| .. _ContributingToLibcxx: |
| |
| ====================== |
| Contributing to libc++ |
| ====================== |
| |
| This file contains notes about various tasks and processes specific to contributing |
| to libc++. If this is your first time contributing, please also read `this document |
| <https://www.llvm.org/docs/Contributing.html>`__ on general rules for contributing to LLVM. |
| |
| If you plan on contributing to libc++, it can be useful to join the ``#libcxx`` channel |
| on `LLVM's Discord server <https://discord.gg/jzUbyP26tQ>`__. |
| |
| Looking for pre-existing pull requests |
| ====================================== |
| |
| Before you start working on any feature, please take a look at the open libc++ pull |
| requests to avoid duplicating someone else's work. You can do that on GitHub by |
| filtering pull requests `tagged with libc++ <https://github.com/llvm/llvm-project/pulls?q=is%3Apr+is%3Aopen+label%3Alibc%2B%2B>`__. |
| If you see that your feature is already being worked on, please consider chiming in |
| and helping review the code instead of duplicating work! |
| |
| RFCs for significant user-affecting changes |
| =========================================== |
| |
| Before you start working on a change that can have significant impact on users of the library, |
| please consider creating a RFC on `libc++'s Discourse forum <https://discourse.llvm.org/c/runtimes/libcxx>`__. |
| This will ensure that you work in a direction that the project endorses and will ease reviewing your |
| contribution as directional questions can be raised early. Including a WIP patch is not mandatory, but |
| it can be useful to ground the discussion in something concrete. |
| |
| Coding standards |
| ================ |
| |
| In general, libc++ follows the |
| `LLVM Coding Standards <https://llvm.org/docs/CodingStandards.html>`_. |
| There are some deviations from these standards. |
| |
| Libc++ uses ``__ugly_names``. These names are reserved for implementations, so |
| users may not use them in their own applications. When using a name like ``T``, |
| a user may have defined a macro that changes the meaning of ``T``. By using |
| ``__ugly_names`` we avoid that problem. Other standard libraries and compilers |
| use these names too. To avoid common clashes with other uglified names used in |
| other implementations (e.g. system headers), the test in |
| ``libcxx/test/libcxx/system_reserved_names.gen.py`` contains the list of |
| reserved names that can't be used. |
| |
| Unqualified function calls are susceptible to |
| `argument-dependent lookup (ADL) <https://en.cppreference.com/w/cpp/language/adl>`_. |
| This means calling ``move(UserType)`` might not call ``std::move``. Therefore, |
| function calls must use qualified names to avoid ADL. Some functions in the |
| standard library `require ADL usage <http://eel.is/c++draft/contents#3>`_. |
| Names of classes, variables, concepts, and type aliases are not subject to ADL. |
| They don't need to be qualified. |
| |
| Function overloading also applies to operators. Using ``&user_object`` may call |
| a user-defined ``operator&``. Use ``std::addressof`` instead. Similarly, to |
| avoid invoking a user-defined ``operator,``, make sure to cast the result to |
| ``void`` when using the ``,``. For example: |
| |
| .. code-block:: cpp |
| |
| for (; __first1 != __last1; ++__first1, (void)++__first2) { |
| ... |
| } |
| |
| In general, try to follow the style of existing code. There are a few |
| exceptions: |
| |
| - Prefer ``using foo = int`` over ``typedef int foo``. The compilers supported |
| by libc++ accept alias declarations in all standard modes. |
| |
| Other tips are: |
| |
| - Keep the number of formatting changes in patches minimal. |
| - Provide separate patches for style fixes and for bug fixes or features. Keep in |
| mind that large formatting patches may cause merge conflicts with other patches |
| under review. In general, we prefer to avoid large reformatting patches. |
| - Keep patches self-contained. Large and/or complicated patches are harder to |
| review and take a significant amount of time. It's fine to have multiple |
| patches to implement one feature if the feature can be split into |
| self-contained sub-tasks. |
| |
| |
| Resources |
| ========= |
| |
| Libc++ specific |
| --------------- |
| |
| - ``libcxx/include/__config`` -- this file contains the commonly used |
| macros in libc++. Libc++ supports all C++ language versions. Newer versions |
| of the Standard add new features. For example, making functions ``constexpr`` |
| in C++20 is done by using ``_LIBCPP_CONSTEXPR_SINCE_CXX20``. This means the |
| function is ``constexpr`` in C++20 and later. The Standard does not allow |
| making this available in C++17 or earlier, so we use a macro to implement |
| this requirement. |
| - ``libcxx/test/support/test_macros.h`` -- similar to the above, but for the |
| test suite. |
| |
| |
| ISO C++ Standard |
| ---------------- |
| |
| Libc++ implements the library part of the ISO C++ standard. The official |
| publication must be bought from ISO or your national body. This is not |
| needed to work on libc++, there are other free resources available. |
| |
| - The `LaTeX sources <https://github.com/cplusplus/draft>`_ used to |
