Swift 2 Under the Hood - Gotober 2015

Swift is Apple's language for the future, and in this presentation we'll cover a brief history of the Swift language, what advantages Swift has for today's microprocessors, and where it is going in the future. Note that hours after this presentation was given, Apple open-sourced Swift http://www.infoq.com/news/2015/12/open-source-swift

Transcript

1. Dr Alex Blewitt @alblue Swift 2 Under the Hood Swift 2 Under the Hood
2. @alblue Dr Alex Blewitt @alblue Swift 2 Under the Hood  ▸ About This Talk • Overview • Where did Swift come from? • What makes Swift fast? • Where is Swift going? • Alex Blewitt @alblue • NeXT owner and veteran Objective-C programmer • Author of Swift Essentials http://swiftessentials.org Based on Swift 2.1, the public release in December 2015
3. Dr Alex Blewitt @alblue Swift 2 Under the Hood Where did Swift come from?
4. @alblue Dr Alex Blewitt @alblue Swift 2 Under the Hood Pre-history • Story starts in 1983 with Objective-C • Created as a Smalltalk like runtime on top of C • NeXT licensed Objective-C in 1988 • NextStep released in 1989 (and NS prefix) • Apple bought NeXT in 1996 • OSX Server in 1999 • OSX 10.0 Beta in 2000, released in 2001
5. @alblue Dr Alex Blewitt @alblue Swift 2 Under the Hood Objective-C • Originally implemented as a pre-processor for C • Rewrote Objective-C code as C code • Enhanced and merged into GCC • Compiler integrated under GPL • Runtime libraries open source (and GNUStep) http://www.opensource.apple.com/source/ objc4/objc4-208/runtime/objc.h /* * Copyright (c) 1999 Apple Computer, Inc. All rights reserved. * objc.h * Copyright 1988-1996, NeXT Software, Inc. */
6. Dr Alex Blewitt @alblue Swift 2 Under the Hood Timeline C 1972 Objective-C 1983 Smalltalk 1972 Objective-C 2.0 2007 C++ 1983 C++07 2007 C++11 2011 C++14 2014 LLVM 1.0 2003 Clang 1.0 2009 Swift 1.0 2014 Static dispatch Dynamic dispatch Swift 2.1 2015
7. @alblue Dr Alex Blewitt @alblue Swift 2 Under the Hood A lot has changed … • CPU speed has risen for most of the prior decades • Plateaued about 3GHz for desktops • Mobile devices still rising; around 1-2GHz today • More performance has come from more cores • Most mobiles have dual-core, some have more • Mobiles tend to be single-socket/single CPU • Memory has not increased as fast
8. Dr Alex Blewitt @alblue Swift 2 Under the Hood CPU speed "Computer Architecture: A Quantitive Approach" Copyright (c) 2011, Elsevier Inc http://booksite.elsevier.com/9780123838728/ [[objc alloc] init]
9. @alblue Dr Alex Blewitt @alblue Swift 2 Under the Hood Memory latency • Memory latency is a significant bottleneck • CPU stores near-level caches for memory • L1 - per core 64k instruction / 64k data (~1ns) • L2 - 1-3Mb per CPU (~10ns) • L3 - 4-8Mb shared with GPU (~50-80ns) • Main memory 1-2Gb (~180ns) Numbers based on the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s (A8 and A9) Core L1i L1d L2 Core L1i L1d L3
10. Dr Alex Blewitt @alblue Swift 2 Under the Hood Memory latency AnandTech review of iPhone 6s http://www.anandtech.com/show/9686/the-apple-iphone-6s-and- iphone-6s-plus-review/4 L1 Cache L2 Cache L3 Cache Main memory
11. Dr Alex Blewitt @alblue Swift 2 Under the Hood Why Swift?
12. @alblue Dr Alex Blewitt @alblue Swift 2 Under the Hood Why Swift? • Language features • Namespaces/Modules • Reference or Struct value types • Functional constructs • Importantly • Interoperability with Objective-C • No undefined behaviour or nasal daemons
13. @alblue Dr Alex Blewitt @alblue Swift 2 Under the Hood Modules • Modules provide a namespace and function partition • Objective-C • Foundation, UIKit, SpriteKit • C wrappers • Dispatch, simd, Darwin • Swift • Swift (automatically imported), Builtin Builtin provides bindings with native types e.g. Builtin.Int256 Darwin provides bindings with native C libraries e.g. random()
14. @alblue Dr Alex Blewitt @alblue Swift 2 Under the Hood Types • Reference types: class (either Swift or Objective-C) • Value types: struct • Protocols: provides an interface for values/references • Extensions: add methods/protocols to existing type Any AnyObject class struct @objc class NonObjective CBase NSObject
15. @alblue Dr Alex Blewitt @alblue Swift 2 Under the Hood Numeric values • Numeric values are represented as structs • Copied by value into arguments • Structs can inherit protocols and extensions public struct Int : SignedIntegerType, Comparable { public var value: Builtin.Int64 public static var max: Int { get } public static var min: Int { get } } public struct UInt: UnsignedIntegerType, Comparable { public var value: Builtin.Int64 public static var max: Int { get } public static var min: Int { get } } sizeof(Int.self) == 8 sizeof(UInt.self) == 8
16. @alblue Dr Alex Blewitt @alblue Swift 2 Under the Hood Protocols • Most methods are defined as protocols on structs Any struct Int8 UInt8 Comparable Equatable Int32 UInt32 IntegerType Signed IntegerType Unsigned IntegerType Int UInt typealias Any protocol<>
