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Format of Inform 6 Debugging Information Files, Draft
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Format of Inform 6 Debugging Information Files | |
Version 1.0 | |
0: Introduction | |
This is a specification of the Version 1 format for the debugging information | |
files emitted by the Inform 6 compiler. It replaces Version 0, which is | |
documented in Section 12.5 of the Inform Technical Manual. | |
1: Overview | |
Debugging information files are written in XML and encoded in UTF-8. They | |
therefore begin with the following declaration: | |
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> | |
Beyond the usual requirements for well-formed XML, the file adheres to the | |
conventions that all numbers are written in decimal, all strings are | |
case-sensitive, and all excerpts from binary files are Base64-encoded. | |
2: The Top Level | |
The root element is given by the tag <inform-story-file> with three attributes, | |
the version of the debug file format being used, the name of the program that | |
produced the file, and that program's version. For instance, | |
<inform-story-file version="1.0" content-creator="Inform" | |
content-creator-version="6.33"> | |
... | |
</inform-story-file> | |
The elements from Sections 3--8 may appear in the ellipses. | |
3: Story File Prefix | |
The story file prefix contains a Base64 encoding of the story file's first bytes | |
so that a debugging tool can easily check whether the story and the debug | |
information file are mismatched. For example, the prefix for a Glulx story | |
might appear as | |
<story-file-prefix> | |
R2x1bAADAQEACqEAAAwsAAAMLAAAAQAAAAAAPAAIo2Jc | |
6B2XSW5mbwABAAA2LjMyMC4zOAABMTIxMDE1wQAAMA== | |
</story-file-prefix> | |
The story file prefix is mandatory, but its length is unspecified. Version 6.33 | |
of the Inform compiler records 64 bytes, which seems sufficient. | |
4: Story File Sections | |
Story file sections partition the story file according to how the data will be | |
used. For the Inform 6 compiler, this partitioning is the same as the one that | |
the `z' flag prints. | |
A record for a story file section gives a name for that section, its beginning | |
address (inclusive), and its end address (exclusive): | |
<story-file-section> | |
<type>abbreviations table</type> | |
<address>64</address> | |
<end-address>128</end-address> | |
</story-file-section> | |
The names currently in use include those from Section 12.5 of the Inform | |
Technical Manual: | |
abbreviations table | |
header extension (Z-code only) | |
alphabets table (Z-code only) | |
Unicode table (Z-code only) | |
property defaults | |
object tree | |
common properties | |
class numbers | |
individual properties (Z-code only) | |
global variables | |
array space | |
grammar table | |
actions table | |
parsing routines (Z-code only) | |
adjectives table (Z-code only) | |
dictionary | |
code area | |
strings area | |
plus one addition for Z-code: | |
abbreviations | |
two additions for Glulx: | |
memory layout id | |
string decoding table | |
and three additions for both targets: | |
header | |
identifier names | |
zero padding | |
Names may repeat; Glulx story files, for example, sometimes have two zero | |
padding sections. | |
A compiler that does not wish to subdivide the story file should emit one | |
section for the entirety and give it the name | |
story | |
5: Source Files | |
Source files are encoded as in the example below. Each file has a unique index, | |
which is used by other elements when referring to source code locations; these | |
indices count from zero. The file's path is recorded in two forms, first as it | |
was given to the compiler via a command-line argument or include directive but | |
without any path abbreviations like `>' (the form suitable for presentation to a | |
human) and second after resolution to an absolute path (the form suitable for | |
loading the file contents). All paths are written according to the conventions | |
of the host OS. The language is, at present, either "Inform 6" or "Inform 7". | |
More languages may added in the future. | |
<source index="0"> | |
<given-path>example.inf</given-path> | |
<resolved-path>/home/user/directory/example.inf</resolved-path> | |
<language>Inform 6</language> | |
</source> | |
If the source file is known to appear in the story's Blorb, its chunk number | |
will also be recorded: | |
<source index="0"> | |
<given-path>example.inf</given-path> | |
<resolved-path>/home/user/directory/example.inf</resolved-path> | |
<language>Inform 6</language> | |
<blorb-chunk-number>18</blorb-chunk-number> | |
</source> | |
6: Table Entries; Grammar Lines | |