| create the official C++ standard. This can be used to create your own |
| unofficial build of the standard. |
| |
| - An `HTML rendered version of the draft <https://eel.is/c++draft/>`_ is |
| available. This is the most commonly used place to look for the |
| wording of the standard. |
| |
| - An `alternative <https://github.com/timsong-cpp/cppwp>`_ is available. |
| This link has both recent and historic versions of the standard. |
| |
| - When implementing features, there are |
| `general requirements <https://eel.is/c++draft/#library>`_. |
| Most papers use this |
| `jargon <http://eel.is/c++draft/structure#specifications>`_ |
| to describe how library functions work. |
| |
| - The `WG21 redirect service <https://wg21.link/>`_ is a tool to quickly locate |
| papers, issues, and wording in the standard. |
| |
| - The `paper trail <https://github.com/cplusplus/papers/issues>`_ of |
| papers is publicly available, including the polls taken. It |
| contains links to the minutes of paper's discussion. Per ISO rules, |
| these minutes are only accessible by members of the C++ committee. |
| |
| - `Feature-Test Macros and Policies |
| <https://isocpp.org/std/standing-documents/sd-6-sg10-feature-test-recommendations>`_ |
| contains information about feature-test macros in C++. |
| It contains a list with all feature-test macros, their versions, and the paper |
| that introduced them. |
| |
| - `cppreference <https://en.cppreference.com/w/>`_ is a good resource |
| for the usage of C++ library and language features. It's easier to |
| read than the C++ Standard, but it lacks details needed to properly implement |
| library features. |
| |
| |
| Pre-commit check list |
| ===================== |
| |
| Before committing or creating a review, please go through this check-list to make |
| sure you don't forget anything: |
| |
| - Do you have :ref:`tests <testing>` for every public class and/or function you're adding or modifying? |
| - Did you update the synopsis of the relevant headers? |
| - Did you update the relevant files to track implementation status (in ``docs/Status/``)? |
| - Did you mark all functions and type declarations with the :ref:`proper visibility macro <visibility-macros>`? |
| - Did you add all new named declarations to the ``std`` module? |
| - If you added a header: |
| |
| - Did you add it to ``include/module.modulemap``? |
| - Did you add it to ``include/CMakeLists.txt``? |
| - If it's a public header, did you update ``utils/libcxx/header_information.py``? |
| |
| - Did you add the relevant feature test macro(s) for your feature? Did you update the ``generate_feature_test_macro_components.py`` script with it? |
| - Did you run the ``libcxx-generate-files`` target and verify its output? |
| - If needed, did you add `_LIBCPP_PUSH_MACROS` and `_LIBCPP_POP_MACROS` to the relevant headers? |
| |
| The review process |
| ================== |
| |
| After uploading your patch, you should see that the "libc++" review group is automatically |
| added as a reviewer for your patch. Once the group is marked as having approved your patch, |
| you can commit it. However, if you get an approval very quickly for a significant patch, |
| please try to wait a couple of business days before committing to give the opportunity for |
| other reviewers to chime in. If you need someone else to commit the patch for you, please |
| mention it and provide your ``Name <email@domain>`` for us to attribute the commit properly. |
| |
| Note that the rule for accepting as the "libc++" review group is to wait for two members |
| of the group to have approved the patch, excluding the patch author. This is not a hard |
| rule -- for very simple patches, use your judgement. The `"libc++" review group <https://reviews.llvm.org/project/members/64/>`__ |
| consists of frequent libc++ contributors with a good understanding of the project's |
| guidelines -- if you would like to be added to it, please reach out on Discord. |
| |
| Exporting new symbols from the library |
| ====================================== |
| |
| When exporting new symbols from libc++, you must update the ABI lists located in ``lib/abi``. |
| To test whether the lists are up-to-date, please run the target ``check-cxx-abilist``. |
| To regenerate the lists, use the target ``generate-cxx-abilist``. |
| The ABI lists must be updated for all supported platforms; currently Linux and |
| Apple. If you don't have access to one of these platforms, you can download an |
| updated list from the failed build at |
| `Buildkite <https://buildkite.com/llvm-project/libcxx-ci>`__. |
| Look for the failed build and select the ``artifacts`` tab. There, download the |
| abilist for the platform, e.g.: |
| |
| * C++<version>. |
| * MacOS X86_64 and MacOS arm64 for the Apple platform. |
| |
| |
| Pre-commit CI |
| ============= |
| |
| Introduction |
| ------------ |
| |
| Unlike most parts of the LLVM project, libc++ uses a pre-commit CI [#]_. This |
| CI is hosted on `Buildkite <https://buildkite.com/llvm-project/libcxx-ci>`__ and |
| the build results are visible in the review on GitHub. Please make sure |
| the CI is green before committing a patch. |
| |
| The CI tests libc++ for all :ref:`supported platforms <SupportedPlatforms>`. |
| The build is started for every commit added to a Pull Request. A complete CI |
