Provided by: stalin_0.11-7_amd64 
NAME
stalin - A global optimizing compiler for Scheme
SYNOPSIS
stalin [-version]
[-I include-directory]*
[[-s|-x|-q|-t]]
[[-treat-all-symbols-as-external|
-do-not-treat-all-symbols-as-external]]
[[-index-allocated-string-types-by-expression|
-do-not-index-allocated-string-types-by-expression]]
[[-index-constant-structure-types-by-slot-types|
-do-not-index-constant-structure-types-by-slot-types]]
[[-index-constant-structure-types-by-expression|
-do-not-index-constant-structure-types-by-expression]]
[[-index-allocated-structure-types-by-slot-types|
-do-not-index-allocated-structure-types-by-slot-types]]
[[-index-allocated-structure-types-by-expression|
-do-not-index-allocated-structure-types-by-expression]]
[[-index-constant-headed-vector-types-by-element-type|
-do-not-index-constant-headed-vector-types-by-element-type]]
[[-index-constant-headed-vector-types-by-expression|
-do-not-index-constant-headed-vector-types-by-expression]]
[[-index-allocated-headed-vector-types-by-element-type|
-do-not-index-allocated-headed-vector-types-by-element-type]]
[[-index-allocated-headed-vector-types-by-expression|
-do-not-index-allocated-headed-vector-types-by-expression]]
[[-index-constant-nonheaded-vector-types-by-element-type|
-do-not-index-constant-nonheaded-vector-types-by-element-type]]
[[-index-constant-nonheaded-vector-types-by-expression|
-do-not-index-constant-nonheaded-vector-types-by-expression]]
[[-index-allocated-nonheaded-vector-types-by-element-type|
-do-not-index-allocated-nonheaded-vector-types-by-element-type]]
[[-index-allocated-nonheaded-vector-types-by-expression|
-do-not-index-allocated-nonheaded-vector-types-by-expression]]
[[-no-clone-size-limit|
-clone-size-limit number-of-expressions]]
[-split-even-if-no-widening]
[[-fully-convert-to-CPS|
-no-escaping-continuations]]
[-du]
[-Ob] [-Om] [-On] [-Or] [-Ot]
[-d0] [-d1] [-d2] [-d3] [-d4] [-d5] [-d6] [-d7]
[-closure-conversion-statistics]
[-dc] [-dC] [-dH] [-dg] [-dh]
[-d]
[-architecture name]
[[-baseline|
-conventional|
-lightweight]]
[[-immediate-flat|
-indirect-flat|
-immediate-display|
-indirect-display|
-linked]]
[[-align-strings|-do-not-align-strings]]
[-de] [-df] [-dG] [-di] [-dI] [-dp] [-dP]
[-ds] [-dS] [-Tmk]
[-no-tail-call-optimization]
[-db] [-c] [-k]
[-cc C-compiler]
[-copt C-compiler-option]*
[pathname]
Compiles the Scheme source file pathname.sc first into a C file pathname.c and then into an executable
image pathname. Also produces a database file pathname.db. The pathname argument is required unless
-version is specified.
DESCRIPTION
Stalin is an extremely efficient compiler for Scheme. It is designed to be used not as a development
tool but rather as a means to generate efficient executable images either for application delivery or for
production research runs. In contrast to traditional Scheme implementations, Stalin is a batch-mode
compiler. There is no interactive READ-EVAL-PRINT loop. Stalin compiles a single Scheme source file
into an executable image (indirectly via C). Running that image has equivalent semantics to loading the
Scheme source file into a virgin Scheme interpreter and then terminating its execution. The chief
limitation is that it is not possible to LOAD or EVAL new expressions or procedure definitions into a
running program after compilation. In return for this limitation, Stalin does substantial global
compile-time analysis of the source program under this closed-world assumption and produces executable
images that are small, stand-alone, and fast.
Stalin incorporates numerous strategies for generating efficient code. Among them, Stalin does global
static type analysis using a soft type system that supports recursive union types. Stalin can determine
a narrow or even monomorphic type for each source code expression in arbitrary Scheme programs with no
type declarations. This allows Stalin to reduce, or often eliminate, run-time type checking and
dispatching. Stalin also does low-level representation selection on a per-expression basis. This allows
the use of unboxed base machine data representations for all monomorphic types resulting in extremely
high-performance numeric code. Stalin also does global static life-time analysis for all allocated data.
