overview:
can be verified by running "make check_vm2 X=0" in the nimbus directory
(be patient when running it.) the X=0 flag is necessary if there is a
native NIM compiler which may bail out at some vendor imports.
details:
when compiling state_transaction.nim, the nim flag vm2_enabled must
be set in order to avoid implicit import of native VM definitions.
why:
kludge not needed anymore for oph_handlers.nim sub-sources and sources
that rely on oph_handlers.nim (but not state_transactions.nim which
relies on computation.nim.)
also:
re-integrated stack_defs.nim back into stack.nim
why:
the v2 prefix of the file name was used as a visual aid when
comparing vm2 against vm sources
why:
the v2 prefix of the file name was used as a visual aid when
comparing vm2 against vm sources
details:
all renamed v2*.nim sources compile locally with the -d:kludge:1 flag
set or without (some work with either)
only sources not renamed yet: v2state_transactions.nim
why:
the new implementation lost more then 25% execution time on the test
suite when compared to the original VM. so the handler call and the
surrounding statements have been wrapped in a big case statement similar
to the original VM implementation. on Linux/x64, the execution time of
the new VM2 seems to be on par with the old VM.
details:
on Linux/x64, computed goto works and is activated with the -d:release
flag. here the execution time of the new VM2 was tested short of 0.02%
better than the old VM. without the computed goto, it is short of
0.4% slower than the old VM.
why:
using function stubs made it possible to check the syntax of an op
handler source file by compiling this very file. this was previously
impossible due cyclic import/include mechanism.
details:
only oph_call.nim, oph_create.nim and subsequently op_handlers.nim
still need the -d:kludge:1 flag for syntax check compiling. this flag
also works with interpreter_dispatch.nim which imports op_handlers.nim.
why:
step towards breaking circular dependency
details:
some functions from v2computation.nim have been extracted into
compu_helper.nim which does not explicitly back-import
v2computation.nim. all non recursive op handlers now import this source
file rather than v2computation.nim.
recursive call/create op handler still need to import v2computation.nim.
the executeOpcodes() function from interpreter_dispatch.nim has been
moved to v2computation.nim which allows for <import> rather than
<include> the interpreter_dispatch.nim source.
why:
this allows for passing back information which can eventually be
used for reducing use of exceptions
caveat:
call/create currently needs to un-capture the call-by-reference
(wrapper) argument using the Computation reference inside
why:
the previous approach was replacing the function-lets in
opcode_impl.nim by the particulate table handlers. the test
functions will verify the the handler functions are sort of
correct but not the assignments in the fork tables.
the handler names of old and new for tables are checked here.
caveat:
verifying tables currently takes a while at compile time.
details:
the op handler table is accessible via op_handlers.nim module
op handler function implementations are found in the op_handlers/
sub-directory
kludge:
for development and pre-testing, any new module can be individually
compiled setting the kludge flag using -d:kludge:1. this causes some
proc/func replacements in turn allowing for omitting imports that would
otherwise cause a circular dependency. otherwise individual compilation
would fail.
in order to prove the overall correctness of the code, the
op_handlers.nim is imported by opcodes_impl.nim when compiling all,
nimbus or test.
why:
subsequent development will compile sources as main without setting
the vm2_enabled flag. also, the doc generator would fail an vm2 without
setting the flag for the vm2 files.
why:
new name forks_list.nim file name matches additional documentation
file names.
details:
v2forks.nim remains a hollowed out shell serving as interface file.
why:
activate NIM comments needed re-write. as there is no advantage in using
the macro replacing a few missing op-codes by "Nop##" name symbols, the
macro wrapper has been removed.
details:
when explicitly accessed by numeric value ##, missing Op enum entries
result in a symbol name something like "Op ##".
rather than implicitly using a macro to fix the op-codes list, missing
entries are detected at compile time when a fatal exception is thrown.
the static compile time check verifies that
all op-codes 0 .. 255 are defined
op code name/mnemonic has at least 2 chars and starts with a capital
op code name/mnemonic is not NIM auto-generated (i.e. has a space)
also, original '#' comments are exposed as doc comments '##'
why:
these files provide part of the externally accessible interface
provided by vm_cpmputation.nim, vm_internals.nim. so the
new filename indicates that the source code belongs to vm2 (rather
than vm).
why:
these files provide part of the externally accessible interface
provided by vm_message.nim, vm_precompile.nim, vm_gas_cost.nim. so the
new filename indicates that the source code belongs to vm2 (rather
than vm).
why:
these files provide part of the externally accessible interface
provided by vm_state*.nim. so the new filename indicates that the
source code belongs to vm2 (rather than vm).
why:
these files provide part of the externally accessible interface
provided by vm_types*.nim. so the new filename indicates that the
source code belongs to vm2 (rather than vm).
why:
making sure that deep links into vm2 sources are configured properly. it
is intended that only the vm_*.nim interface headers are allowed to
source files in vm2. the sentinels just protect from coding errors.
why:
vm2 enabled by ENABLE_VM2=1 behaves as vm without ENABLE_EVMC=1 until
it doesn't in some future fatch set. this leaves some wiggle room
to work on a vm copy without degrading the original implementation.
details:
+ additional make flag ENABLE_VM2=1 (or ENABLE_VM2=0 to explicitely disable)
+ when both flags ENABLE_EVMC=1 and ENABLE_VM2=1 are present, the former
flag ENABLE_EVMC=1 takes precedence, this is implemented at the NIM
compiler level for -d:evmc_enabled and -d:vm2_enabled
jangko
Jordan Hrycaj