Re: [edk2-devel] [PATCH v1 1/1] BaseTools: Build ASL files before C files

["PierreGondois" <pierre.gondois@arm.com>]

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Hello Bob,

Please find my answers inline.

I created a Bugzilla ticket here: https://bugzilla.tianocore.org/show_bug.cgi?id=2425

I have started to look at the implementation,

Regards,
Pierre

From: Feng, Bob C <bob.c.feng@intel.com>
Sent: 17 December 2019 11:42
To: Pierre Gondois <Pierre.Gondois@arm.com>; devel@edk2.groups.io
Cc: Gao, Liming <liming.gao@intel.com>
Subject: RE: [edk2-devel] [PATCH v1 1/1] BaseTools: Build ASL files before C files

Hi Pierre,

I add comments inline

Thanks,
Bob

From: PierreGondois [mailto:pierre.gondois@arm.com]
Sent: Monday, December 16, 2019 8:34 AM
To: Feng, Bob C <bob.c.feng@intel.com<mailto:bob.c.feng@intel.com>>; devel@edk2.groups.io<mailto:devel@edk2.groups.io>
Subject: Re: [edk2-devel] [PATCH v1 1/1] BaseTools: Build ASL files before C files

Hello Bob,

> I think if we can describe the dependency between source files in INF file. For example,
> [Sources.IA32]
>   asl_source.asl
>   c_source.c | asl_source.asl
This looks good to me! Would it be possible to have multiple dependencies on one file (1), or would it be limited to one file only (2)?
Maybe having multiple dependencies like in (1) would make it easier to read:

[Bob] I think we need to support multiple files, but we need to use other character as separator.
[Pierre]
I agree. I suggest to use a colon ':' as in Makefiles. We can aslo use '<' or '>' depending on the interpretation. I don't really mind.
It is currently possible to add options when adding a source file in the ‘[Source]’ section: Famliy | TagName | CommandCode | FeatureFlagExpress
Maybe the additional dependencies should be at the end, such as:
  FileName | Famliy | TagName | CommandCode | FeatureFlagExpress : dependency_1 : dependency_2 : dependency_3

Example (1):
[Sources.IA32]
  asl_source_1.asl
  asl_source_2.asl
  c_source.c | asl_source_1.asl | asl_source_2.asl

Example (2):
  [Sources.IA32]
  asl_source_1.asl
  asl_source_2.asl | asl_source_1.asl
  c_source.c | asl_source_2


> The build tool will generate the dependency that says c_source.c depend on the output of asl_source.asl in Makefile?
> What do you think?
Would there be a rule in the Makefile on c_source.c or on c_source.obj? And how can we describe a dependency on the output of asl_source.asl?


What I thought was that the resulting Makefile dependencies would look like this:
(a) c_source.obj: asl_source.aml

The dependencies between the source files would be converted to Makefile dependencies between their corresponding output format (cf edk2/BaseTools/Conf/build_rule.template).
E.g.: a dependency on a '.dts' file would be converted to a dependency on a '.dtb' file.

Dependencies on file extensions without output format would trigger an error.
E.g.: no dependency on '.h' would be allowed.

The issue with what I am suggesting is that in my case, I am compiling a '.asl' file into a '.hex' file using the iASL compiler with the '-tc' option. This '.hex' file is included in a '.c' file. This means that the dependency is actually between the output of the compiled '.asl' file (so the '.hex' file), and the '.c' file.
I.e.: the 'true' dependency is
(b) c_source.c: asl_source.hex
However, making edk2 know that the asl_source.asl will produce asl_source.hex will lead to modification to the Conf/build_rule.txt, wich is not a good idea neither I believe.

Having (a) instead of (b) should be simpler to obtain, even though less correct.
I don't know what you think about what format should have/
* the target of the Makefile rule (c_source.c or c_source.obj?)
* the prerequisites of the Makefile rule (asl_source.?)

I think we may modify the build rule of .asl file to have the build tool always generate both *.aml and *.hex files for asl type source file. And in Makefile we just use c_source.obj: asl_source.aml format. What do you think?
[Pierre]

  *   About modifying the build rule for ‘.asl’ files in order to generate a ‘.hex’ by default:
The ‘.hex’ file is exactly what I want to generate, so I am totally ok with it. It might just be pollution for other people who don’t need it.
  *   About having a Makefile rule looking like: “c_source.obj: asl_source.aml”:
I am also ok with it.

> Would you submit a BZ to track this issue?
Yes, I will do it at the beginning of the week.

Please tell me what do you think,

Regards,
Pierre

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