This allows much temporary allocated storage to be reclaimed without garbage collection. Finally, Stalin
has very efficient strategies for compiling closures. Together, these compilation techniques
synergistically yield efficient object code. Furthermore, the executable images created by Stalin do not
contain (user-defined or library) procedures that aren't called, variables and parameters that aren't
used, and expressions that cannot be reached. This encourages a programming style whereby one creates
and uses very general library procedures without fear that executable images will suffer from code bloat.
OPTIONS
-version
Prints the version of Stalin and exits immediately.
The following options control preprocessing:
-I Specifies the directories to search for Scheme include files. This option can be repeated to
specify multiple directories. Stalin first searches for include files in the current directory,
then each of the directories specified in the command line, and finally in the default
installation include directory.
-s Includes the macros from the Scheme->C compatibility library. Currently, this defines the WHEN
and UNLESS syntax.
-x Includes the macros from the Xlib and GL library. Currently, this defines the FOREIGN-FUNCTION
and FOREIGN-DEFINE syntax. This implies -s.
-q Includes the macros from the QobiScheme library. Currently, this defines the DEFINE-STRUCTURE
syntax, among other things. This implies -x.
-t Includes the macros needed to compile Stalin with itself. This implies -q.
The following options control the precision of flow analysis:
-treat-all-symbols-as-external
During flow analysis, generate a single abstract external symbol that is shared among all symbols.
-do-not-treat-all-symbols-as-external
During flow analysis, when processing constant expressions that contain symbols, generate a new
abstract internal symbol for each distinct symbol constant in the program. This is the default.
-index-allocated-string-types-by-expression
During flow analysis, when processing procedure-call expressions that can allocate strings,
generate a new abstract string for each such expression. This is the default.
-do-not-index-allocated-string-types-by-expression
During flow analysis, when processing procedure-call expressions that can allocate strings,
generate a single abstract string that is shared among all such expressions.
Note that there are no versions of the above options for element type because the element type of a
string is always char. Furthermore, there are no versions of the above options for constant expressions
because there is always only a single abstract constant string.
-index-constant-structure-types-by-slot-types
During flow analysis, when processing constant expressions that contain structures, generate a new
abstract structure for each set of potential slot types for that structure.
-do-not-index-constant-structure-types-by-slot-types
During flow analysis, when processing constant expressions that contain structures, generate a
single abstract structure that is shared among all sets of potential slot types for that
structure. This is the default.
-index-constant-structure-types-by-expression
During flow analysis, when processing constant expression that contain structures, generate a new
abstract structure for each such expression. This is the default.
-do-not-index-constant-structure-types-by-expression
During flow analysis, when processing constant expressions that contain structures, generate a
single abstract structure that is shared among all such expressions.
-index-allocated-structure-types-by-slot-types
During flow analysis, when processing procedure-call expressions that can allocate structures,
generate a new abstract structure for each set of potential slot types for that structure.
-do-not-index-allocated-structure-types-by-slot-types
During flow analysis, when processing procedure-call expressions that can allocate structures,
generate a single abstract structure that is shared among all sets of potential slot types for
that structure. This is the default.
-index-allocated-structure-types-by-expression
During flow analysis, when processing procedure-call expressions that can allocate structures,
generate a new abstract structure for each such expression. This is the default.
-do-not-index-allocated-structure-types-by-expression
During flow analysis, when processing procedure-call expressions that can allocate structures,
generate a single abstract structure that is shared among all such expressions.
Note that, currently, pairs are the only kind of structure that can appear in constant expressions. This
may change in the future, if the reader is extended to support other kinds of structures.
-index-constant-headed-vector-types-by-element-type
During flow analysis, when processing constant expressions that contain headed vectors, generate a
new abstract headed vector for each potential element type for that headed vector.
-do-not-index-constant-headed-vector-types-by-element-type
During flow analysis, when processing constant expressions that contain headed vectors, generate a
single abstract headed vector that is shared among all potential element types for that headed
vector. This is the default.
