linux/Documentation/arm64/legacy_instructions.txt
Suzuki K. Poulose 2d888f48e0 arm64: Emulate SETEND for AArch32 tasks
Emulate deprecated 'setend' instruction for AArch32 bit tasks.

	setend [le/be] - Sets the endianness of EL0

On systems with CPUs which support mixed endian at EL0, the hardware
support for the instruction can be enabled by setting the SCTLR_EL1.SED
bit. Like the other emulated instructions it is controlled by an entry in
/proc/sys/abi/. For more information see :
	Documentation/arm64/legacy_instructions.txt

The instruction is emulated by setting/clearing the SPSR_EL1.E bit, which
will be reflected in the PSTATE.E in AArch32 context.

This patch also restores the native endianness for the execution of signal
handlers, since the process could have changed the endianness.

Note: All CPUs on the system must have mixed endian support at EL0. Once the
handler is registered, hotplugging a CPU which doesn't support mixed endian,
could lead to unexpected results/behavior in applications.

Signed-off-by: Suzuki K. Poulose <suzuki.poulose@arm.com>
Cc: Will Deacon <will.deacon@arm.com>
Cc: Punit Agrawal <punit.agrawal@arm.com>
Signed-off-by: Catalin Marinas <catalin.marinas@arm.com>
2015-01-23 17:11:44 +00:00

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The arm64 port of the Linux kernel provides infrastructure to support
emulation of instructions which have been deprecated, or obsoleted in
the architecture. The infrastructure code uses undefined instruction
hooks to support emulation. Where available it also allows turning on
the instruction execution in hardware.
The emulation mode can be controlled by writing to sysctl nodes
(/proc/sys/abi). The following explains the different execution
behaviours and the corresponding values of the sysctl nodes -
* Undef
Value: 0
Generates undefined instruction abort. Default for instructions that
have been obsoleted in the architecture, e.g., SWP
* Emulate
Value: 1
Uses software emulation. To aid migration of software, in this mode
usage of emulated instruction is traced as well as rate limited
warnings are issued. This is the default for deprecated
instructions, .e.g., CP15 barriers
* Hardware Execution
Value: 2
Although marked as deprecated, some implementations may support the
enabling/disabling of hardware support for the execution of these
instructions. Using hardware execution generally provides better
performance, but at the loss of ability to gather runtime statistics
about the use of the deprecated instructions.
The default mode depends on the status of the instruction in the
architecture. Deprecated instructions should default to emulation
while obsolete instructions must be undefined by default.
Note: Instruction emulation may not be possible in all cases. See
individual instruction notes for further information.
Supported legacy instructions
-----------------------------
* SWP{B}
Node: /proc/sys/abi/swp
Status: Obsolete
Default: Undef (0)
* CP15 Barriers
Node: /proc/sys/abi/cp15_barrier
Status: Deprecated
Default: Emulate (1)
* SETEND
Node: /proc/sys/abi/setend
Status: Deprecated
Default: Emulate (1)*
Note: All the cpus on the system must have mixed endian support at EL0
for this feature to be enabled. If a new CPU - which doesn't support mixed
endian - is hotplugged in after this feature has been enabled, there could
be unexpected results in the application.