[PATCH 00/23] aarch64: Split up QLF_NIL meanings, and other fixes

Project / Subsystem

binutils / aarch64

Date

2026-05-07

Proposer

Alice Carlotti <alice.carlotti@arm.com>

Source type

public_inbox

Consensus

Proposed

Sentiment

/10

Technical tradeoffs

  • Increased code complexity due to the introduction of new qualifiers.
  • Potential performance impact due to the added sequence-length checks (though likely negligible).
  • Improved code clarity and maintainability due to the separation of concerns.

All attributes

project
binutils
subsystem
aarch64
patch_id
discussion_id
dc4b541f-660d-b4e4-7d55-09f1227d2a50@e124511.cambridge.arm.com
source_type
public_inbox
title
[PATCH 00/23] aarch64: Split up QLF_NIL meanings, and other fixes
headline
Aarch64: Split up QLF_NIL meanings, and other fixes
tldr
Splits AARCH64_OPND_QLF_NIL into NIL/ERR/UNKNOWN/UNUSED qualifiers, adds sequence-length checks, and improves code quality.
proposer
Alice Carlotti <alice.carlotti@arm.com>
consensus
Proposed
outcome
proposed
sentiment_score
technical_tradeoffs
  • Increased code complexity due to the introduction of new qualifiers.
  • Potential performance impact due to the added sequence-length checks (though likely negligible).
  • Improved code clarity and maintainability due to the separation of concerns.
series_id
binutils:aarch64: split up qlf_nil meanings, and other fixes
series_role
cover
series_parts
[]
tags
  • aarch64
  • binutils
  • qualifiers
  • instruction decoding
bugzilla_url
date
2026-05-07T00:00:00.000Z

[PATCH 00/23] aarch64: Split up QLF_NIL meanings, and other fixes

This series splits the overloaded AARCH64_OPND_QLF_NIL operand qualifier into four distinct qualifiers: NIL, ERR, UNKNOWN, and UNUSED. This eliminates the need for the F_STRICT opcode flag to differentiate between NIL and UNKNOWN. The series also introduces checks to enforce correct qualifier sequence lengths, which would have caught issues addressed in earlier patches, and includes miscellaneous code quality improvements. The proposer intends to commit the changes next week if no issues are raised.