-index-constant-headed-vector-types-by-expression
During flow analysis, when processing constant expressions that contain headed vectors, generate a
new abstract headed vector for each such expression. This is the default.
-do-not-index-constant-headed-vector-types-by-expression
During flow analysis, when processing constant expressions that contain headed vectors, generate a
single abstract headed vector that is shared among all such expressions.
-index-allocated-headed-vector-types-by-element-type
During flow analysis, when processing procedure-call expressions that can allocate headed vectors,
generate a new abstract headed vector for each potential element type for that headed vector.
-do-not-index-allocated-headed-vector-types-by-element-type
During flow analysis, when processing procedure-call expressions that can allocate headed vectors,
generate a single abstract headed vector that is shared among all potential element types for that
headed vector. This is the default.
-index-allocated-headed-vector-types-by-expression
During flow analysis, when processing procedure-call expressions that can allocate headed vectors,
generate a new abstract headed vector for each such expression. This is the default.
-do-not-index-allocated-headed-vector-types-by-expression
During flow analysis, when processing procedure-call expressions that can allocate headed vectors,
generate a single abstract headed vector that is shared among all such expressions.
-index-constant-nonheaded-vector-types-by-element-type
During flow analysis, when processing constant expressions that contain nonheaded vectors,
generate a new abstract nonheaded vector for each potential element type for that nonheaded
vector.
-do-not-index-constant-nonheaded-vector-types-by-element-type
During flow analysis, when processing constant expressions that contain nonheaded vectors,
generate a single abstract nonheaded vector that is shared among all potential element types for
that nonheaded vector. This is the default.
-index-constant-nonheaded-vector-types-by-expression
During flow analysis, when processing constant expressions that contain nonheaded vectors,
generate a new abstract nonheaded vector for each such expression. This is the default.
-do-not-index-constant-nonheaded-vector-types-by-expression
During flow analysis, when processing constant expressions that contain nonheaded vectors,
generate a single abstract nonheaded vector that is shared among all such expressions.
-index-allocated-nonheaded-vector-types-by-element-type
During flow analysis, when processing procedure-call expressions that can allocate nonheaded
vectors, generate a new abstract nonheaded vector for each potential element type for that
nonheaded vector.
-do-not-index-allocated-nonheaded-vector-types-by-element-type
During flow analysis, when processing procedure-call expressions that can allocate nonheaded
vectors, generate a single abstract nonheaded vector that is shared among all potential element
types for that nonheaded vector. This is the default.
-index-allocated-nonheaded-vector-types-by-expression
During flow analysis, when processing procedure-call expressions that can allocate nonheaded
vectors, generate a new abstract nonheaded vector for each such expression. This is the default.
-do-not-index-allocated-nonheaded-vector-types-by-expression
During flow analysis, when processing procedure-call expressions that can allocate nonheaded
vectors, generate a single abstract nonheaded vector that is shared among all such expressions.
Note that, currently, constant expressions cannot contain nonheaded vectors and nonheaded vectors are
never allocated by any procedure-call expression. ARGV is the only nonheaded vector. These options are
included only for completeness and in case future extensions to the language allow nonheaded vector
constants and procedures that allocate nonheaded vectors.
-no-clone-size-limit
Allow unlimited polyvariance, i.e. make copies of procedures of any size.
-clone-size-limit
Specify the polyvariance limit, i.e. make copies of procedures that have fewer than this many
expressions. Must be a nonnegative integer. Defaults to 80. Specify 0 to disable polyvariance.
-split-even-if-no-widening
Normally, polyvariance will make a copy of a procedure only if it is called with arguments of
different types. Specify this option to make copies of procedures even when they are called with
arguments of the same type. This will allow them to be in-lined.
-fully-convert-to-CPS
Normally, lightweight CPS conversion is applied, converting only those expressions and procedures
needed to support escaping continuations. When this option is specified, the program is fully
converted to CPS.
-no-escaping-continuations
Normally, full continuations are supported. When this option is specified, the only continuations
that are supported are those that cannot be called after the procedure that created the
continuation has returned.
