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feat: precise tagging of scalar values (#4369)
The Motoko runtime representation of values is largely untyped, distinguishing only between scalar and boxed values using a single bit of the 32-bit value representation. The tagging is only to support garbage collection, not precise runtime type information. In the existing value encoding, a Motoko value in vanilla form is a 32-bit value that is either: * false `(0b0)`, * true `(0b1)`, * a word-aligned (encoded) pointer to a heap allocated value. Encoded by subtracting 1 from the pointer value (ensuring the 2 LSBs are 0b11), pointing heap allocated value * null (some well-known skewed pointer). * a 31-bit scalar value, stored in the top bits of the value with LSB 0. Scalar values encode `Nat8/16` and `Int8/16` values and chars, and 31-bit subranges of `Nat32`, `Int32`, `Nat64`, `Int64`, `Nat` and `Int`. Large integer values that don't fit in a 31-bit scalar are boxed on the heap. Observe that, in Motoko, some types are always scalar (eg. `Nat8`), some types are always boxed (e.g. `Blob`), and some types have a mixed scalar/boxed representation (e.g. `Nat32` and `Nat`), depending on the size of the value. This PR adds exact runtime type information to all[*] scalar values, making the scalar values self describing. Making the _entire_ heap fully self-describing requires refining the heap tags use to identify heap objects, distinguishing boxed `Nat32` from boxed `Int32`, `Blob` from `Principal` and `Text`, tuples from (mutable and immutable) arrays etc. That work of refining heap tags will need to be completed in a follow on or sibling PR, but is hopefully less involved than the changes herein. To add precise scalar type info, we extend the scalar tagging scheme with a richer set of (inline) type descriptors, using some of the least significant bits of the 31-bit scalar representation. To avoid dedicating a fix-length suffix (say 1 byte) to the scalar tag, scalar tags are actually variable length, using shorter tags for larger payload types, and longer tags for shorter payload types. This gives us a reasonable tag space (set of possible tags, some still unused), without reducing the scalar range of mixed representation types too much. At one extreme, the tag of `Int` (and `Nat`) is just `0b10`, leaving a 30-bit payload for compact `Nat/Int`, losing just `1` bit from the current representation's 31-bit compact range. This is important because `Int`s are common, and `Nat`s are used to index arrays, so we should avoid boxing more than necessary. In the middle, the tag of `Nat16`, `Int16` is `0b10(0^12)00` and `0b11(0^12)00`, leaving a 16-bit payload in the MSB. At the other extreme, the tag of the unit value, `()`, is 32-bit `0x01(0^28)00`, occupying the entire value. The primary motivation of this work is to support value, not type driven, serialization of stable values to a precisely typed stable format, without loss of type information, so that upgrades can still accommodate type dependent changes of representation from one in-memory format to another. Secondary motivations are live and post-mortem heap inspection tools and light-weight debugging tools, that can parse values in locals, arguments and on the heap using tags. [*] There remain some raw, untagged 31-bit scalars whose type is only known to the compiler. These are used to encode the state of text and blob iterators, hidden in dedicated iterator closure environments. Note that these are not stable types, so need not be precisely tagged for stabilization. # Tagging Scheme | Value | Type | Payload bits | |-------| ------| --------------| | `((O,O,O,O,O,O,O,O), (O,O,O,O,O,O,O,O), (O,O,O,O,O,O,O,O), (O,O,O,O,O,O,O,O))` | TBool (* false *) | 0 | | `((O,O,O,O,O,O,O,O), (O,O,O,O,O,O,O,O), (O,O,O,O,O,O,O,O), (O,O,O,O,O,O,O,I))` | TBool (* true *) | 0 | | `((_,_,_,_,_,_,_,_), (_,_,_,_,_,_,_,_), (_,_,_,_,_,_,_,_), (_,_,_,_,_,_,I,I))` | TRef | 30 | | `((_,_,_,_,_,_,_,_), (_,_,_,_,_,_,_,_), (_,_,_,_,_,_,_,_), (_,_,_,_,_,_,I,O))` | TNum | 30 | | `((_,_,_,_,_,_,_,_), (_,_,_,_,_,_,_,_), (_,_,_,_,_,_,_,_), (_,_,_,_,O,I,O,O))` | TNat64 | 28 | | `((_,_,_,_,_,_,_,_), (_,_,_,_,_,_,_,_), (_,_,_,_,_,_,_,_), (_,_,_,_,I,I,O,O))` | TInt64 | 28 | | `((_,_,_,_,_,_,_,_), (_,_,_,_,_,_,_,_), (_,_,_,_,_,_,_,_), (_,_,_,O,I,O,O,O))` | TNat32 | 27 | | `((_,_,_,_,_,_,_,_), (_,_,_,_,_,_,_,_), (_,_,_,_,_,_,_,_), (_,_,_,I,I,O,O,O))` | TInt32 | 27 | | ... unused tags .... | ... | ... | | `((_,_,_,_,_,_,_,_), (_,_,_,_,_,_,_,_), (_,_,_,_,_,O,I,O), (O,O,O,O,O,O,O,O))` | TChar | 21 | | ... unused tags .... | ... | ... | | `((_,_,_,_,_,_,_,_), (_,_,_,_,_,_,_,_), (O,I,O,O,O,O,O,O), (O,O,O,O,O,O,O,O))`| TNat16 | 16 | | `((_,_,_,_,_,_,_,_), (_,_,_,_,_,_,_,_), (I,I,O,O,O,O,O,O), (O,O,O,O,O,O,O,O))` | TInt16 | 16 | | ... unused tags .... | ... | ... | | `((_,_,_,_,_,_,_,_), (O,I,O,O,O,O,O,O), (O,O,O,O,O,O,O,O), (O,O,O,O,O,O,O,O))` | TNat8 | 8 | | `((_,_,_,_,_,_,_,_), (I,I,O,O,O,O,O,O), (O,O,O,O,O,O,O,O), (O,O,O,O,O,O,O,O))` | TInt8 | 8 | | ... unused tags .... | ... | ... | | `((O,I,O,O,O,O,O,O), (O,O,O,O,O,O,O,O), (O,O,O,O,O,O,O,O), (O,O,O,O,O,O,O,O))` | TUnit | 0 | # Implementation The implementation was carried out in a number of precursor PRs: * #4098: Added 1-byte tags to small values, untagging an retagging on every operation, with many code changes. * #4278: Made the payload/tag size for scalar values configurable using a fixed compile time constant. * #4322: Added tags to compact `Nat32/Int32` and `Nat32/Nat64`, making the payload size type-dependent. The previously untyped _StackReps_ `UnboxedWord32` and `UnboxedWord64` were extended to carry a type argument. The argument is used to remember and re-introduce the precise tag on unboxing and boxing. It can also be used to verify the tag on unboxing, for sanity checking. * #4345: Tag compact Int and Nat (both as Int due to subtyping) * #4353: Extended the range of compact `Int/Nat` from 29 to 30-bit, by adjusting the tagging scheme. This is just 1 bit less than with the existing scheme (31-bit, untagged scalars). * #4354: Improved the tagging scheme to use the longest possible tags for the required payload size, upping the ranges of unused tags (for future use) * #4357: Merge with master, fixs bugs in sanity checking of tags. Fix bugs revealing by more stringent sanity checks. * #4363: Uses the `UnboxedWord32/Word64` stack reps also for untagged, 0-right-padded small tagged values, tagging/untagging only on exit to and from stack. This alone reduces the (large) 80% overhead in bench/nat16.mo to 55%. It also has the advantage of reverting almost all changes to the arithmetic code, which can now (again) assume values are right, 0-padded as it did previously, * #4369: (this PR) does a small tweak so that mutable locals containing small tagged values in untagged form, extending the existing optimization done for mutable locals containing unboxed `Nat32`/`Int32` and `Int64`/`Nat64`. This reduces the `bench/nat16.mo` overhead from 55% to just 6% (the benchmark use repeated in-place updates in a tight loop so benefits greatly). This PR also makes use of the previously unused bit in the the compact representation of `Nat32s` and `Nat64s` which previously had to concur with the representation of `Int32` and `Nat64` and could only represent half the unsigned range. With the typed StackRep, we now know whether the values are signed or not and can choose distinct compact representation for `Nat32` vs `Int32`, and `Nat64` vs `Int64` rather that shared ones. Note however, that the compact representation for `Nat` cannot recover the missing bit because of subtyping. A compact `Nat` **must** have the same representation as a compact `Int` to support non-coercive subtyping. * #4375 (incoming): rewrite