Control Flow Graph (CFG)
To analyze or optimize existing code, bytecode
provides a
ControlFlowGraph
class which is a control flow graph (CFG).
The control flow graph is used to perform the stack depth analysis when converting to code. Because it is better at identifying dead code than CPython it can lead to reduced stack size.
Example
Dump the control flow graph of the conditional jump example:
from bytecode import Label, Instr, Bytecode, ControlFlowGraph, dump_bytecode
label_else = Label()
label_print = Label()
bytecode = Bytecode([Instr('LOAD_GLOBAL', (True, 'print')),
Instr('LOAD_NAME', 'test'),
Instr('POP_JUMP_IF_FALSE', label_else),
Instr('LOAD_CONST', 'yes'),
Instr('JUMP_FORWARD', label_print),
label_else,
Instr('LOAD_CONST', 'no'),
label_print,
Instr('CALL', 1),
Instr('LOAD_CONST', None),
Instr('RETURN_VALUE')])
blocks = ControlFlowGraph.from_bytecode(bytecode)
dump_bytecode(blocks)
Output:
block1:
LOAD_GLOBAL (True, 'print')
LOAD_NAME 'test'
POP_JUMP_IF_FALSE <block3>
-> block2
block2:
LOAD_CONST 'yes'
JUMP_FORWARD <block4>
block3:
LOAD_CONST 'no'
-> block4
block4:
CALL 1
LOAD_CONST None
RETURN_VALUE
We get 4 blocks:
block #1 is the start block and ends with
POP_JUMP_IF_FALSE
conditional jump and is followed by the block #2block #2 ends with
JUMP_FORWARD
unconditional jumpblock #3 does not contain jump and is followed by the block #4
block #4 is the final block
The start block is always the first block.
Analyze the control flow graph
The bytecode
module provides two ways to iterate on blocks:
iterate on the basic block as a sequential list
browse the graph by following jumps and links to next blocks
Iterate on basic blocks
Iterating on basic blocks is a simple as this loop:
for block in blocks:
...
Example of a display_blocks()
function:
from bytecode import UNSET, Label, Instr, Bytecode, BasicBlock, ControlFlowGraph
def display_blocks(blocks):
for block in blocks:
print("Block #%s" % (1 + blocks.get_block_index(block)))
for instr in block:
if isinstance(instr.arg, BasicBlock):
arg = "<block #%s>" % (1 + blocks.get_block_index(instr.arg))
elif instr.arg is not UNSET:
arg = repr(instr.arg)
else:
arg = ''
print(" %s %s" % (instr.name, arg))
if block.next_block is not None:
print(" => <block #%s>"
% (1 + blocks.get_block_index(block.next_block)))
print()
label_else = Label()
label_print = Label()
bytecode = Bytecode([Instr('LOAD_GLOBAL', (True, 'print')),
Instr('LOAD_NAME', 'test'),
Instr('POP_JUMP_IF_FALSE', label_else),
Instr('LOAD_CONST', 'yes'),
Instr('JUMP_FORWARD', label_print),
label_else,
Instr('LOAD_CONST', 'no'),
label_print,
Instr('CALL', 1),
Instr('LOAD_CONST', None),
Instr('RETURN_VALUE')])
blocks = ControlFlowGraph.from_bytecode(bytecode)
display_blocks(blocks)
Output:
Block #1
LOAD_GLOBAL (True, 'print')
LOAD_NAME 'test'
POP_JUMP_IF_FALSE <block #3>
=> <block #2>
Block #2
LOAD_CONST 'yes'
JUMP_FORWARD <block #4>
Block #3
LOAD_CONST 'no'
=> <block #4>
Block #4
CALL 1
LOAD_CONST None
RETURN_VALUE
Note
SetLineno
is not handled in the example to keep it simple.
Browse the graph
Recursive function is a simple solution to browse the control flow graph.
Example to a recursive display_block()
function:
from bytecode import UNSET, Label, Instr, Bytecode, BasicBlock, ControlFlowGraph
def display_block(blocks, block, seen=None):
# avoid loop: remember which blocks were already seen
if seen is None:
seen = set()
if id(block) in seen:
return
seen.add(id(block))
# display instructions of the block
print("Block #%s" % (1 + blocks.get_block_index(block)))
for instr in block:
if isinstance(instr.arg, BasicBlock):
arg = "<block #%s>" % (1 + blocks.get_block_index(instr.arg))
elif instr.arg is not UNSET:
arg = repr(instr.arg)
else:
arg = ''
print(" %s %s" % (instr.name, arg))
# is the block followed directly by another block?
if block.next_block is not None:
print(" => <block #%s>"
% (1 + blocks.get_block_index(block.next_block)))
print()
# display the next block
if block.next_block is not None:
display_block(blocks, block.next_block, seen)
# display the block linked by jump (if any)
target_block = block.get_jump()
if target_block is not None:
display_block(blocks, target_block, seen)
label_else = Label()
label_print = Label()
bytecode = Bytecode([Instr('LOAD_GLOBAL', (True, 'print')),
Instr('LOAD_NAME', 'test'),
Instr('POP_JUMP_IF_FALSE', label_else),
Instr('LOAD_CONST', 'yes'),
Instr('JUMP_FORWARD', label_print),
label_else,
Instr('LOAD_CONST', 'no'),
label_print,
Instr('CALL', 1),
Instr('LOAD_CONST', None),
Instr('RETURN_VALUE')])
blocks = ControlFlowGraph.from_bytecode(bytecode)
display_block(blocks, blocks[0])
Output:
Block #1
LOAD_GLOBAL (True, 'print')
LOAD_NAME 'test'
POP_JUMP_IF_FALSE <block #3>
=> <block #2>
Block #2
LOAD_CONST 'yes'
JUMP_FORWARD <block #4>
Block #4
CALL 1
LOAD_CONST None
RETURN_VALUE
Block #3
LOAD_CONST 'no'
=> <block #4>
Block numbers are no displayed in the sequential order: block #4 is displayed before block #3.
Note
Dead code (unreachable blocks) is not displayed by display_block
.