Documentation for the LLVM System

LLVM Design LLVM Publications LLVM User Guides General LLVM Programming Documentation LLVM Subsystem Documentation LLVM Mailing Lists |

Written by The LLVM Team

LLVM Design & Overview

- LLVM Language Reference Manual - Defines the LLVM intermediate representation.
- Introduction to the LLVM Compiler Infrastructure - Presentation describing LLVM.
- The LLVM Compiler Framework and Infrastructure Tutorial - Tutorial for writing passes, exploring the system.
- LLVM: A Compilation Framework for Lifelong Program Analysis & Transformation - Design overview.
- LLVM: An Infrastructure for Multi-Stage Optimization - More details (somewhat old now).
- GetElementPtr FAQ - Answers to some very frequent questions about LLVM's most frequently misunderstood instruction.

LLVM User Guides

- The LLVM Getting Started Guide - Discusses how to get up and running quickly with the LLVM infrastructure. Everything from unpacking and compilation of the distribution to execution of some tools.
- Getting Started with the LLVM System using Microsoft Visual Studio - An addendum to the main Getting Started guide for those using Visual Studio on Windows.
- LLVM Tutorial - A walk through the process of using LLVM for a custom language, and the facilities LLVM offers in tutorial form.
- Developer Policy - The LLVM project's policy towards developers and their contributions.
- LLVM Command Guide - A reference manual for the LLVM command line utilities ("man" pages for LLVM tools).
  Current tools: llvm-ar, llvm-as, llvm-dis, llvm-extract, llvm-ld, llvm-link, llvm-nm, llvm-prof, llvm-ranlib, opt, llc, lli, llvmc llvm-gcc, llvm-g++, stkrc, bugpoint, llvm-bcanalyzer,
- Frequently Asked Questions - A list of common questions and problems and their solutions.
- Release notes for the current release - This describes new features, known bugs, and other limitations.
- How to Submit A Bug Report - Instructions for properly submitting information about any bugs you run into in the LLVM system.
- LLVM Test Suite Guide - A reference manual for using the LLVM test suite.
- How to build the C/C++ front-end - Instructions for building the front-end from source.
- The LLVM Lexicon - Definition of acronyms, terms and concepts used in LLVM.
- You can probably find help on the unofficial LLVM IRC channel. We often are on irc.oftc.net in the #llvm channel. If you are using the mozilla browser, and have chatzilla installed, you can join #llvm on irc.oftc.net directly.

General LLVM Programming Documentation

- LLVM Language Reference Manual - Defines the LLVM intermediate representation and the assembly form of the different nodes.
- The LLVM Programmers Manual - Introduction to the general layout of the LLVM sourcebase, important classes and APIs, and some tips & tricks.
- LLVM Project Guide - How-to guide and templates for new projects that use the LLVM infrastructure. The templates (directory organization, Makefiles, and test tree) allow the project code to be located outside (or inside) the `llvm/` tree, while using LLVM header files and libraries.
- LLVM Makefile Guide - Describes how the LLVM makefiles work and how to use them.
- CommandLine library Reference Manual - Provides information on using the command line parsing library.
- LLVM Coding standards - Details the LLVM coding standards and provides useful information on writing efficient C++ code.
- Extending LLVM - Look here to see how to add instructions and intrinsics to LLVM.
- Using LLVM Libraries - Look here to understand how to use the libraries produced when LLVM is compiled.
- How To Release LLVM To The Public - This is a guide to preparing LLVM releases. Most developers can ignore it.
- Doxygen generated documentation (classes) (tarball)
- ViewVC Repository Browser

LLVM Subsystem Documentation

- Writing an LLVM Pass - Information on how to write LLVM transformations and analyses.
- Writing an LLVM Backend - Information on how to write LLVM backends for machine targets.
- The LLVM Target-Independent Code Generator - The design and implementation of the LLVM code generator. Useful if you are working on retargetting LLVM to a new architecture, designing a new codegen pass, or enhancing existing components.
- TableGen Fundamentals - Describes the TableGen tool, which is used heavily by the LLVM code generator.
- Alias Analysis in LLVM - Information on how to write a new alias analysis implementation or how to use existing analyses.
- The Stacker Chronicles - This document describes both the Stacker language and LLVM frontend, but also some details about LLVM useful for those writing front-ends.
- Accurate Garbage Collection with LLVM - The interfaces source-language compilers should use for compiling GC'd programs.
- Source Level Debugging with LLVM - This document describes the design and philosophy behind the LLVM source-level debugger.
- Zero Cost Exception handling in LLVM - This document describes the design and implementation of exception handling in LLVM.
- Bugpoint - automatic bug finder and test-case reducer description and usage information.
- Compiler Driver (llvmc) - This document describes the design and configuration of the LLVM compiler driver tool, `llvmc`.
- LLVM Bitcode File Format
- System Library - This document describes the LLVM System Library (`lib/System`) and how to keep LLVM source code portable
- Link Time Optimization - This document describes the interface between LLVM intermodular optimizer and the linker and its design

LLVM Mailing Lists

- The LLVM Announcements List: This is a low volume list that provides important announcements regarding LLVM. It gets email about once a month.
- The Developer's List: This list is for people who want to be included in technical discussions of LLVM. People post to this list when they have questions about writing code for or using the LLVM tools. It is relatively low volume.
- The Bugs & Patches Archive: This list gets emailed every time a bug is opened and closed, and when people submit patches to be included in LLVM. It is higher volume than the LLVMdev list.
- The Commits Archive: This list contains all commit messages that are made when LLVM developers commit code changes to the repository. It is useful for those who want to stay on the bleeding edge of LLVM development. This list is very high volume.
- The Test Results Archive: A message is automatically sent to this list by every active nightly tester when it completes. As such, this list gets email several times each day, making it a high volume list.