4.18. Debugging the compiler
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## 4.18. Debugging the compiler

HACKER TERRITORY. HACKER TERRITORY. (You were warned.)

### 4.18.1. Dumping out compiler intermediate structures

`-ddump-``pass`

  Make a debugging dump after pass `<pass>` (may be common enough to need a short form…). You can get all of these at once (lots of output) by using `-v5`, or most of them with `-v4`. Some of the most useful ones are:

  `-ddump-parsed`:

    parser output

  `-ddump-rn`:

    renamer output

  `-ddump-tc`:

    typechecker output

  `-ddump-splices`:

    Dump Template Haskell expressions that we splice in, and what Haskell code the expression evaluates to.

  `-ddump-types`:

    Dump a type signature for each value defined at the top level of the module. The list is sorted alphabetically. Using `-dppr-debug` dumps a type signature for all the imported and system-defined things as well; useful for debugging the compiler.

  `-ddump-deriv`:

    derived instances

  `-ddump-ds`:

    desugarer output

  `-ddump-spec`:

    output of specialisation pass

  `-ddump-rules`:

    dumps all rewrite rules specified in this module; see Section 7.14.6, “Controlling what's going on in rewrite rules”.

  `-ddump-simpl`:

    simplifier output (Core-to-Core passes)

  `-ddump-inlinings`:

    inlining info from the simplifier

  `-ddump-cpranal`:

    CPR analyser output

  `-ddump-stranal`:

    strictness analyser output

  `-ddump-cse`:

    CSE pass output

  `-ddump-worker-wrapper`:

    worker/wrapper split output

  `-ddump-occur-anal`:

    `occurrence analysis' output

  `-ddump-prep`:

    output of core preparation pass

  `-ddump-stg`:

    output of STG-to-STG passes

  `-ddump-flatC`:

    flattened Abstract C

  `-ddump-cmm`:

    Print the C-- code out.

  `-ddump-opt-cmm`:

    Dump the results of C-- to C-- optimising passes.

  `-ddump-asm`:

    assembly language from the native-code generator

  `-ddump-bcos`:

    byte code compiler output

  `-ddump-foreign`:

    dump foreign export stubs

`-ddump-simpl-phases`:

  Show the output of each run of the simplifier. Used when even `-dverbose-core2core` doesn't cut it.

`-ddump-simpl-iterations`:

  Show the output of each iteration of the simplifier (each run of the simplifier has a maximum number of iterations, normally 4). This outputs even more information than `-ddump-simpl-phases`.

`-ddump-simpl-stats`

  Dump statistics about how many of each kind of transformation too place. If you add `-dppr-debug` you get more detailed information.

`-ddump-if-trace`

  Make the interface loader be *real* chatty about what it is upto.

`-ddump-tc-trace`

  Make the type checker be *real* chatty about what it is upto.

`-ddump-rn-trace`

  Make the renamer be *real* chatty about what it is upto.

`-ddump-rn-stats`

  Print out summary of what kind of information the renamer had to bring in.

`-dverbose-core2core` , `-dverbose-stg2stg`

  Show the output of the intermediate Core-to-Core and STG-to-STG passes, respectively. (Lots of output!) So: when we're really desperate:

      % ghc -noC -O -ddump-simpl -dverbose-core2core -dcore-lint Foo.hs

`-dshow-passes`

  Print out each pass name as it happens.

`-dfaststring-stats`

  Show statistics for the usage of fast strings by the compiler.

`-dppr-debug`

  Debugging output is in one of several “styles.” Take the printing of types, for example. In the “user” style (the default), the compiler's internal ideas about types are presented in Haskell source-level syntax, insofar as possible. In the “debug” style (which is the default for debugging output), the types are printed in with explicit foralls, and variables have their unique-id attached (so you can check for things that look the same but aren't). This flag makes debugging output appear in the more verbose debug style.

`-dsuppress-uniques`

  Suppress the printing of uniques in debugging output. This may make the printout ambiguous (e.g. unclear where an occurrence of 'x' is bound), but it makes the output of two compiler runs have many fewer gratuitous differences, so you can realistically apply diff. Once diff has shown you where to look, you can try again without `-dsuppress-uniques`

`-dsuppress-coercions`

  Suppress the printing of coercions in Core dumps to make them shorter.

`-dsuppress-module-prefixes`

  Suppress the printing of module qualification prefixes in Core dumps to make them easier to read.

`-dppr-user-length`

  In error messages, expressions are printed to a certain “depth”, with subexpressions beyond the depth replaced by ellipses. This flag sets the depth. Its default value is 5.