array iter optimization to respect compact bignum representation invariants. * #4400 : gate feature behind `Mo_config.Flags.rtti (default off)`, avoiding overhead for now. * added (unadvertised) flag `--experimental-rtti` to enable feature for performance feedback from users. # Overheads These are the cycle count and code size differences measured using `test/bench` and `test/perf`, compared against master (see spreadsheet for perf of interim PRs). Summarized from: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1zC2Hsl9gGUzJESQmSABPiu-XIsICEw1I3O-JKHNWVQs/edit?usp=sharing ## perf ## test/perf Master | | | Widening | | Widening vs Master | | Gated | | Gated vs Master -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- gas/assetstorage | 10013950 | | gas/assetstorage | 10013950 | 0.00% | | gas/assetstorage | 10013950 | 0.00% size/assetstorage | 186455 | | size/assetstorage | 186705 | 0.13% | | size/assetstorage | 186520 | 0.03% gas/dao | 4413634512 | | gas/dao | 4413744976 | 0.00% | | gas/dao | 4413743944 | 0.00% size/dao | 265797 | | size/dao | 266385 | 0.22% | | size/dao | 265922 | 0.05% gas/qr | 1302744688 | | gas/qr | 1305067118 | 0.18% | | gas/qr | 1302750018 | 0.00% size/qr | 256049 | | size/qr | 256925 | 0.34% | | size/qr | 256285 | 0.09% gas/reversi | 80920993 | | gas/reversi | 81019001 | 0.12% | | gas/reversi | 80927129 | 0.01% size/reversi | 175956 | | size/reversi | 176421 | 0.26% | | size/reversi | 176084 | 0.07% gas/sha224 | 460197621 | | gas/sha224 | 498978947 | 8.43% | | | | size/sha224 | 191929 | | size/sha224 | 192859 | 0.48% | | | | gas/sha256 | 14487063673 | | gas/sha256 | 15568532694 | 7.47% | | gas/sha256 | 14486916565 | 0.00% size/sha256 | 179075 | | size/sha256 | 180167 | 0.61% | | size/sha256 | 179223 | 0.08% ## test/bench Master | | | Widening | | Widening vs Master | | Gated | | Gated vs Master -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- gas/alloc | 9,243,068,120.00 | | gas/alloc | 10,350,366,461.00 | 11.98% | | gas/alloc | 9243068126 | 0.00% size/alloc | 181,066.00 | | size/alloc | 180,759.00 | -0.17% | | size/alloc | 180464 | -0.33% gas/bignum | 130,604,743.00 | | gas/bignum | 130,606,013.00 | 0.00% | | gas/bignum | 130604779 | 0.00% size/bignum | 184,420.00 | | size/bignum | 184,093.00 | -0.18% | | size/bignum | 183790 | -0.34% gas/heap-32 | 1,610,218,447.00 | | gas/heap-32 | 1,695,702,521.00 | 5.31% | | gas/heap-32 | 1609469958 | -0.05% size/heap-32 | 182,167.00 | | size/heap-32 | 181,856.00 | -0.17% | | size/heap-32 | 181556 | -0.34% gas/nat16 | 61,393,031.00 | | gas/nat16 | 65,587,813.00 | 6.83% | | gas/nat16 | 61393019 | 0.00% size/nat16 | 181,010.00 | | size/nat16 | 180,727.00 | -0.16% | | size/nat16 | 180408 | -0.33% gas/palindrome | 10,131,340.00 | | gas/palindrome | 10,133,866.00 | 0.02% | | gas/palindrome | 10131268 | 0.00% size/palindrome | 185,338.00 | | size/palindrome | 185,024.00 | -0.17% | | size/palindrome | 184695 | -0.35% gas/region0-mem | 6,402,149,937.00 | | gas/region0-mem | 6,452,495,054.00 | 0.79% | | gas/region0-mem | 6402149955 | 0.00% size/region0-mem | 181,898.00 | | size/region0-mem | 181,602.00 | -0.16% | | size/region0-mem | 181281 | -0.34% gas/region-mem | 5,974,331,587.00 | | gas/region-mem | 6,024,676,752.00 | 0.84% | | gas/region-mem | 5974331605 | 0.00% size/region-mem | 181,539.00 | | size/region-mem | 181,252.00 | -0.16% | | size/region-mem | 180931 | -0.33% gas/stable-mem | 3,885,566,188.00 | | gas/stable-mem | 3,935,898,195.00 | 1.30% | | gas/stable-mem | 3885566206 | 0.00% size/stable-mem | 181,896.00 | | size/stable-mem | 181,600.00 | -0.16% | | size/stable-mem | 181279 | -0.34% gas/xxx-nat32 | 57,198,791.00 | | gas/xxx-nat32 | 57,199,237.00 | 0.00% | | gas/xxx-nat32 | 57198779 | 0.00% size/xxx-nat32 | 181,001.00 | | size/xxx-nat32 | 180,694.00 | -0.17% | | size/xxx-nat32 | 180399 | -0.33%
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