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<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01//EN"
                      "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/strict.dtd">
<html>
<head>
  <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8">
  <title>LLVM: Frequently Asked Questions</title>
  <style type="text/css">
    @import url("_static/llvm.css");
    .question { font-weight: bold }
    .answer   { margin-left: 2em  }
  </style>
</head>
<body>

<h1>
  LLVM: Frequently Asked Questions
</h1>

<ol>
  <li><a href="#license">License</a>
  <ol>
    <li>Does the University of Illinois Open Source License really qualify as an
       "open source" license?</li>

    <li>Can I modify LLVM source code and redistribute the modified source?</li>

    <li>Can I modify LLVM source code and redistribute binaries or other tools
        based on it, without redistributing the source?</li>
  </ol></li>

  <li><a href="#source">Source code</a>
  <ol>
    <li>In what language is LLVM written?</li>

    <li>How portable is the LLVM source code?</li>
  </ol></li>

  <li><a href="#build">Build Problems</a>
  <ol>
    <li>When I run configure, it finds the wrong C compiler.</li>

    <li>The <tt>configure</tt> script finds the right C compiler, but it uses
        the LLVM linker from a previous build.  What do I do?</li>

    <li>When creating a dynamic library, I get a strange GLIBC error.</li>

    <li>I've updated my source tree from Subversion, and now my build is trying
        to use a file/directory that doesn't exist.</li>

    <li>I've modified a Makefile in my source tree, but my build tree keeps
        using the old version.  What do I do?</li>

    <li>I've upgraded to a new version of LLVM, and I get strange build
        errors.</li>

    <li>I've built LLVM and am testing it, but the tests freeze.</li>

    <li>Why do test results differ when I perform different types of
        builds?</li>

    <li>Compiling LLVM with GCC 3.3.2 fails, what should I do?</li>

    <li>Compiling LLVM with GCC succeeds, but the resulting tools do not work,
        what can be wrong?</li>

    <li>When I use the test suite, all of the C Backend tests fail.  What is
        wrong?</li>

    <li>After Subversion update, rebuilding gives the error "No rule to make
        target".</li>

  </ol></li>

  <li><a href="#felangs">Source Languages</a>
  <ol>
    <li><a href="#langs">What source languages are supported?</a></li>

    <li><a href="#langirgen">I'd like to write a self-hosting LLVM compiler. How
        should I interface with the LLVM middle-end optimizers and back-end code
        generators?</a></li>

    <li><a href="#langhlsupp">What support is there for higher level source
        language constructs for building a compiler?</a></li>

    <li><a href="GetElementPtr.html">I don't understand the GetElementPtr
      instruction. Help!</a></li>
  </ol>

  <li><a href="#cfe">Using the C and C++ Front Ends</a>
  <ol>
    <li><a href="#platformindependent">Can I compile C or C++ code to
        platform-independent LLVM bitcode?</a></li>
  </ol>
  </li>

  <li><a href="#cfe_code">Questions about code generated by the demo page</a>
  <ol>
     <li><a href="#iosinit">What is this <tt>llvm.global_ctors</tt> and
          <tt>_GLOBAL__I_a...</tt> stuff that happens when I
          #include &lt;iostream&gt;?</a></li>

     <li><a href="#codedce">Where did all of my code go??</a></li>

     <li><a href="#undef">What is this "<tt>undef</tt>" thing that shows up in
         my code?</a></li>
         
      <li><a href="#callconvwrong">Why does instcombine + simplifycfg turn
   a call to a function with a mismatched calling convention into "unreachable"?
   Why not make the verifier reject it?</a></li>
  </ol>
  </li>
</ol>

<div class="doc_author">
  <p>Written by <a href="http://llvm.org/">The LLVM Team</a></p>
</div>


<!-- *********************************************************************** -->
<h2>
  <a name="license">License</a>
</h2>
<!-- *********************************************************************** -->

<div>

<div class="question">
<p>Does the University of Illinois Open Source License really qualify as an
   "open source" license?</p>
</div>

<div class="answer">
<p>Yes, the license
   is <a href="http://www.opensource.org/licenses/UoI-NCSA.php">certified</a> by
   the Open Source Initiative (OSI).</p>
</div>

<div class="question">
<p>Can I modify LLVM source code and redistribute the modified source?</p>
</div>

<div class="answer">
<p>Yes.  The modified source distribution must retain the copyright notice and
   follow the three bulletted conditions listed in
   the <a href="http://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/llvm/trunk/LICENSE.TXT">LLVM
   license</a>.</p>
</div>

<div class="question">
<p>Can I modify LLVM source code and redistribute binaries or other tools based
   on it, without redistributing the source?</p>
</div>

<div class="answer">
<p>Yes. This is why we distribute LLVM under a less restrictive license than
   GPL, as explained in the first question above.</p>
</div>

</div>

<!-- *********************************************************************** -->
<h2>
  <a name="source">Source Code</a>
</h2>
<!-- *********************************************************************** -->

<div>

<div class="question">
<p>In what language is LLVM written?</p>
</div>

<div class="answer">
<p>All of the LLVM tools and libraries are written in C++ with extensive use of
   the STL.</p>
</div>

<div class="question">
<p>How portable is the LLVM source code?</p>
</div>

<div class="answer">
<p>The LLVM source code should be portable to most modern UNIX-like operating
systems.  Most of the code is written in standard C++ with operating system
services abstracted to a support library.  The tools required to build and test
LLVM have been ported to a plethora of platforms.</p>

<p>Some porting problems may exist in the following areas:</p>

<ul>
  <li>The autoconf/makefile build system relies heavily on UNIX shell tools,
      like the Bourne Shell and sed.  Porting to systems without these tools
      (MacOS 9, Plan 9) Will require more effort.</li>
</ul>

</div>

</div>

<!-- *********************************************************************** -->
<h2>
  <a name="build">Build Problems</a>
</h2>
<!-- *********************************************************************** -->

<div>

<div class="question">
<p>When I run configure, it finds the wrong C compiler.</p>
</div>

<div class="answer">
<p>The <tt>configure</tt> script attempts to locate first <tt>gcc</tt> and then
   <tt>cc</tt>, unless it finds compiler paths set in <tt>CC</tt>
   and <tt>CXX</tt> for the C and C++ compiler, respectively.</p>

<p>If <tt>configure</tt> finds the wrong compiler, either adjust your
   <tt>PATH</tt> environment variable or set <tt>CC</tt> and <tt>CXX</tt>
   explicitly.</p>

</div>

<div class="question">
<p>The <tt>configure</tt> script finds the right C compiler, but it uses the
   LLVM tools from a previous build.  What do I do?</p>
</div>

<div class="answer">
<p>The <tt>configure</tt> script uses the <tt>PATH</tt> to find executables, so
   if it's grabbing the wrong linker/assembler/etc, there are two ways to fix
   it:</p>

<ol>
  <li><p>Adjust your <tt>PATH</tt> environment variable so that the correct
      program appears first in the <tt>PATH</tt>.  This may work, but may not be
      convenient when you want them <i>first</i> in your path for other
      work.</p></li>