b::bytecode(3)
NAME
B::Bytecode - Perl compiler's bytecode backend
SYNOPSIS
perl -MO=Bytecode[,OPTIONS] foo.pl
DESCRIPTION
This compiler backend takes Perl source and generates a
platform-independent bytecode encapsulating code to load
the internal structures perl uses to run your program.
When the generated bytecode is loaded in, your program is
ready to run, reducing the time which perl would have
taken to load and parse your program into its internal
semi-compiled form. That means that compiling with this
backend will not help improve the runtime execution speed
of your program but may improve the start-up time.
Depending on the environment in which your program runs
this may or may not be a help.
The resulting bytecode can be run with a special byteperl
executable or (for non-main programs) be loaded via the
"byteload_fh" function in the B module.
OPTIONS
If there are any non-option arguments, they are taken to
be names of objects to be saved (probably doesn't work
properly yet). Without extra arguments, it saves the main
program.
- -ofilename
- Output to filename instead of STDOUT.
- -afilename
- Append output to filename.
- -- Force end of options.
- -f Force optimisations on or off one at a time. Each can
- be preceded by no- to turn the option off (e.g.
-fno-compress-nullops). - -fcompress-nullops
- Only fills in the necessary fields of ops which have
been optimised away by perl's internal compiler. - -fomit-sequence-numbers
- Leaves out code to fill in the op_seq field of all ops
which is only used by perl's internal compiler. - -fbypass-nullops
- If op->op_next ever points to a NULLOP, replaces the
op_next field with the first non-NULLOP in the path of
execution. - -On Optimisation level (n = 0, 1, 2, ...). -O means -O1.
- -O1 sets -fcompress-nullops -fomit-sequence numbers. -O2 adds -fbypass-nullops.
- -D Debug options (concatenated or separate flags like
- "perl -D").
- -Do Prints each OP as it's processed.
- -Db Print debugging information about bytecompiler
- progress.
- -Da Tells the (bytecode) assembler to include source
- assembler lines in its output as bytecode comments.
- -DC Prints each CV taken from the final symbol tree walk.
- -S Output (bytecode) assembler source rather than piping
- it through the assembler and outputting bytecode.
- -upackage
- Stores package in the output.
EXAMPLES
perl -MO=Bytecode,-O6,-ofoo.plc,-umain foo.pl
- perl -MO=Bytecode,-S,-umain foo.pl > foo.S
assemble foo.S > foo.plc - Note that "assemble" lives in the "B" subdirectory of your
perl library directory. The utility called perlcc may also
be used to help make use of this compiler.
perl -MO=Bytecode,-uFoo,-oFoo.pmc Foo.pm
BUGS
Output is still huge and there are still occasional
crashes during either compilation or ByteLoading. Current
status: experimental.
AUTHORS
- Malcolm Beattie, "mbeattie@sable.ox.ac.uk" Benjamin Stuhl,
"sho_pi@hotmail.com"