marfrit
cf6ddf8e91
Tested candidate.c across GCC-15 and clang-19 optimization levels: gcc -Os → 116 B (+12) clang -O2/Os/Oz → 108 B (+4) ← best vendor → 104 B (0) Vendor output is SMALLER than GCC -Os, which rules out 'spa-appointment dumb compiler' (hypothesis b). Clang being only 4 bytes off suggests the vendor uses armclang or a similarly-tuned LLVM fork (hypothesis a). Immediate consequence: default compiler for matching-decomp on this blob is clang, not GCC. Our train_phy_block starting score jumps from 89.7% (GCC -Os) to 96% (clang -Oz) before any C tweaking. Pushing past 96% likely needs armclang or per-site inline asm. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
116 lines
5.9 KiB
Markdown
116 lines
5.9 KiB
Markdown
# GRIND_LOG — first real-blob C-lift
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Function: **FUN_0000d328** @ blob offset 0xd328 (104 bytes / 26 insts).
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Contains 4 of our 16 timeout-less polls (sites 12, 13, 14, 15).
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Semantics: **PHY block training step** — poke CTL, wait for two STAT
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bits, apply two CFG values with HANDSHAKE acks, ack via CTL.
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## Tools tried (single-pass, no iteration yet)
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| tool | output file | grade |
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|---|---|---|
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| Ghidra 11.3 (auto-decompile) | `ghidra.c` | **A.** All 4 polls correctly modeled as `do {} while`. Collapsed the `(base + 0x8000) + offset` arithmetic into a single offset (`lVar1 + 0x8110` etc.) — actually MORE useful than a hand-written reference because it surfaces the absolute register addresses. Type cleanup needed (`undefined4`/`uint`/`long`). |
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| retdec v5.0 (zero-touch raw mode) | `retdec.c` | **C.** Recognised the function and the polls but: misread bitmask tests as comparisons (`*v6 % 4 == 0` for `& 3`, `< 0x10000000` for `& 0xF0000000`). Fabricated a return value for a void function. Loop bodies marked as `continue ->` comments. Usable as a sanity-check second opinion, not as a basis for rewriting. |
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| ground truth (hand-written) | `reference.c` | n/a — this is the canonical interpretation we judge against. |
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## Matching-decomp candidate iterations (the actual grind)
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Goal: a `.c` file that compiles to bytes close to the original 104-byte
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slice. Score = `min(candidate_size, vendor_size) / max(candidate_size, vendor_size)`
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after instruction-by-instruction diff (manual until objdiff is installed).
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### Iteration 1: cast-on-each-access, `-O2`
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- Pattern: `*(volatile u32 *)(base + offset)` per access.
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- GCC behavior: materialised each `0x8XXX` offset into its own register
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(`mov x2, #0x8120; add x2, x3, x2; ldr w0, [x2]`), exploding code size.
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- Result: ~160 bytes. **53% size match. Bad.**
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### Iteration 2 (current best): pre-adjust base outside volatile chain, `-Os`
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- Pattern: `unsigned char *phy = base + 0x8000` once, then `*(u32v *)(phy + small)`.
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- `-Os` instead of `-O2` — drops loop-alignment NOPs.
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- Result: **116 bytes (29 insts)**. **88% size match.** See `candidate.c`.
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### Remaining gap to vendor (12 bytes = 3 instructions)
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1. GCC turns `(x & 0xF0000000) == 0` into `cmp w, w_loaded_const; b.ls`
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instead of vendor's `tst w, #imm; b.eq`. Costs 4 bytes per loop, twice
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= 8 bytes.
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2. GCC's `[base+0x184]` accesses inside the handshake loop are
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`add x1, x0, #0x200; ldur x2, [x1, #-124]` — likely a ldp/ldur pair
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GCC's scheduler thinks is faster on Cortex-A76. Costs ~4 bytes.
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### Next iteration ideas
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- **Inline-asm** for the mask-tests to force TST encoding directly. Cheap
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win, gets us to ~108 bytes.
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- **Clang** (different scheduler, sometimes nicer with TST-style
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comparisons). Try `clang -Oz -ffreestanding -target aarch64-none-elf`.
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- **ARMCC** — the most likely vendor compiler. Sourcing armclang for
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AArch64 requires an Arm Developer account; backlog item.
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- **objdiff** — once installed, automate the byte-diff scoring instead
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of eyeballing.
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## Workflow validation
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- ✓ Function extracted from blob as standalone .bin slice.
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- ✓ Three decompiler views captured (Ghidra, retdec, hand-written reference).
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- ✓ Candidate compiles + runs (matches reference semantics).
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- ✓ Single-pass byte-comparison done by hand; got 88% on iteration 2.
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- ✗ objdiff not installed — would automate the scoring.
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- ✗ decomp.me self-host not yet running on pve4 — would crowdsource the
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grind via the standard interface.
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- ✗ ARMCC not installed — perfect-match unattainable without it.
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**The pipeline works.** Each future poll-site function follows the
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same 4-step recipe: extract → Ghidra-clean → write candidate → iterate
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until ≥90 % match. Estimated ~2-3 h per function for the small ones.
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## How this connects to the v3fb work
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This function contains 4 of the 16 poll sites. Once we have a
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byte-matching (or functionally-equivalent) C version, we can:
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1. Add bounded-retry counters in the C source — much cleaner than the
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asm trampoline patcher.
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2. Compile + link as a freestanding `.o` at the original blob offset.
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3. Splice into the blob, replacing `FUN_0000d328` entirely.
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That's the path to a maintainable replacement for the trampoline-based
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v3fb approach, **for at least these 4 sites**. The other 12 sites live
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in different functions and would each need their own lift.
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## Compiler matrix 2026-04-15 late evening
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Tested the same `candidate.c` across GCC and clang:
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| compiler | best flag | size | diff vs vendor 104 |
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|---|---|---|---|
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| gcc 15 | -Os | 116 B | +12 |
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| gcc 15 | -O1 | 120 B | +16 |
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| gcc 15 | -O2/-O3 | 128 B | +24 |
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| **clang 19** | **-O2 / -Os / -Oz** | **108 B** | **+4** |
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| clang 19 | -O1 | 112 B | +8 |
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| vendor | | 104 B | 0 |
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**Clang at -Oz is 4 bytes off vendor.** 96% size match on our first
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compile. GCC -Os tops out at 12 bytes off — 89.7%. The difference is
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consistent with how each compiler encodes mask-tests and the addressing
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it picks for short-imm offsets into a base+offset pointer — clang
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prefers `TST Wx, #imm` (single instruction, native imm encoding), GCC
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prefers `MOV Wy, #const; CMP Wx, Wy; B.cc` (three instructions, larger).
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**Consequence:** default compiler for matching-decomp on this blob is
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clang, not GCC. Move already committed in this GRIND_LOG; all future
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poll-site lifts should compile-eval under clang first.
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**Hypothesis resolved:** the vendor compiler is almost certainly
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**armclang** (ARM's LLVM-based fork) or a similarly-aggressive LLVM
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variant — NOT GCC, NOT a dumbed-down rushed compiler. Evidence: their
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output is SMALLER than GCC -Os, which rules out "naive". The fact
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that clang -Oz approaches byte-match ruling suggests LLVM family.
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**To push past 96%:** armclang itself (needs Arm Developer account /
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free Community Edition), or continue clang -Oz + hand-tweaked C + per
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-site inline asm where the last instruction doesn't converge. A single
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afternoon's iteration should push to ≥99%.
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