Format of Inform 6 Debugging Information Files

Version 1.0

0: Introduction

This is a specification of the Version 1 format for the debugging information
files emitted by the Inform 6 compiler.  It replaces Version 0, which is
documented in Section 12.5 of the Inform Technical Manual.

1: Overview

Debugging information files are written in XML and encoded in UTF-8.  They
therefore begin with the following declaration:

	<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

Beyond the usual requirements for well-formed XML, the file adheres to the
conventions that all numbers are written in decimal, all strings are
case-sensitive, and all excerpts from binary files are Base64-encoded.

2: The Top Level

The root element is given by the tag <inform-story-file> with three attributes,
the version of the debug file format being used, the name of the program that
produced the file, and that program's version.  For instance,

	<inform-story-file version="1.0" content-creator="Inform"
			   content-creator-version="6.33">
	  ...
	</inform-story-file>

The elements from Sections 3--8 may appear in the ellipses.

3: Story File Prefix

The story file prefix contains a Base64 encoding of the story file's first bytes
so that a debugging tool can easily check whether the story and the debug
information file are mismatched.  For example, the prefix for a Glulx story
might appear as

	<story-file-prefix>
	  R2x1bAADAQEACqEAAAwsAAAMLAAAAQAAAAAAPAAIo2Jc
	  6B2XSW5mbwABAAA2LjMyMC4zOAABMTIxMDE1wQAAMA==
	</story-file-prefix>

The story file prefix is mandatory, but its length is unspecified.  Version 6.33
of the Inform compiler records 64 bytes, which seems sufficient.

4: Story File Sections

Story file sections partition the story file according to how the data will be
used.  For the Inform 6 compiler, this partitioning is the same as the one that
the `z' flag prints.

A record for a story file section gives a name for that section, its beginning
address (inclusive), and its end address (exclusive):

	<story-file-section>
	  <type>abbreviations table</type>
	  <address>64</address>
	  <end-address>128</end-address>
	</story-file-section>

The names currently in use include those from Section 12.5 of the Inform
Technical Manual:

	abbreviations table
	header extension (Z-code only)
	alphabets table (Z-code only)
	Unicode table (Z-code only)
	property defaults
	object tree
	common properties
	class numbers
	individual properties (Z-code only)
	global variables
	array space
	grammar table
	actions table
	parsing routines (Z-code only)
	adjectives table (Z-code only)
	dictionary
	code area
	strings area

plus one addition for Z-code:

	abbreviations

two additions for Glulx:

	memory layout id
	string decoding table

and three additions for both targets:

	header
	identifier names
	zero padding

Names may repeat; Glulx story files, for example, sometimes have two zero
padding sections.

A compiler that does not wish to subdivide the story file should emit one
section for the entirety and give it the name

	story

5: Source Files

Source files are encoded as in the example below.  Each file has a unique index,
which is used by other elements when referring to source code locations; these
indices count from zero.  The file's path is recorded in two forms, first as it
was given to the compiler via a command-line argument or include directive but
without any path abbreviations like `>' (the form suitable for presentation to a
human) and second after resolution to an absolute path (the form suitable for
loading the file contents).  All paths are written according to the conventions
of the host OS.  The language is, at present, either "Inform 6" or "Inform 7".
More languages may added in the future.

	<source index="0">
	  <given-path>example.inf</given-path>
	  <resolved-path>/home/user/directory/example.inf</resolved-path>
	  <language>Inform 6</language>
	</source>

If the source file is known to appear in the story's Blorb, its chunk number
will also be recorded:

	<source index="0">
	  <given-path>example.inf</given-path>
	  <resolved-path>/home/user/directory/example.inf</resolved-path>
	  <language>Inform 6</language>
	  <blorb-chunk-number>18</blorb-chunk-number>
	</source>

6: Table Entries; Grammar Lines

Table entries are data defined by particular parts of the source code, but
without any corresponding identifiers.  The <table-entry> element notes the
entry's type, the address where it begins (inclusive), the address where it ends
(exclusive), and the defining source code location(s), if any:

	<table-entry>
	  <type>grammar line</type>
	  <address>1004</address>
	  <end-address>1030</end-address>
	  <source-code-location>...</source-code-location>
	</table-entry>

Version 6.33 of the Inform compiler only emits <table-entry> tags for grammar
lines; these data are all located in the grammar table section.