`-dno-debug-output`

  Suppress any unsolicited debugging output. When GHC has been built with the `DEBUG` option it occasionally emits debug output of interest to developers. The extra output can confuse the testing framework and cause bogus test failures, so this flag is provided to turn it off.

### 4.18.2. Checking for consistency

`-dcore-lint`

  Turn on heavyweight intra-pass sanity-checking within GHC, at Core level. (It checks GHC's sanity, not yours.)

`-dstg-lint`:

  Ditto for STG level. (NOTE: currently doesn't work).

`-dcmm-lint`:

  Ditto for C-- level.

### 4.18.3. How to read Core syntax (from some `-ddump` flags)

Let's do this by commenting an example. It's from doing `-ddump-ds` on this code:

    skip2 m = m : skip2 (m+2)

Before we jump in, a word about names of things. Within GHC, variables, type constructors, etc., are identified by their “Uniques.” These are of the form `letter' plus `number' (both loosely interpreted). The `letter' gives some idea of where the Unique came from; e.g., `_` means “built-in type variable”; `t` means “from the typechecker”; `s` means “from the simplifier”; and so on. The `number' is printed fairly compactly in a `base-62' format, which everyone hates except me (WDP).

Remember, everything has a “Unique” and it is usually printed out when debugging, in some form or another. So here we go…

    Desugared:
    Main.skip2{-r1L6-} :: _forall_ a$_4 =>{{Num a$_4}} -> a$_4 -> [a$_4]

    --# `r1L6' is the Unique for Main.skip2;
    --# `_4' is the Unique for the type-variable (template) `a'
    --# `{{Num a$_4}}' is a dictionary argument

    _NI_

    --# `_NI_' means "no (pragmatic) information" yet; it will later
    --# evolve into the GHC_PRAGMA info that goes into interface files.

    Main.skip2{-r1L6-} =
        /\ _4 -> \ d.Num.t4Gt ->
            let {
              {- CoRec -}
              +.t4Hg :: _4 -> _4 -> _4
              _NI_
              +.t4Hg = (+{-r3JH-} _4) d.Num.t4Gt

              fromInt.t4GS :: Int{-2i-} -> _4
              _NI_
              fromInt.t4GS = (fromInt{-r3JX-} _4) d.Num.t4Gt

    --# The `+' class method (Unique: r3JH) selects the addition code
    --# from a `Num' dictionary (now an explicit lambda'd argument).
    --# Because Core is 2nd-order lambda-calculus, type applications
    --# and lambdas (/\) are explicit.  So `+' is first applied to a
    --# type (`_4'), then to a dictionary, yielding the actual addition
    --# function that we will use subsequently...

    --# We play the exact same game with the (non-standard) class method
    --# `fromInt'.  Unsurprisingly, the type `Int' is wired into the
    --# compiler.

              lit.t4Hb :: _4
              _NI_
              lit.t4Hb =
                  let {
                    ds.d4Qz :: Int{-2i-}
                    _NI_
                    ds.d4Qz = I#! 2#
                  } in  fromInt.t4GS ds.d4Qz

    --# `I# 2#' is just the literal Int `2'; it reflects the fact that
    --# GHC defines `data Int = I# Int#', where Int# is the primitive
    --# unboxed type.  (see relevant info about unboxed types elsewhere...)

    --# The `!' after `I#' indicates that this is a *saturated*
    --# application of the `I#' data constructor (i.e., not partially
    --# applied).

              skip2.t3Ja :: _4 -> [_4]
              _NI_
              skip2.t3Ja =
                  \ m.r1H4 ->
                      let { ds.d4QQ :: [_4]
                            _NI_
                            ds.d4QQ =
                        let {
                          ds.d4QY :: _4
                          _NI_
                          ds.d4QY = +.t4Hg m.r1H4 lit.t4Hb
                        } in  skip2.t3Ja ds.d4QY
                      } in
                      :! _4 m.r1H4 ds.d4QQ

              {- end CoRec -}
            } in  skip2.t3Ja

(“It's just a simple functional language” is an unregisterised trademark of Peyton Jones Enterprises, plc.)

### 4.18.4. Unregisterised compilation

The term "unregisterised" really means "compile via vanilla C", disabling some of the platform-specific tricks that GHC normally uses to make programs go faster. When compiling unregisterised, GHC simply generates a C file which is compiled via gcc.

Unregisterised compilation can be useful when porting GHC to a new machine, since it reduces the prerequisite tools to gcc, as, and ld and nothing more, and furthermore the amount of platform-specific code that needs to be written in order to get unregisterised compilation going is usually fairly small.

Unregisterised compilation cannot be selected at compile-time; you have to build GHC with the appropriate options set. Consult the GHC Building Guide for details.

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