Table entries are data defined by particular parts of the source code, but | |
without any corresponding identifiers. The <table-entry> element notes the | |
entry's type, the address where it begins (inclusive), the address where it ends | |
(exclusive), and the defining source code location(s), if any: | |
<table-entry> | |
<type>grammar line</type> | |
<address>1004</address> | |
<end-address>1030</end-address> | |
<source-code-location>...</source-code-location> | |
</table-entry> | |
Version 6.33 of the Inform compiler only emits <table-entry> tags for grammar | |
lines; these data are all located in the grammar table section. | |
7: Named Values; Constants, Attributes, Properties, Actions, Fake Actions, | |
Objects, Classes, Arrays, and Routines | |
Records for named values store their identifier, their value, and the source | |
code location(s) of their definition, if any. For instance, | |
<constant> | |
<identifier>MAX_SCORE</identifier> | |
<value>40</value> | |
<source-code-location>...</source-code-location> | |
</constant> | |
would represent a named constant. Attributes, properties, actions, fake | |
actions, objects, arrays, and routines are also names for numbers, and differ | |
only in their use; they are represented in the same format under the tags | |
<attribute>, <property>, <action>, <fake-action>, <object>, <array>, and | |
<routine>. (Moreover, unlike Version 0 of the debug information format, fake | |
actions are not recorded as both fake actions and actions.) | |
The records for constants include some extra entries for the system constants | |
tabulated in Section 12.2 of the Inform Technical Manual, even though these are | |
not created by Constant directives. Entries for #undefed constants are also | |
included, but necessarily without values. | |
Some records for objects will represent class objects. In that case, they will | |
be given with the tag <class> rather than <object> and include an additional | |
child to indicate their class number: | |
<class> | |
<identifier>lamp</identifier> | |
<class-number>5</class-number> | |
<value>1560</value> | |
<source-code-location>...</source-code-location> | |
</class> | |
Records for arrays also have extra children, which record their size, their | |
element size, and the intended semantics for their zeroth element: | |
<array> | |
<identifier>route</identifier> | |
<value>1500</value> | |
<byte-count>20</byte-count> | |
<bytes-per-element>4</bytes-per-element> | |
<zeroth-element-holds-length>true</zeroth-element-holds-length> | |
<source-code-location>...</source-code-location> | |
</array> | |
And finally, <routine> records contain an <address> and a <byte-count> element, | |
along with any number of the <local-variable> and <sequence-point> elements, | |
which are described in Sections 9 and 10. The address is provided because the | |
identifier's value may be packed. | |
Sometimes what would otherwise be a named value is in fact anonymous; unnamed | |
objects, embedded routines, some replaced routines, veneer properties, and the | |
Infix attribute are all examples. In such a case, the <identifier> subelement | |
will carry the XML attribute | |
artificial | |
to indicate that the compiler is providing a sensible name of its own, which | |
could be presented to a human, but is not actually an identifier. For instance: | |
<routine> | |
<identifier artificial="true">lantern.time_left</identifier> | |
<value>1820</value> | |
<byte-count>80</byte-count> | |
<source-code-location>...</source-code-location> | |
... | |
</routine> | |
Artificial identifiers may contain characters, like the full stop in | |
``lantern.time_left'', that would not be legal in the source language. | |
8: Global Variables | |
Globals are similar to named values, except that they are not interpreted as a | |
fixed value, but rather have an address where their value can be found. Their | |
records therefore contain an <address> tag in place of the <value> tag, as in: | |
<global-variable> | |
<identifier>darkness_witnessed</identifier> | |
<address>1520</address> | |
<source-code-location>...</source-code-location> | |
</global-variable> | |
9: Local Variables | |
The format for local variables mimics the format for global variables, except | |
that a source code location is never included, and their memory locations are | |
not given by address. For Z-code, locals are specified by index: | |
<local-variable> | |
<identifier>parameter</identifier> | |
<index>1</index> | |
</local-variable> | |
whereas for Glulx they are specified by frame offset: | |
<local-variable> | |
<identifier>parameter</identifier> | |
<frame-offset>4</frame-offset> | |
</local-variable> | |
If a local variable identifier is only in scope for part of a routine, it's | |