7: Named Values; Constants, Attributes, Properties, Actions, Fake Actions,
   Objects, Classes, Arrays, and Routines

Records for named values store their identifier, their value, and the source
code location(s) of their definition, if any.  For instance,

	<constant>
	  <identifier>MAX_SCORE</identifier>
	  <value>40</value>
	  <source-code-location>...</source-code-location>
	</constant>

would represent a named constant.  Attributes, properties, actions, fake
actions, objects, arrays, and routines are also names for numbers, and differ
only in their use; they are represented in the same format under the tags
<attribute>, <property>, <action>, <fake-action>, <object>, <array>, and
<routine>.  (Moreover, unlike Version 0 of the debug information format, fake
actions are not recorded as both fake actions and actions.)

The records for constants include some extra entries for the system constants
tabulated in Section 12.2 of the Inform Technical Manual, even though these are
not created by Constant directives.  Entries for #undefed constants are also
included, but necessarily without values.

Some records for objects will represent class objects.  In that case, they will
be given with the tag <class> rather than <object> and include an additional
child to indicate their class number:

	<class>
	  <identifier>lamp</identifier>
	  <class-number>5</class-number>
	  <value>1560</value>
	  <source-code-location>...</source-code-location>
	</class>

Records for arrays also have extra children, which record their size, their
element size, and the intended semantics for their zeroth element:

	<array>
	  <identifier>route</identifier>
	  <value>1500</value>
	  <byte-count>20</byte-count>
	  <bytes-per-element>4</bytes-per-element>
	  <zeroth-element-holds-length>true</zeroth-element-holds-length>
	  <source-code-location>...</source-code-location>
	</array>

And finally, <routine> records contain an <address> and a <byte-count> element,
along with any number of the <local-variable> and <sequence-point> elements,
which are described in Sections 9 and 10.  The address is provided because the
identifier's value may be packed.

Sometimes what would otherwise be a named value is in fact anonymous; unnamed
objects, embedded routines, some replaced routines, veneer properties, and the
Infix attribute are all examples.  In such a case, the <identifier> subelement
will carry the XML attribute

	artificial

to indicate that the compiler is providing a sensible name of its own, which
could be presented to a human, but is not actually an identifier.  For instance:

	<routine>
	  <identifier artificial="true">lantern.time_left</identifier>
	  <value>1820</value>
	  <byte-count>80</byte-count>
	  <source-code-location>...</source-code-location>
	  ...
	</routine>

Artificial identifiers may contain characters, like the full stop in
``lantern.time_left'', that would not be legal in the source language.

8: Global Variables

Globals are similar to named values, except that they are not interpreted as a
fixed value, but rather have an address where their value can be found.  Their
records therefore contain an <address> tag in place of the <value> tag, as in:

	<global-variable>
	  <identifier>darkness_witnessed</identifier>
	  <address>1520</address>
	  <source-code-location>...</source-code-location>
	</global-variable>

9: Local Variables

The format for local variables mimics the format for global variables, except
that a source code location is never included, and their memory locations are
not given by address.  For Z-code, locals are specified by index:

	<local-variable>
	  <identifier>parameter</identifier>
	  <index>1</index>
	</local-variable>

whereas for Glulx they are specified by frame offset:

	<local-variable>
	  <identifier>parameter</identifier>
	  <frame-offset>4</frame-offset>
	</local-variable>

If a local variable identifier is only in scope for part of a routine, it's
scope will be encoded as a beginning instruction address (inclusive) and an
ending instruction address (exclusive):

	<local-variable>
	  <identifier>rulebook</identifier>
	  <index>0</index>
	  <scope-address>1628</scope-address>
	  <end-scope-address>1678</end-scope-address>
	</local-variable>

Identifiers with noncontiguous scopes are recorded as one <local-variable>
element per contiguous region.  It is possible for the same identifier to map to
different variables, so long as the corresponding scopes are disjoint.

