SPIRV-Tools/syntax.md

# SPIR-V Assembly language syntax

## Overview

The assembly attempts to adhere the binary form as closely as possible
using text names from section 3 of the SPIR-V spec.

Here is an example:

```
OpCapability Shader
OpMemoryModel Logical Simple
OpEntryPoint GLCompute %3 "main"
OpExecutionMode %3 LocalSize 64 64 1
OpTypeVoid %1
OpTypeFunction %2 %1
OpFunction %1 %3 None %2
OpLabel %4
OpReturn
OpFunctionEnd
```

A module is a sequence of instructions, separated by whitespace.
An instruction is an opcode name followed by operands, separated by
whitespace.  Typically each instruction is presented on its own line,
but the assembler does not enforce this rule.

The opcode names and expected operands are described in section 3 of
the SPIR-V specification.  An operand is one of:
* a literal integer: A decimal integer, or a hexadecimal integer
  (indicated by a leading `0x`).
* a literal floating point number.
* a literal string, surrounded by double-quotes ("). TODO: describe quoting and
escaping rules.
* a named enumerated value, specific to that operand position.  For example,
the `OpMemoryModel` takes a named Addressing Model operand (e.g. `Logical` or
`Physical32`), and a named Memory Model operand (e.g. `Simple` or `OpenCL`).
Named enumerated values are only meaningful in specific positions, and will
otherwise generate an error.
* a mask expression, consisting of one or more mask enum names separated
  by `|`.  For example, the expression `NotNaN|NotInf|NSZ` denotes the mask
  which is the combination of the `NotNaN`, `NotInf`, and `NSZ` flags.
* an injected immediate integer: `!<integer>`.  See [below](#immediate).
* an ID, e.g. `%foo`. See [below](#id).

## Assignment-oriented Assembly Form
<a name="assignment-form"></a>
The description and examples from above describe the Canonical Assembly
Form for SPIR-V assembly language.

We also define the Assignment-oriented Assembly Form, aimed at improving
the text's readability.  In AAF, the `<result-id>` generated by an
instruction is moved to the beginning of that instruction and followed by
an `=` sign.  This allows us to distinguish between variable definitions
and uses and locate value definitions more easily.  So, the above example
can also be written as:

```
     OpCapability Shader
     OpMemoryModel Logical Simple
     OpEntryPoint GLCompute %3 "main"
     OpExecutionMode %3 LocalSize 64 64 1
%1 = OpTypeVoid
%2 = OpTypeFunction %1
%3 = OpFunction %1 None %2
%4 = OpLabel
     OpReturn
     OpFunctionEnd
```

## ID Definitions & Usage
<a name="id"></a>

An ID definition pertains to the `<result-id>` of an instruction, and ID usage is a
use of an ID as an input to an instruction.

An ID in the assembly language begins with `%` and must be followed by a name
consisting of one or more letters, numbers or underscore characters.

For every ID in the assembly program, the assembler generates a unique number
called the ID's internal number. Then each ID reference translates into its
internal number in the SPIR-V output. Internal numbers are unique within the
compilation unit: no two IDs in the same unit will share internal numbers.

The disassembler generates IDs where the name is always a decimal number
greater than 0.

So the example can be rewritten using more user-friendly names, as follows:
```
          OpCapability Shader
          OpMemoryModel Logical Simple
          OpEntryPoint GLCompute %main "main"
          OpExecutionMode %main LocalSize 64 64 1
  %void = OpTypeVoid
%fnMain = OpTypeFunction %void
  %main = OpFunction %void None %fnMain
%lbMain = OpLabel
          OpReturn
          OpFunctionEnd
```

## Arbitrary Integers
<a name="immediate"></a>

When writing tests it can be useful to emit an invalid 32 bit word into the
binary stream at arbitrary positions within the assembly. To specify an
arbitrary word into the stream the prefix `!` is used, this takes the form
`!<integer>`. Here is an example.

```
OpCapability !0x0000FF00
```

Any token in a valid assembly program may be replaced by `!<integer>` -- even
tokens that dictate how the rest of the instruction is parsed.  Consider, for
example, the following assembly program:

```
%4 = OpConstant %1 123 456 789 OpExecutionMode %2 LocalSize 11 22 33
OpExecutionMode %3 InputLines
```

The tokens `OpConstant`, `LocalSize`, and `InputLines` may be replaced by random
`!<integer>` values, and the assembler will still assemble an output binary with
three instructions.  It will not necessarily be valid SPIR-V, but it will
faithfully reflect the input text.