17. Dr Alex Blewitt @alblue Swift 2 Under the Hood What makes Swift fast?
18. @alblue Dr Alex Blewitt @alblue Swift 2 Under the Hood Memory optimisation • Contiguous arrays of data vs objects • NSArray • Diverse • Memory fragmentation • Limited memory load benefits for locality • Array<…> • Iteration is more performant over memory
19. @alblue Dr Alex Blewitt @alblue Swift 2 Under the Hood Static and Dynamic? • Static dispatch (used by C, C++, Swift) • Function calls are known precisely • Compiler generates call/callq to direct symbol • Fastest, and allows for optimisations • Dynamic dispatch (used by Objective-C, Swift) • Messages are dispatched through objc_msgSend • Effectively call(cache["methodName"]) Swift can generate Objective-C classes and use runtime
20. Dr Alex Blewitt @alblue Swift 2 Under the Hood Static Dispatch a() -> b() -> c() a b c Dynamic Dispatch [a:] -> [b:] -> [c:] a b c objc_msgSend objc_msgSend Optimises to abc Cannot be optimised
21. @alblue Dr Alex Blewitt @alblue Swift 2 Under the Hood objc_msgSend • Every Objective-C message calls objc_msgSend • Hand tuned assembly – fast, but still overhead 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 Leopard Snow Leopard Lion Mountain Lion Mavericks Yosemite 107 104 47 47 44 50 Removal of special- case GC handling CPU, registers (_cmd, self), energy Non-pointer isa
22. @alblue Dr Alex Blewitt @alblue Swift 2 Under the Hood Optimisations • Most optimisations rely on inlining • Instead of a() -> b(), have ab() instead • Reduces function prologue/epilog (stack/reg spill) • Reduces branch miss and memory jumps • May unlock peephole optimisations • func foo(i:Int) {if i<0 {return}…} • foo(-1) foo(negative) can be optimised away completely Increases code size
23. @alblue Dr Alex Blewitt @alblue Swift 2 Under the Hood Whole Module Optimisation • Whole Module Optimisation/Link Time Optimisation • Instead of writing out x86_64 .o files, writes LLVM • LLVM linker reads all files, optimises • Can see optimisations where single file cannot • final methods and data structures can be inlined • Structs are always final (no subclassing) • private (same file) internal (same module)
24. @alblue Dr Alex Blewitt @alblue Swift 2 Under the Hood Swift and LLVM • Swift and clang are both built on LLVM • Originally stood for Low Level Virtual Machine • Family of tools (compiler, debugger, linker etc.) • Abstract assembly language • Intermediate Representation (IR), Bitcode (BC) • Infinite register RISC typed instruction set • Call and return convention agnostic Bad name, wasn't really VMs
25. @alblue Dr Alex Blewitt @alblue Swift 2 Under the Hood Swift compile pipeline • AST - Abstract Syntax Tree representation • Parsed AST - Types resolved • SIL - Swift Intermediate Language, high-level IR • Platform agnostic (Builtin.Word abstracts size) • IR - LLVM Intermediate Representation • Platform dependencies (e.g. word size) • Output formats (assembly, bitcode, library output)
26. Dr Alex Blewitt @alblue Swift 2 Under the Hood Swift compile pipeline print("Hello World") AST Parse Sema AST' SILGen SIL SILOpt IRGen IR LLVM .o .dylib
27. @alblue Dr Alex Blewitt @alblue Swift 2 Under the Hood Example C based IR • The ubiquitous Hello World program… #include <stdio.h> int main() { puts("Hello World") } @.str = private unnamed_addr constant [12 x i8] ⤦ c"Hello World\00", align 1 define i32 @main() #0 { %1 = call i32 @puts(i8* getelementptr inbounds ([12 x i8]* @.str, i32 0, i32 0)) ret i32 0 } clang helloWorld.c -emit-llvm -c -S -o -
28. Dr Alex Blewitt @alblue Swift 2 Under the Hood @.str = private unnamed_addr constant [12 x i8] ⤦ c"Hello World\00", align 1 define i32 @main() #0 { %1 = call i32 @puts(i8* getelementptr inbounds ([12 x i8]* @.str, i32 0, i32 0)) ret i32 0 } clang helloWorld.c -emit-assembly -S -o - _main pushq %rbp movq %rsp, %rbp leaq L_.str(%rip), %rdi callq _puts xorl %eax, %eax popq %rbp retq .section __TEXT L_.str: ## was @.str .asciz "Hello World" stack management rdi = &L_.str puts(rdi) eax = 0 return(eax) L_.str = "Hello World" main function
29. @alblue Dr Alex Blewitt @alblue Swift 2 Under the Hood Advantages of IR • LLVM IR can still be understood when compiled • Allows for more accurate transformations • Inlining across method/function calls • Elimination of unused code paths • Optimisation phases that are language agnostic