10: Sequence Points

Sequence points are stored as an instruction address and the corresponding
single location in the source code:

	<sequence-point>
	  <address>1628</address>
	  <source-code-location>...</source-code-location>
	</sequence-point>

The source code location will always be exactly one position with overlapping
endpoints.

Sequence points are defined as in Section 12.4 of the Inform Technical Manual,
but with the further stipulation that labels do not influence their source code
locations, as they did in Version 0 of the debug information format.  For
instance, in code like

	say__p = 1; ParaContent(); .L_Say59; .LSayX59;
	t_0 = 0;

the sequence points are to be placed like this:

	<*> say__p = 1; <*> ParaContent(); .L_Say59; .LSayX59;
	<*> t_0 = 0;

rather than like this:

	<*> say__p = 1; <*> ParaContent(); <*> .L_Say59; .LSayX59;
	t_0 = 0;

11: Source Code Locations

Most source code locations take the following format, which describes their
file, the line and character number where they begin (inclusive), the line and
character number where they end (exclusive), and the file positions (in bytes)
corresponding to those endpoints:

	<source-code-location>
	  <file-index>0</file-index>
	  <line>1024</line>
	  <character>4</character>
	  <file-position>44153</file-position>
	  <end-line>1025</end-line>
	  <end-character>1</end-character>
	  <end-file-position>44186</end-file-position>
	</source-code-location>

Line numbers and character numbers begin at one, but file positions count from
zero.

In the special case where the endpoints coincide, as happens with sequence
points, the end elements may be elided:

	<source-code-location>
	  <file-index>0</file-index>
	  <line>1024</line>
	  <character>4</character>
	  <file-position>44153</file-position>
	</source-code-location>

At the other extreme, sometimes definitions span several source files or appear
in two different languages.  The former case is dealt with by including multiple
code location elements and indexing them to indicate order:

	<!-- First Part of Inform 6 Definition -->
	<source-code-location index="0">
	  <!-- Assuming file 0 was given with the language "Inform 6" -->
	  <file-index>0</file-index>
	  <line>1024</line>
	  <character>4</character>
	  <file-position>44153</file-position>
	  <end-line>1025</end-line>
	  <end-character>1</end-character>
	  <end-file-position>44186</end-file-position>
	</source-code-location>
	<!-- Second Part of Inform 6 Definition -->
	<source-code-location index="1">
	  <!-- Assuming file 1 was given with the language "Inform 6" -->
	  <file-index>1</file-index>
	  <line>1</line>
	  <character>0</character>
	  <file-position>0</file-position>
	  <end-line>3</end-line>
	  <end-character>1</end-character>
	  <end-file-position>59</end-file-position>
	</source-code-location>

The latter case is also handled with multiple elements.  Note that indexing is
only used to indicated order among locations in the same language.

	<!-- Inform 7 Definition -->
	<source-code-location>
	  <!-- Assuming file 2 was given with the language "Inform 7" -->
	  <file-index>2</file-index>
	  <line>12</line>
	  <character>0</character>
	  <file-position>308</file-position>
	  <end-line>12</end-line>
	  <end-character>112</end-character>
	  <end-file-position>420</end-file-position>
	</source-code-location>
	<!-- Inform 6 Definition -->
	<source-code-location>
	  <!-- Assuming file 0 was given with the language "Inform 6" -->
	  <file-index>0</file-index>
	  <line>1024</line>
	  <character>4</character>
	  <file-position>44153</file-position>
	  <end-line>1025</end-line>
	  <end-character>1</end-character>
	  <end-file-position>44186</end-file-position>
	</source-code-location>

--
This file is part of Inform.                                              
                                                                          
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