man(1) Manual page archive


     VI(1)                                                       VI(1)

     NAME
          vi, ki, xi - instruction simulators

     SYNOPSIS
          vi [ textfile ]
          vi pid
          ki [ textfile ]
          ki pid
          xi [ textfile ]
          xi pid

     DESCRIPTION
          Vi simulates the execution of a MIPS binary in a Plan 9
          environment.  It has two main uses: as a debugger and as a
          statistics gatherer.  Programs running under vi execute
          about two hundred times slower than normal-but faster than
          single stepping under db. Ki and xi are similar to vi but
          interpret SPARC and ATT3210 binaries.  The following discus-
          sion refers to vi but applies to the others as well.

          Vi will simulate the execution of a named textfile. It will
          also make a copy of an existing process with process id pid
          and simulate its continuation.

          As a debugger vi offers more complete information than
          db(1). Tracing can be performed at the level of instruc-
          tions, system calls, or function calls.  Vi allows break-
          points to be triggered when specified addresses in memory
          are accessed.  A report of instruction counts, load delay
          fills and distribution is produced for each run.  Vi simu-
          lates the CPU's caches and MMU to assist the optimization of
          compilers and programs.

          The command interface mirrors the interface to db; see db(1)
          for a detailed description.  Data formats and addressing are
          compatible with db except for disassembly: vi offers only
          MIPS (db -mmipsco) mnemonics for machine instructions.  Ki
          offers both Plan 9 and Sun SPARC formats.

          Several extra commands allow extended tracing and printing
          of statistics:

          $t[0ics]
               The t command controls tracing. Zero cancels all trac-
               ing options.

               i    Enable instruction tracing

               c    Enable call tracing

     VI(1)                                                       VI(1)

               s    Enable system call tracing

          $i[itsp]
               The i command prints statistics accumulated by all code
               run in this session.

               i    Print instruction counts and frequency.

               p    Print cycle profile.

               t    (Vi only) Print TLB and cache statistics.

               s    Print memory reference, working set and size
                    statistics.

          :b[arwe]
               Vi allows breakpoints to be set on any memory location.
               These breakpoints monitor when a location is accessed,
               read, written, or equals a certain value.  For equality
               the compared value is the count (see db(1)) supplied to
               the command.

     SOURCE
          /sys/src/cmd/vi etc.

     SEE ALSO
          nm(1), db(1)

     BUGS
          The code generated by the compilers is well supported, but
          some unusual instructions are unimplemented.  Some Plan 9
          system calls such as rfork cause simulated traps.  The
          floating point simulation makes assumptions about the inter-
          preting machine's floating point support. The floating point
          conversions performed by vi may cause a loss of precision.