scope will be encoded as a beginning instruction address (inclusive) and an | |
ending instruction address (exclusive): | |
<local-variable> | |
<identifier>rulebook</identifier> | |
<index>0</index> | |
<scope-address>1628</scope-address> | |
<end-scope-address>1678</end-scope-address> | |
</local-variable> | |
Identifiers with noncontiguous scopes are recorded as one <local-variable> | |
element per contiguous region. It is possible for the same identifier to map to | |
different variables, so long as the corresponding scopes are disjoint. | |
10: Sequence Points | |
Sequence points are stored as an instruction address and the corresponding | |
single location in the source code: | |
<sequence-point> | |
<address>1628</address> | |
<source-code-location>...</source-code-location> | |
</sequence-point> | |
The source code location will always be exactly one position with overlapping | |
endpoints. | |
Sequence points are defined as in Section 12.4 of the Inform Technical Manual, | |
but with the further stipulation that labels do not influence their source code | |
locations, as they did in Version 0 of the debug information format. For | |
instance, in code like | |
say__p = 1; ParaContent(); .L_Say59; .LSayX59; | |
t_0 = 0; | |
the sequence points are to be placed like this: | |
<*> say__p = 1; <*> ParaContent(); .L_Say59; .LSayX59; | |
<*> t_0 = 0; | |
rather than like this: | |
<*> say__p = 1; <*> ParaContent(); <*> .L_Say59; .LSayX59; | |
t_0 = 0; | |
11: Source Code Locations | |
Most source code locations take the following format, which describes their | |
file, the line and character number where they begin (inclusive), the line and | |
character number where they end (exclusive), and the file positions (in bytes) | |
corresponding to those endpoints: | |
<source-code-location> | |
<file-index>0</file-index> | |
<line>1024</line> | |
<character>4</character> | |
<file-position>44153</file-position> | |
<end-line>1025</end-line> | |
<end-character>1</end-character> | |
<end-file-position>44186</end-file-position> | |
</source-code-location> | |
Line numbers and character numbers begin at one, but file positions count from | |
zero. | |
If the compiler doesn't track file positions, they will be omitted. If it | |
doesn't track character numbers either, only line numbers will appear. | |
Furthermore, in the special case where the endpoints coincide, as happens with | |
sequence points, the end elements may be elided: | |
<source-code-location> | |
<file-index>0</file-index> | |
<line>1024</line> | |
<character>4</character> | |
<file-position>44153</file-position> | |
</source-code-location> | |
At the other extreme, sometimes definitions span several source files or appear | |
in two different languages. The former case is dealt with by including multiple | |
code location elements and indexing them to indicate order: | |
<!-- First Part of Inform 6 Definition --> | |
<source-code-location index="0"> | |
<!-- Assuming file 0 was given with the language "Inform 6" --> | |
<file-index>0</file-index> | |
<line>1024</line> | |
<character>4</character> | |
<file-position>44153</file-position> | |
<end-line>1025</end-line> | |
<end-character>1</end-character> | |
<end-file-position>44186</end-file-position> | |
</source-code-location> | |
<!-- Second Part of Inform 6 Definition --> | |
<source-code-location index="1"> | |
<!-- Assuming file 1 was given with the language "Inform 6" --> | |
<file-index>1</file-index> | |
<line>1</line> | |
<character>0</character> | |
<file-position>0</file-position> | |
<end-line>3</end-line> | |
<end-character>1</end-character> | |
<end-file-position>59</end-file-position> | |
</source-code-location> | |
The latter case is also handled with multiple elements. Note that indexing is | |
only used to indicated order among locations in the same language. | |
<!-- Inform 7 Definition --> | |
<source-code-location> | |
<!-- Assuming file 2 was given with the language "Inform 7" --> | |
<file-index>2</file-index> | |
<line>12</line> | |
<character>0</character> | |
<file-position>308</file-position> | |
<end-line>12</end-line> | |
<end-character>112</end-character> | |
<end-file-position>420</end-file-position> | |
</source-code-location> | |
<!-- Inform 6 Definition --> | |
<source-code-location> | |
<!-- Assuming file 0 was given with the language "Inform 6" --> | |
<file-index>0</file-index> | |
<line>1024</line> | |
<character>4</character> | |
<file-position>44153</file-position> | |
<end-line>1025</end-line> | |
<end-character>1</end-character> | |
<end-file-position>44186</end-file-position> | |
</source-code-location> |
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