Adding and using a new instruction
To add a new instruction to RISCV, we must add it to our compiler (riscv-gnu-toolchain
for now) and whatever simulator/emulator we're using (spike
for now).
First we follow the steps from Spike's setup page:
- Describe the instruction's functional behavior in the package
riscv-isa-sim
, inriscv-isa-sim/riscv/insns/.h
.
Examine other instructions in that directory as a starting point. - Add the opcode and opcode mask to
riscv-opcodes/opcodes
. You can pick any open opcode, and there are several formats to choose from. Pick the type that fits your needs (source/destination registers, use of an immediate, etc.).riscv-opcodes/opcodes
shows how two instructions,tagenforce
andsettag
were inserted. - Run
make install
inriscv-opcodes
. - This should have installed the opcode/masks necessary for your new instructions to all the proper header files.
At the very least, check that a match and mask for your instruction have been generated and placed inriscv-isa-sim/riscv/encoding.h
,riscv-gnu-toolchain/binutils/include/opcode/riscv-opc.h
, andriscv-gnu-toolchain/gcc/gcc/config/riscv/riscv-opc.h
.
If your instruction interacts with thespike
proxy kernel, also checkriscv-pk/pk/encoding.h
. - Finally, add structs for this instruction in the
riscv_builtin_opcodes
array inriscv-gnu-toolchain/binutils/opcodes/riscv-opc.h
.
The easiest way to do this is to find an existing instruction with the same instruction type as yours, and copy the formatting, replacingMATCH
's andMASK
's appropriately. As far as the strange letters signifying arguments go, this is currently how I understand them:d
= usesrd
s
= usesrs1
t
= usesrs2
j
= usesimmediate12
-i-type
instructions (also ‘o’?)u
= usesimmediate20
-u-type
instructions (shifted down)a
= usesimmediate20
-uj-type
instructionsp
= usesimmediate12
-sb-type
instructionsq
= usesimmediate12
-s-type
instructionsd
= usesimmediate20
-u-type
instructions (unshifted)z
= uses zero register (always loads 0, stores do nothing)
Now, we need to add support for decoding this instruction to Spike:
6. In riscv-isa-sim/spike_main/disasm.cc
, add a DEFINE_$TYPE
call for your instruction, replacing $ with the appropriate instruction format (this should match the instruction format you used in riscv-opcodes/opcodes
).
For uj-type
instructions, you'll have to add the instruction manually, as there is no DEFINE
macro available.
7. Give it a try! Try compiling a small program and running it in spike
with your new instruction
(declared via __asm__
or __asm__ volatile
).