@smallexample
561    l32i a1, a0, 2040
562@end smallexample
563
564is translated to:
565
566@smallexample
567@group
568    .literal .L1, 2040
569    l32r a1, .L1
570@end group
571@group
572    add a1, a0, a1
573    l32i a1, a1, 0
574@end group
575@end smallexample
576
577@noindent
578If the load destination and source address register are the same, an
579out-of-range offset causes an error.
580
581@cindex @code{ADDI} instructions, relaxation
582@cindex relaxation of @code{ADDI} instructions
583The Xtensa @code{ADDI} instruction only allows immediate operands in the
584range from -128 to 127.  There are a number of alternate instruction
585sequences for the @code{ADDI} operation.  First, if the
586immediate is 0, the @code{ADDI} will be turned into a @code{MOV.N}
587instruction (or the equivalent @code{OR} instruction if the code density
588option is not available).  If the @code{ADDI} immediate is outside of
589the range -128 to 127, but inside the range -32896 to 32639, an
590@code{ADDMI} instruction or @code{ADDMI}/@code{ADDI} sequence will be
591used.  Finally, if the immediate is outside of this range and a free
592register is available, an @code{L32R}/@code{ADD} sequence will be used
593with a literal allocated from the literal pool.
594
595For example:
596
597@smallexample
598@group
599    addi    a5, a6, 0
600    addi    a5, a6, 512
601@end group
602@group
603    addi    a5, a6, 513
604    addi    a5, a6, 50000
605@end group
606@end smallexample
607
608is assembled into the following:
609
610@smallexample
611@group
612    .literal .L1, 50000
613    mov.n   a5, a6
614@end group
615    addmi   a5, a6, 0x200
616    addmi   a5, a6, 0x200
617    addi    a5, a5, 1
618@group
619    l32r    a5, .L1
620    add     a5, a6, a5
621@end group
622@end smallexample
623
624@node Xtensa Directives
625@section Directives
626@cindex Xtensa directives
627@cindex directives, Xtensa
628
629The Xtensa assembler supports a region-based directive syntax:
630
631@smallexample
632@group
633    .begin @var{directive} [@var{options}]
634    @dots{}
635    .end @var{directive}
636@end group
637@end smallexample
638
639All the Xtensa-specific directives that apply to a region of code use
640this syntax.
641
642The directive applies to code between the @code{.begin} and the
643@code{.end}.  The state of the option after the @code{.end} reverts to
644what it was before the @code{.begin}.
645A nested @code{.begin}/@code{.end} region can further
646change the state of the directive without having to be aware of its
647outer state.  For example, consider:
648
649@smallexample
650@group
651    .begin no-transform
652L:  add a0, a1, a2
653@end group
654    .begin transform
655M:  add a0, a1, a2
656    .end transform
657@group
658N:  add a0, a1, a2
659    .end no-transform
660@end group
661@end smallexample
662
663The @code{ADD} opcodes at @code{L} and @code{N} in the outer
664@code{no-transform} region both result in @code{ADD} machine instructions,
665but the assembler selects an @code{ADD.N} instruction for the
666@code{ADD} at @code{M} in the inner @code{transform} region.
667
668The advantage of this style is that it works well inside macros which can
669preserve the context of their callers.
670
671The following directives are available:
672@menu
673* Schedule Directive::         Enable instruction scheduling.
674* Longcalls Directive::        Use Indirect Calls for Greater Range.
675* Transform Directive::        Disable All Assembler Transformations.
676* Literal Directive::          Intermix Literals with Instructions.
677* Literal Position Directive:: Specify Inline Literal Pool Locations.
678* Literal Prefix Directive::   Specify Literal Section Name Prefix.
679* Absolute Literals Directive:: Control PC-Relative vs. Absolute Literals.
680@end menu
681
682@node Schedule Directive
683@subsection schedule
684@cindex @code{schedule} directive
685@cindex @code{no-schedule} directive
686
687The @code{schedule} directive is recognized only for compatibility with
688Tensilica's assembler.
689
690@smallexample
691@group
692    .begin [no-]schedule
693    .end [no-]schedule
694@end group
695@end smallexample
696
697This directive is ignored and has no effect on @command{@value{AS}}.
698
699@node Longcalls Directive
700@subsection longcalls
701@cindex @code{longcalls} directive
702@cindex @code{no-longcalls} directive
703
704The @code{longcalls} directive enables or disables function call
705relaxation.  @xref{Xtensa Call Relaxation, ,Function Call Relaxation}.