30. @alblue Dr Alex Blewitt @alblue Swift 2 Under the Hood Example Swift based IR • The ubiquitous Hello World program… print("Hello World") @0 = private unnamed_addr constant [12 x i8] ⤦ c"Hello World\00" define i32 @main(i32, i8**) { … call void @_TFSs5printFTGSaP__9separatorSS10terminatorSS_T_( %swift.bridge* %6, i8* %17, i64 %18, i64 %19, i8* %21, i64 %22, i64 %23) ret i32 0 } swiftc helloWorld.swift -emit-ir —o -
31. @alblue Dr Alex Blewitt @alblue Swift 2 Under the Hood Name Mangling • Name Mangling is source → assembly identifiers • C name mangling: main → _main • C++ name mangling: main → __Z4mainiPPc • __Z = C++ name • 4 = 4 characters following for name (main) • i = int • PPc = pointer to pointer to char (i.e. char**)
32. @alblue Dr Alex Blewitt @alblue Swift 2 Under the Hood Swift Name Mangling • With the Swift symbol _TFSs5printFTGSaP__9separatorSS10terminatorSS_T_ • _T = Swift symbol • F = function • Ss = "Swift" (module, as in Swift.print) • 5print = "print" (function name) • TGSaP___ = tuple containing generic array protocol ([protocol<>]) • 9separator = "separator" (argument name) • SS = Swift.String (special case) • T_ = empty tuple () (return type)
33. @alblue Dr Alex Blewitt @alblue Swift 2 Under the Hood Swift Name Mangling • With the Swift symbol _TFSs5printFTGSaP__9separatorSS10terminatorSS_T_ • _T = Swift symbol • F = function • Ss = "Swift" (module, as in Swift.print) • 5print = "print" (function name) • TGSaP___ = tuple containing generic array protocol ([protocol<>]) • 9separator = "separator" (argument name) • SS = Swift.String (special case) • T_ = empty tuple () (return type) $ echo "_TFSs5printFTGSaP__9separatorSS10terminatorSS_T_" | xcrun swift-demangle Swift.print ([protocol<>], separator : Swift.String, terminator : Swift.String) -> ()
34. @alblue Dr Alex Blewitt @alblue Swift 2 Under the Hood Swift Intermediate Language • Similar to IL, but with some Swift specifics print("Hello World") sil_stage canonical import Builtin import Swift import SwiftShims // main sil @main : $@convention(c) (Int32, UnsafeMutablePointer<UnsafeMutablePointer<Int8>>) -> Int32 { // function_ref Swift.print (Swift.Array<protocol<>>, separator : Swift.String, terminator : Swift.String) -> swiftc helloWorld.swift -emit-sil —o -
35. @alblue Dr Alex Blewitt @alblue Swift 2 Under the Hood Swift vTables • Method lookup in Swift is like C++ with vTable class World { func hello() {…} } sil_stage canonical import Builtin; import Swift; import SwiftShims … sil_vtable World { // main.World.hello (main.World)() -> () #World.hello!1: _TFC4main5World5hellofS0_FT_T_ // main.World.__deallocating_deinit #World.deinit!deallocator: _TFC4main5WorldD // main.World.init (main.World.Type)() -> main.World #World.init!initializer.1: _TFC4main5WorldcfMS0_FT_S0_ } swiftc helloWorld.swift -emit-sil —o -
36. @alblue Dr Alex Blewitt @alblue Swift 2 Under the Hood SIL Inspector • Allows Swift SIL to be inspected • Available at GitHub • https://github.com/alblue/SILInspector
37. @alblue Dr Alex Blewitt @alblue Swift 2 Under the Hood SwiftObject and ObjC • Swift objects can also be used in Objective-C • Swift instance in memory has an isa pointer • Objective-C can call Swift code with no changes • Swift classes have @objc to use dynamic dispatch • Reduces optimisations • Automatically applied when using ObjC • Protocols, Superclasses
38. Dr Alex Blewitt @alblue Swift 2 Under the Hood Where is Swift going?
39. @alblue Dr Alex Blewitt @alblue Swift 2 Under the Hood Is Swift swift yet? • Is Swift as fast as C? • Wrong question • Is Swift as fast, or faster than Objective-C? • As fast or faster than Objective-C • Can be faster for data/struct processing • More optimisation possibilities in future
40. @alblue Dr Alex Blewitt @alblue Swift 2 Under the Hood Swift • Being heavily developed – 3 releases in a year • Provides a transitional mechanism from ObjC • Existing libraries/frameworks will continue to work • Can drop down to native calls when necessary • Used as replacement language in LLDB • Future of iOS development? • Future of server-side development?
41. @alblue Dr Alex Blewitt @alblue Swift 2 Under the Hood Summary • Swift has a long history coming from LLVM roots • Prefers static dispatch but also supports objective-c • Values can be laid out in memory efficiently • In-lining leads to further optimisations • Whole-module optimisation will only get better • Modular compile pipeline allows for optimisations