You may wonder how the assembler recognizes the instruction structure (including
instruction boundaries) in the text with certain crucial tokens replaced by
arbitrary integers.  If, say, `OpConstant` becomes a `!<integer>` whose value
differs from the binary representation of `OpConstant` (remember that this
feature is intended for fine-grain control in SPIR-V testing), the assembler
generally has no idea what that value stands for.  So how does it know there is
exactly one `<id>` and three number literals following in that instruction,
before the next one begins?  And if `LocalSize` is replaced by an arbitrary
`!<integer>`, how does it know to take the next three tokens (instead of zero or
one, both of which are possible in the absence of certainty that `LocalSize`
provided)?  The answer is a simple rule governing the parsing of instructions
with `!<integer>` in them:

When a token in the assembly program is a `!<integer>`, that integer value is
emitted into the binary output, and parsing proceeds differently than before:
each subsequent token not recognized as an OpCode is emitted into the binary
output without any checking; when a recognizable OpCode is eventually
encountered, it begins a new instruction and parsing returns to normal.  (If a
subsequent OpCode is never found, then this alternate parsing mode handles all
the remaining tokens in the program.  If a subsequent OpCode is in an
[assignment form](#assignment-form), the ID preceding it begins a new
instruction.)

The assembler processes the tokens encountered in alternate parsing mode as
follows:

* If the token is a number literal, it outputs that number as one or more words,
  as defined in the SPIR-V specification for Literal Number.  The number must
  fit within the unsigned 32-bit range.  All formats supported by `strtoul()`
  are accepted.
* If the token is a string literal, it outputs a sequence of words representing
  the string as defined in the SPIR-V specification for Literal String.
* If the token is an ID, it outputs the ID's internal number.
* If the token is another `!<integer>`, it outputs that integer.
* Any other token causes the assembler to quit with an error.

Note that this has some interesting consequences, including:

* When an OpCode is replaced by `!<integer>`, the integer value should encode
  the instruction's word count, as specified in the physical-layout section of
  the SPIR-V specification.

* Consecutive instructions may have their OpCode replaced by `!<integer>` and
  still produce valid SPIR-V.  For example, `!262187 %1 %2 "abc" !327739 %1 %3 6
  %2` will successfully assemble into SPIR-V declaring a constant and a
  PrivateGlobal variable.

* Enums (such as `DontInline` or `SubgroupMemory`, for instance) are not handled
  by the alternate parsing mode.  They must be replaced by `!<integer>` for
  successful assembly.

* The `<result-id>` on the left-hand side of an assignment cannot be a
  `!<integer>`. The `<result-id>` can be still be manually controlled if desired
  by using the [Canonical Assembly Form](#assignment-form) or by simply
  expressing the entire instruction as `!<integer>` tokens for its opcode and
  operands.

* The `=` sign cannot be processed by the alternate parsing mode if the OpCode
  following it is a `!<integer>`.

* When replacing a named ID with `!<integer>`, it is possible to generate
  unintentionally valid SPIR-V.  If the integer provided happens to equal a
  number generated for an existing named ID, it will result in a reference to
  that named ID being output.  This may be valid SPIR-V, contrary to the
  presumed intention of the writer.

## Notes

* Some enumerants cannot be used by name, because the target instruction
in which they are meaningful take an ID reference instead of a literal value.
For example:
   * Named enumerated value `CmdExecTime` from section 3.30 Kernel
     Profiling Info is used in constructing a mask value supplied as
     an ID for `OpCaptureEventProfilingInfo`.  But no other instruction
     has enough context to bring the enumerant names from section 3.30
     into scope.
   * Similarly, the names in section 3.29 Kernel Enqueue Flags are used to
     construct a value supplied as an ID to the Flags argument of
     OpEnqueueKernel.
   * Similarly for the names in section 3.25 Memory Semantics.
   * Similarly for the names in section 3.27 Scope.
* Some enumerants cannot be used by name, because they only name values
returned by an instruction:
   * Enumerants from 3.12 Image Channel Order name possible values returned
     by the `OpImageQueryOrder` instruction.
   * Enumerants from 3.13 Image Channel Data Type name possible values
     returned by the `OpImageQueryFormat` instruction.