-du Normally, after flow analysis, Stalin forces each type set to have at most one structure-type
member of a given name, at most one headed-vector-type member, and at most one nonheaded-vector-
type member. This option disables this, allowing type sets to have multiple structure-type
members of a given name, multiple headed-vector-type members, and multiple nonheaded-vector-type
members. Sometimes yields more efficient code and sometimes yields less efficient code.
The following options control the amount of run-time error-checking code generated. Note that,
independent of the settings of these options, Stalin will always generate code that obeys the semantics
of the Scheme language for correct programs. These options only control the level of safety, that is the
degree of run-time error checking for incorrect programs.
-Ob Specifies that code to check for out-of-bound vector or string subscripts is to be suppressed. If
not specified, a run-time error will be issued if a vector or string subscript is out of bounds.
If specified, the behavior of programs that have an out-of-bound vector or string subscript is
undefined.
-Om Specifies that code to check for out-of-memory errors is to be suppressed. If not specified, a
run-time error will be issued if sufficient memory cannot be allocated. If specified, the
behavior of programs that run out of memory is undefined.
-On Specifies that code to check for exact integer overflow is to be suppressed. If not specified, a
run-time error will be issued on exact integer overflow. If specified, the behavior of programs
that cause exact integer overflow is undefined. Currently, Stalin does not know how to generate
overflow checking code so this option must be specified.
-Or Specifies that code to check for various run-time file-system errors is to be suppressed. If not
specified, a run-time error will be issued when an unsuccessful attempt is made to open or close a
file. If specified, the behavior of programs that make such unsuccessful file-access attempts is
undefined.
-Ot Specifies that code to check that primitive procedures are passed arguments of the correct type is
suppressed. If not specified, a run-time error will be issued if a primitive procedure is called
with arguments of the wrong type. If specified, the behavior of programs that call a primitive
procedure with data of the wrong type is undefined.
The following options control the verbosity of the compiler:
-d0 Produces a compile-time backtrace upon a compiler error.
-d1 Produces commentary during compilation describing what the compiler is doing.
-d2 Produces a decorated listing of the source program after flow analysis.
-d3 Produces a decorated listing of the source program after equivalent types have been merged.
-d4 Produces a call graph of the source program.
-d5 Produces a description of all nontrivial native procedures generated.
-d6 Produces a list of all expressions and closures that allocate storage along with a description of
where that storage is allocated.
-d7 Produces a trace of the lightweight closure-conversion process.
-closure-conversion-statistics
Produces a summary of the closure-conversion statistics. These are automatically processed by the
program bcl-to-latex.sc which is run by the bcl-benchmark script (both in the
/usr/local/stalin/benchmarks directory) to produce tables II, III, and IV, of the paper Flow-
Directed Lightweight Closure Conversion.
The following options control the storage management strategy used by compiled code:
-dc Disables the use of alloca(3). Normally, the compiler will use alloca(3) to allocate on the call
stack when possible.
-dC Disables the use of the Boehm conservative garbage collector. Normally, the compiler will use the
Boehm collector to allocate data whose lifetime is not known to be short. Note that the compiler
will still use the Boehm collector for some data if it cannot allocate that data on the stack or
on a region.
-dH Disables the use of regions for allocating data.
-dg Generate code to produce diagnostic messages when region segments are allocated and freed.
-dh Disables the use of expandable regions and uses fixed-size regions instead.
The following options control code generation:
-d Specifies that inexact reals are represented as C doubles. Normally, inexact reals are
represented as C floats.
-architecture
Specify the architecture for which to generate code. The default is to generate code for whatever
architecture the compiler is run on. Currently, the known architectures are IA32, IA32-align-
double, SPARC, SPARCv9, SPARC64, MIPS, Alpha, ARM, M68K, PowerPC, and S390.
-baseline
Do not perform lightweight closure conversion. Closures are created for all procedures. The user
would not normally specify this option. It is only intended to measure the effectiveness of
lightweight closure conversion. It is used by the bcl-benchmark script (in the
/usr/local/stalin/benchmarks directory) to produce tables II, III, and IV, of the paper Flow-
Directed Lightweight Closure Conversion.