706
707@smallexample
708@group
709    .begin [no-]longcalls
710    .end [no-]longcalls
711@end group
712@end smallexample
713
714Call relaxation is disabled by default unless the @samp{--longcalls}
715command-line option is specified.  The @code{longcalls} directive
716overrides the default determined by the command-line options.
717
718@node Transform Directive
719@subsection transform
720@cindex @code{transform} directive
721@cindex @code{no-transform} directive
722
723This directive enables or disables all assembler transformation,
724including relaxation (@pxref{Xtensa Relaxation, ,Xtensa Relaxation}) and
725optimization (@pxref{Xtensa Optimizations, ,Xtensa Optimizations}).
726
727@smallexample
728@group
729    .begin [no-]transform
730    .end [no-]transform
731@end group
732@end smallexample
733
734Transformations are enabled by default unless the @samp{--no-transform}
735option is used.  The @code{transform} directive overrides the default
736determined by the command-line options.  An underscore opcode prefix,
737disabling transformation of that opcode, always takes precedence over
738both directives and command-line flags.
739
740@node Literal Directive
741@subsection literal
742@cindex @code{literal} directive
743
744The @code{.literal} directive is used to define literal pool data, i.e.,
745read-only 32-bit data accessed via @code{L32R} instructions.
746
747@smallexample
748    .literal @var{label}, @var{value}[, @var{value}@dots{}]
749@end smallexample
750
751This directive is similar to the standard @code{.word} directive, except
752that the actual location of the literal data is determined by the
753assembler and linker, not by the position of the @code{.literal}
754directive.  Using this directive gives the assembler freedom to locate
755the literal data in the most appropriate place and possibly to combine
756identical literals.  For example, the code:
757
758@smallexample
759@group
760    entry sp, 40
761    .literal .L1, sym
762    l32r    a4, .L1
763@end group
764@end smallexample
765
766can be used to load a pointer to the symbol @code{sym} into register
767@code{a4}.  The value of @code{sym} will not be placed between the
768@code{ENTRY} and @code{L32R} instructions; instead, the assembler puts
769the data in a literal pool.
770
771Literal pools are placed by default in separate literal sections;
772however, when using the @samp{--text-@-section-@-literals}
773option (@pxref{Xtensa Options, ,Command Line Options}), the literal
774pools for PC-relative mode @code{L32R} instructions
775are placed in the current section.@footnote{Literals for the
776@code{.init} and @code{.fini} sections are always placed in separate
777sections, even when @samp{--text-@-section-@-literals} is enabled.}
778These text section literal
779pools are created automatically before @code{ENTRY} instructions and
780manually after @samp{.literal_position} directives (@pxref{Literal
781Position Directive, ,literal_position}).  If there are no preceding
782@code{ENTRY} instructions, explicit @code{.literal_position} directives
783must be used to place the text section literal pools; otherwise,
784@command{@value{AS}} will report an error.
785
786When literals are placed in separate sections, the literal section names
787are derived from the names of the sections where the literals are
788defined.  The base literal section names are @code{.literal} for
789PC-relative mode @code{L32R} instructions and @code{.lit4} for absolute
790mode @code{L32R} instructions (@pxref{Absolute Literals Directive,
791,absolute-literals}).  These base names are used for literals defined in
792the default @code{.text} section.  For literals defined in other
793sections or within the scope of a @code{literal_prefix} directive
794(@pxref{Literal Prefix Directive, ,literal_prefix}), the following rules
795determine the literal section name:
796
797@enumerate
798@item
799If the current section is a member of a section group, the literal
800section name includes the group name as a suffix to the base
801@code{.literal} or @code{.lit4} name, with a period to separate the base
802name and group name.  The literal section is also made a member of the
803group.
804
805@item
806If the current section name (or @code{literal_prefix} value) begins with
807``@code{.gnu.linkonce.@var{kind}.}'', the literal section name is formed
808by replacing ``@code{.@var{kind}}'' with the base @code{.literal} or
809@code{.lit4} name.  For example, for literals defined in a section named
810@code{.gnu.linkonce.t.func}, the literal section will be
811@code{.gnu.linkonce.literal.func} or @code{.gnu.linkonce.lit4.func}.
