The MX compiler
MX is a programming language specifically designed to handle mathematical matrices. MX was built using OCAML and LLVM.
Coded in OCaml, this incorporates C-style syntax in addition to built in matrix operations (int, bool, string, and matrix types, arithmetic, if-else, for, and while statements) and compiles it into LLVM IR.
It needs the OCaml llvm library, which is most easily installed through opam.
Install LLVM and its development libraries, the m4 macro preprocessor, and opam, then use opam to install llvm.
The version of the OCaml llvm library must match the version of the LLVM system installed on your system.
The basic MX compiler compiles gcd.mx. run.sh runs the MX executable of our GCD test program (.mx file) to produce a .ll file, invokes "llc" (the LLVM compiler) to produce a .s (assembly) file, then invokes "cc" (the stock C compiler) to assemlbe the .s file, and generate an executable. Before running run.sh, be sure to change the file permissions.
If you get errors about llvm.analysis not being found, it's probably because opam enviroment information is missing. Either run
eval $(opam config env)
or run ocamlbuild like this:
opam config exec -- ocamlbuild
Use LLVM 10. Install the matching version of the OCaml LLVM bindings:
sudo apt install ocaml llvm-10.0 llvm-10.0-dev llvm-runtime m4 opam opam init opam install llvm.10.0.0 eval $(opam config env)
make
chmod 755 run.sh
./run.sh
Use LLVM 9. Install the matching version of the OCaml LLVM bindings:
sudo apt install ocaml llvm-9 llvm-9-dev llvm-runtime m4 opam cmake opam init opam update opam install llvm.9.0.0 eval $(opam config env)
make
chmod 755 run.sh
./run.sh
LLVM 3.8 is the default under 16.04. Install the matching version of the OCaml LLVM bindings:
sudo apt install ocaml llvm llvm-runtime m4 opam cmake opam init opam install llvm.3.8 eval $(opam config env)
make
chmod 755 run.sh
./run.sh
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Install Homebrew:
ruby -e "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/master/install)"
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Verify Homebrew is installed correctly:
brew doctor
-
Install opam:
brew install opam
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Set up opam:
opam init
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Install llvm:
brew install llvm
Take note of where brew places the llvm executables. It will show you the path to them under the CAVEATS section of the post-install terminal output. For me, they were in /usr/local/opt/llvm/bin. Also take note of the llvm version installed. For me, it was 3.6.2.
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Have opam set up your enviroment:
eval $(opam config env)
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Install the OCaml llvm library:
opam install llvm.3.6
Ensure that the version of llvm you install here matches the version you installed via brew. Brew installed llvm version 3.6.2, so I install llvm.3.6 with opam.
IF YOU HAVE PROBLEMS ON THIS STEP, it's probably because you are missing some external dependencies. Ensure that libffi is installed on your machine. It can be installed with
brew install libffi
If, after this, opam install llvm.3.6 is still not working, try running
opam list --external --required-by=llvm.3.6
This will list all of the external dependencies required by llvm.3.6. Install all the dependencies listed by this command.
IF THE PREVIOUS STEPS DO NOT SOLVE THE ISSUE, it may be a problem with using your system's default version of llvm. Install a different version of llvm and opam install llvm with that version by running:
brew install homebrew/versions/llvm37 opam install llvm.3.7
Where the number at the end of both commands is a version different from the one your system currently has.
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Make sure run.sh can access lli and llc
Modify the definition of LLI and LLC in run.sh to point to the absolute path, e.g., LLI="/usr/local/opt/llvm/bin/lli"
- OR -
Update your path, e.g.,
export PATH=$PATH:/usr/local/opt/llvm/bin
- OR -
Create a symbolic link to the lli command:
sudo ln -s /usr/local/opt/llvm/bin/lli /usr/bin/lli
Create the symlink from wherever brew installs the llvm executables and place it in your bin. From step 5, I know that brew installed the lli executable in the folder, /usr/local/opt/llvm/bin/, so this is where I symlink to. Brew might install the lli executables in a different location for you, so make sure you symlink to the right directory.
IF YOU GET OPERATION NOT PERMITTED ERROR, then this is probably a result of OSX's System Integrity Protection.
One way to get around this is to reboot your machine into recovery mode (by holding cmd-r when restarting). Open a terminal from recovery mode by going to Utilities -> Terminal, and enter the following commands:
csrutil disable reboot
After your machine has restarted, try the
ln....command again, and it should succeed.IMPORTANT: the prevous step disables System Integrity Protection, which can leave your machine vulnerable. It's highly advisable to reenable System Integrity Protection when you are done by rebooting your machine into recovery mode and entering the following command in the terminal:
csrutil enable reboot
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To run and test, navigate to the MX folder. Once there, run
make ; chmod 755 run.sh ./run.sh
MX should build without any complaints and the test program should run (gcd.mx).
IF RUNNING ./run.sh fails, check to make sure you have symlinked the correct executable from your llvm installation. For example, if the executable is named lli-[version], then the previous step should have looked something like:
sudo ln -s /usr/local/opt/llvm/bin/lli-3.7 /usr/bin/lli
As before, you may also modify the path to lli in run.sh
$ make
ocamlbuild -use-ocamlfind -pkgs llvm,llvm.analysis -cflags -w,+a-4 mx.native
$ ./run.sh