f30ce1fe97
For host VM code, we use plain reference counting, where cloning increments
the reference count, and dropping decrements it. We can avoid many of the
on-stack increment/decrement operations that typically plague the
performance of reference counting via Rust's ownership and borrowing system.
Moving a `VMExternRef` avoids mutating its reference count, and borrowing it
either avoids the reference count increment or delays it until if/when the
`VMExternRef` is cloned.
When passing a `VMExternRef` into compiled Wasm code, we don't want to do
reference count mutations for every compiled `local.{get,set}`, nor for
every function call. Therefore, we use a variation of **deferred reference
counting**, where we only mutate reference counts when storing
`VMExternRef`s somewhere that outlives the activation: into a global or
table. Simultaneously, we over-approximate the set of `VMExternRef`s that
are inside Wasm function activations. Periodically, we walk the stack at GC
safe points, and use stack map information to precisely identify the set of
`VMExternRef`s inside Wasm activations. Then we take the difference between
this precise set and our over-approximation, and decrement the reference
count for each of the `VMExternRef`s that are in our over-approximation but
not in the precise set. Finally, the over-approximation is replaced with the
precise set.
The `VMExternRefActivationsTable` implements the over-approximized set of
`VMExternRef`s referenced by Wasm activations. Calling a Wasm function and
passing it a `VMExternRef` moves the `VMExternRef` into the table, and the
compiled Wasm function logically "borrows" the `VMExternRef` from the
table. Similarly, `global.get` and `table.get` operations clone the gotten
`VMExternRef` into the `VMExternRefActivationsTable` and then "borrow" the
reference out of the table.
When a `VMExternRef` is returned to host code from a Wasm function, the host
increments the reference count (because the reference is logically
"borrowed" from the `VMExternRefActivationsTable` and the reference count
from the table will be dropped at the next GC).
For more general information on deferred reference counting, see *An
Examination of Deferred Reference Counting and Cycle Detection* by Quinane:
https://openresearch-repository.anu.edu.au/bitstream/1885/42030/2/hon-thesis.pdf
cc #929
Fixes #1804
This is the wasmtime-environ crate, which contains the implementations
of the ModuleEnvironment and FuncEnvironment traits from
cranelift-wasm. They effectively
implement an ABI for basic wasm compilation that defines how linear memories
are allocated, how indirect calls work, and other details. They can be used
for JITing, native object files, or other purposes.