812
813@item
814If the current section name (or @code{literal_prefix} value) ends with
815@code{.text}, the literal section name is formed by replacing that
816suffix with the base @code{.literal} or @code{.lit4} name.  For example,
817for literals defined in a section named @code{.iram0.text}, the literal
818section will be @code{.iram0.literal} or @code{.iram0.lit4}.
819
820@item
821If none of the preceding conditions apply, the literal section name is
822formed by adding the base @code{.literal} or @code{.lit4} name as a
823suffix to the current section name (or @code{literal_prefix} value).
824@end enumerate
825
826@node Literal Position Directive
827@subsection literal_position
828@cindex @code{literal_position} directive
829
830When using @samp{--text-@-section-@-literals} to place literals inline
831in the section being assembled, the @code{.literal_position} directive
832can be used to mark a potential location for a literal pool.
833
834@smallexample
835    .literal_position
836@end smallexample
837
838The @code{.literal_position} directive is ignored when the
839@samp{--text-@-section-@-literals} option is not used or when
840@code{L32R} instructions use the absolute addressing mode.
841
842The assembler will automatically place text section literal pools
843before @code{ENTRY} instructions, so the @code{.literal_position}
844directive is only needed to specify some other location for a literal
845pool.  You may need to add an explicit jump instruction to skip over an
846inline literal pool.
847
848For example, an interrupt vector does not begin with an @code{ENTRY}
849instruction so the assembler will be unable to automatically find a good
850place to put a literal pool.  Moreover, the code for the interrupt
851vector must be at a specific starting address, so the literal pool
852cannot come before the start of the code.  The literal pool for the
853vector must be explicitly positioned in the middle of the vector (before
854any uses of the literals, due to the negative offsets used by
855PC-relative @code{L32R} instructions).  The @code{.literal_position}
856directive can be used to do this.  In the following code, the literal
857for @samp{M} will automatically be aligned correctly and is placed after
858the unconditional jump.
859
860@smallexample
861@group
862    .global M
863code_start:
864@end group
865    j continue
866    .literal_position
867    .align 4
868@group
869continue:
870    movi    a4, M
871@end group
872@end smallexample
873
874@node Literal Prefix Directive
875@subsection literal_prefix
876@cindex @code{literal_prefix} directive
877
878The @code{literal_prefix} directive allows you to override the default
879literal section names, which are derived from the names of the sections
880where the literals are defined.
881
882@smallexample
883@group
884    .begin literal_prefix [@var{name}]
885    .end literal_prefix
886@end group
887@end smallexample
888
889For literals defined within the delimited region, the literal section
890names are derived from the @var{name} argument instead of the name of
891the current section.  The rules used to derive the literal section names
892do not change.  @xref{Literal Directive, ,literal}.  If the @var{name}
893argument is omitted, the literal sections revert to the defaults.  This
894directive has no effect when using the
895@samp{--text-@-section-@-literals} option (@pxref{Xtensa Options,
896,Command Line Options}).
897
898@node Absolute Literals Directive
899@subsection absolute-literals
900@cindex @code{absolute-literals} directive
901@cindex @code{no-absolute-literals} directive
902
903The @code{absolute-@-literals} and @code{no-@-absolute-@-literals}
904directives control the absolute vs.@: PC-relative mode for @code{L32R}
905instructions.  These are relevant only for Xtensa configurations that
906include the absolute addressing option for @code{L32R} instructions.
907
908@smallexample
909@group
910    .begin [no-]absolute-literals
911    .end [no-]absolute-literals
912@end group
913@end smallexample
914
915These directives do not change the @code{L32R} mode---they only cause
916the assembler to emit the appropriate kind of relocation for @code{L32R}
917instructions and to place the literal values in the appropriate section.
918To change the @code{L32R} mode, the program must write the
919@code{LITBASE} special register.  It is the programmer's responsibility
920to keep track of the mode and indicate to the assembler which mode is
921used in each region of code.
922
923If the Xtensa configuration includes the absolute @code{L32R} addressing
924option, the default is to assume absolute @code{L32R} addressing unless
925the @samp{--no-@-absolute-@-literals} command-line option is specified.
926Otherwise, the default is to assume PC-relative @code{L32R} addressing.
927The @code{absolute-@-literals} directive can then be used to override
928the default determined by the command-line options.
929
930@c Local Variables:
931@c fill-column: 72
932@c End:
933