| run takes approximately one hour. To reduce the load: |
| |
| * The build is cancelled when a new commit is pushed to a PR that is already running CI. |
| * The build is done in several stages and cancelled when a stage fails. |
| |
| Typically, the libc++ jobs use a Ubuntu Docker image. This image contains |
| recent `nightly builds <https://apt.llvm.org>`__ of all supported versions of |
| Clang and the current version of the ``main`` branch. These versions of Clang |
| are used to build libc++ and execute its tests. |
| |
| Unless specified otherwise, the configurations: |
| |
| * use a nightly build of the ``main`` branch of Clang, |
| * execute the tests using the language C++<latest>. This is the version |
| "developed" by the C++ committee. |
| |
| .. note:: Updating the Clang nightly builds in the Docker image is a manual |
| process and is done at an irregular interval on purpose. When you need to |
| have the latest nightly build to test recent Clang changes, ask in the |
| ``#libcxx`` channel on `LLVM's Discord server |
| <https://discord.gg/jzUbyP26tQ>`__. |
| |
| .. [#] There's `LLVM Dev Meeting talk <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7gB6van7Bw>`__ |
| explaining the benefits of libc++'s pre-commit CI. |
| |
| Builds |
| ------ |
| |
| Below is a short description of the most interesting CI builds [#]_: |
| |
| * ``Format`` runs ``clang-format`` and uploads its output as an artifact. At the |
| moment this build is a soft error and doesn't fail the build. |
| * ``Generated output`` runs the ``libcxx-generate-files`` build target and |
| tests for non-ASCII characters in libcxx. Some files are excluded since they |
| use Unicode, mainly tests. The output of these commands are uploaded as |
| artifact. |
| * ``Documentation`` builds the documentation. (This is done early in the build |
| process since it is cheap to run.) |
| * ``C++<version>`` these build steps test the various C++ versions, making sure all |
| C++ language versions work with the changes made. |
| * ``Clang <version>`` these build steps test whether the changes work with all |
| supported Clang versions. |
| * ``Booststrapping build`` builds Clang using the revision of the patch and |
| uses that Clang version to build and test libc++. This validates the current |
| Clang and lib++ are compatible. |
| |
| When a crash occurs in this build, the crash reproducer is available as an |
| artifact. |
| |
| * ``Modular build`` tests libc++ using Clang modules [#]_. |
| * ``GCC <version>`` tests libc++ with the latest stable GCC version. Only C++11 |
| and the latest C++ version are tested. |
| * ``Santitizers`` tests libc++ using the Clang sanitizers. |
| * ``Parts disabled`` tests libc++ with certain libc++ features disabled. |
| * ``Windows`` tests libc++ using MinGW and clang-cl. |
| * ``Apple`` tests libc++ on MacOS. |
| * ``ARM`` tests libc++ on various Linux ARM platforms. |
| * ``AIX`` tests libc++ on AIX. |
| |
| .. [#] Not all steps are listed: steps are added and removed when the need arises. |
| .. [#] Clang modules are not the same as C++20's modules. |
| |
| Infrastructure |
| -------------- |
| |
| All files of the CI infrastructure are in the directory ``libcxx/utils/ci``. |
| Note that quite a bit of this infrastructure is heavily Linux focused. This is |
| the platform used by most of libc++'s Buildkite runners and developers. |
| |
| Dockerfile |
| ~~~~~~~~~~ |
| |
| Contains the Docker image for the Ubuntu CI. Because the same Docker image is |
| used for the ``main`` and ``release`` branch, it should contain no hard-coded |
| versions. It contains the used versions of Clang, various clang-tools, |
| GCC, and CMake. |
| |
| .. note:: This image is pulled from Docker hub and not rebuild when changing |
| the Dockerfile. |
| |
| run-buildbot-container |
| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |
| |
| Helper script that pulls and runs the Docker image. This image mounts the LLVM |
| monorepo at ``/llvm``. This can be used to test with compilers not available on |
| your system. |
| |
| run-buildbot |
| ~~~~~~~~~~~~ |
| |
| Contains the build script executed on Buildkite. This script can be executed |
| locally or inside ``run-buildbot-container``. The script must be called with |
| the target to test. For example, ``run-buildbot generic-cxx20`` will build |
| libc++ and test it using C++20. |
| |
| .. warning:: This script will overwrite the directory ``<llvm-root>/build/XX`` |
| where ``XX`` is the target of ``run-buildbot``. |
| |
| This script contains as little version information as possible. This makes it |
| easy to use the script with a different compiler. This allows testing a |
| combination not in the libc++ CI. It can be used to add a new (temporary) |
| job to the CI. For example, testing the C++17 build with Clang-14 can be done |
| like: |
| |
| .. code-block:: bash |
| |
| CC=clang-14 CXX=clang++-14 run-buildbot generic-cxx17 |
| |
| buildkite-pipeline.yml |
| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |
| |
| Contains the jobs executed in the CI. This file contains the version |
| information of the jobs being executed. Since this script differs between the |
| ``main`` and ``release`` branch, both branches can use different compiler |
| versions. |