-conventional
Perform a simplified version of lightweight closure conversion that does not rely on
interprocedural analysis. Attempts to mimic what `conventional' compilers do (whatever that is).
The user would not normally specify this option. It is only intended to measure the effectiveness
of lightweight closure conversion. It is used by the bcl-benchmark script (in the
/usr/local/stalin/benchmarks directory) to produce tables II, III, and IV of the paper Flow-
Directed Lightweight Closure Conversion.
-lightweight
Perform lightweight closure conversion. This is the default.
-immediate-flat
Generate code using immediate flat closures. This is not (yet) implemented.
-indirect-flat
Generate code using indirect flat closures. This is not (yet) implemented.
-immediate-display
Generate code using immediate display closures.
-indirect-display
Generate code using indirect display closures. This is not (yet) implemented.
-linked
Generate code using linked closures. This is the default.
-align-strings
Align all strings to fixnum alignment. This will not work when strings are returned by foreign
procedures that are not aligned to fixnum alignment. It will also not work when ARGV is used,
since those strings are also not aligned to fixnum alignment. This is the default.
-do-not-align-strings
Do not align strings to fixnum alignment. This must be specified when strings returned by foreign
procedures are not aligned to fixnum alignment.
-de Enables the compiler optimization known as EQ? forgery. Sometimes yields more efficient code and
sometimes yields less efficient code.
-df Disables the compiler optimization known as forgery.
-dG Pass arguments using global variables instead of parameters whenever possible.
-di Generate if statements instead of switch statements for dispatching.
-dI Enables the use of immediate structures.
-dp Enables representation promotion. Promotes some type sets from squeezed to squished or squished
to general if this will decrease the amount of run-time branching or dispatching representation
coercions. Sometimes yields more efficient code and sometimes yields less efficient code.
-dP Enables copy propagation. Sometimes yields more efficient code and sometimes yields less
efficient code.
-ds Disables the compiler optimization known as squeezing.
-dS Disables the compiler optimization known as squishing.
-Tmk Enables generation of code that works with the Treadmarks distributed-shared-memory package.
Currently this option is not fully implemented and is not known to work.
-no-tail-call-optimization
Stalin now generates code that is properly tail recursive, by default, in all but the rarest of
circumstances. And it can be coerced into generating properly tail-recursive code in all
circumstances by appropriate options. Some tail-recursive calls, those where the call site is in-
lined in the target, are translated as C goto statements and always result in properly tail-
recursive code. The rest are translated as C function calls in tail position. This relies on the
C compiler to perform tail-call optimization. gcc(1) versions 2.96 and 3.0.2 (and perhaps other
versions) perform tail-call optimization on IA32 (and perhaps other architectures) when
-foptimize-sibling-calls is specified. (-O2 implies -foptimize-sibling-calls.) gcc(1) only
performs tail-call optimization on IA32 in certain circumstances. First, the target and the call
site must have compatible signatures. To guarantee compatible signatures, Stalin passes
parameters to C functions that are part of tail-recursive loops in global variables. Second, the
target must not be declared __attribute__ ((noreturn)). Thus Stalin will not generate a
__attribute__ ((noreturn)) declaration for a function that is part of a tail-recursive loop even
if Stalin knows that it never returns. Third, the function containing the call site cannot call
alloca(3). gcc(1) does no flow analysis. Any call to alloca(3) in the function containing the
call site, no matter whether the allocated data escapes, will disable tail-call optimization.
Thus Stalin disables stack allocation of data in any procedure in-lined in a procedure that is
part of a tail-recursive loop. Finally, the call site cannot contain a reentrant region because
reentrant regions are freed upon procedure exit and a tail call would require an intervening
region reclamation. Thus Stalin disables allocation of data on a reentrant region in any
procedure that is part of a tail-recursive loop. Disabling these optimizations incurs a cost for
the benefit of achieving tail-call optimization. If your C compiler does not perform tail-call
optimization then you may wish not to pay the cost. The -no-tail-call-optimization option causes
Stalin not to take these above four measures to generate code on which gcc(1) would perform tail-
call optimization. Even when specifying this option, Stalin still translates calls, where the
call site is in-lined in the target, as C goto statements. There are three rare occasions that
can still foil proper tail recursion. First, if you specify -dC you may force Stalin to use stack
or region allocation even in a tail-call cycle. You can avoid this by not specifying -dC.
Second, gcc(1) will not perform tail-call optimization when the function containing the call site
applies unary & to a local variable. gcc(1) does no flow analysis. Any application of unary & to
a local variable in the function containing the call site, no matter whether the pointer escapes,
will disable tail-call optimization. Stalin can generate such uses of unary & when you specify
-de or don't specify -df. You can avoid such cases by specifying -df and not specifying -de.
Finally, gcc(1) will not perform tail-call optimization when the function containing the call site
calls setjmp(3). gcc(1) does no flow analysis. Any call to setjmp(3) in the function containing
the call site, no matter whether the jmp_buf escapes, will disable tail-call optimization.
Stalin translates certain calls to call-with-current-continuation as calls to setjmp(3). You can
force Stalin not to do so by specifying -fully-convert-to-CPS. Stalin will generate a warning in
the first and third cases, namely, when tail-call optimization is foiled by reentrant-region
allocation or calls to alloca(3) or setjmp(3). So you can hold off specifying -fully-convert-to-
CPS or refraining from specifying -dC until you see such warnings. No such warning is generated,
however, when uses of unary & foil tail-call optimization. So you might want to always specify
-df and refrain from specifying -de if you desire your programs to be properly tail recursive.
The following options control the C-compilation phase:
-db Disables the production of a database file.
-c Specifies that the C compiler is not to be called after generating the C code. Normally, the C
compiler is called after generating the C code to produce an executable image. This implies -k.
-k Specifies that the generated C file is not to be deleted. Normally, the generated C file is
deleted after it is compiled.
-cc Specifies the C compiler to use. Defaults to gcc(1).
-copt Specifies the options that the C compiler is to be called with. Normally the C compiler is called
without any options. This option can be repeated to allow passing multiple options to the C
compiler.
FILES
/usr/local/stalin/include/ default directory for Scheme include files and library archive files
/usr/local/stalin/include/Scheme-to-C-compatibility.sc include file for Scheme->C compatibility
/usr/local/stalin/include/QobiScheme.sc include file for QobiScheme
/usr/local/stalin/include/xlib.sc include file for Xlib FPI
/usr/local/stalin/include/xlib-original.sc include file for Xlib FPI
/usr/local/stalin/include/libstalin.a library archive for Xlib FPI
/usr/local/stalin/include/gc.h include file for the Boehm conservative garbage collector
/usr/local/stalin/include/libgc.a library archive for the Boehm conservative garbage collector
/usr/local/stalin/include/stalin.architectures the known architectures and their code-generation
parameters
/usr/local/stalin/include/stalin-architecture-name shell script that determines the architecture on which
Stalin is running
/usr/local/stalin/stalin-architecture.c program to construct a new entry for stalin.architectures with
the code-generation parameters for the machine on which it is run
/usr/local/stalin/benchmarks directory containing benchmarks from the paper Flow-Directed Lightweight
Closure Conversion
/usr/local/stalin/benchmarks/bcl-benchmark script for producing tables II, III, and IV from the paper
Flow-Directed Lightweight Closure Conversion
/usr/local/stalin/benchmarks/bcl-to-latex.sc Scheme program for producing tables II, III, and IV from the
paper Flow-Directed Lightweight Closure Conversion
SEE ALSO
sci(2), scc(2), gcc(1), ld(1), alloca(3), setjmp(3), gc(8)
BUGS
Version 0.11 is an alpha release and contains many known bugs. Not everything is fully implemented. Bug
mail should be addressed to Bug-Stalin@AI.MIT.EDU and not to the author. Please include the version
number (0.11) in the message. Periodic announcements of bug fixes, enhancements, and new releases will
be made to Info-Stalin@AI.MIT.EDU. Send mail to Info-Stalin-Request@AI.MIT.EDU to be added to the Info-
Stalin@AI.MIT.EDU mailing list.
AUTHOR
Jeffrey Mark Siskind
THANKS
Rob Browning packaged version 0.11 for Debian Linux.
0.11 August 2006 STALIN(1)