Pin (computer program)
Encyclopedia
Pin is a dynamic binary instrumentation
framework for the IA-32
and x86-64
instruction set architectures
that enables the creation of dynamic program analysis
tools. Some tools built with Pin are Intel Parallel Inspector
, Intel Parallel Amplifier and Intel Parallel Advisor.
The tools created using Pin, called Pintools, can be used to perform program analysis on user space
applications in Linux
and Windows. As a dynamic binary instrumentation tool, instrumentation is performed at run time
on the compiled binary files. Thus, it requires no recompiling of source code and can support instrumenting programs that dynamically generate code.
Pin was originally created as a tool for computer architecture analysis, but its flexible API and an active community (called "Pinheads") have created a diverse set of tools for security, emulation and parallel program analysis.
Pin is proprietary software developed and supported by Intel, and is supplied free of charge for non-commercial use together with a kit of reference tools.
(JIT) small sections of binary code just before they are run. New instructions, which perform the analysis, are added to the recompiled code. These new instructions come from the Pintool. A large array of optimization techniques are used to obtain the lowest possible running time and memory use overhead. As of June 2010, Pin's average base overhead is 30 percent (without running a pintool).
Pin is a platform for creating analysis tools. A pin tool comprises instrumentation, analysis and callback routines
. Instrumentation routines are called when code that has not yet been recompiled is about to be run, and enable the insertion of analysis routines. Analysis routines are called when the code they are associated with is run. Callback routines are called when specific conditions are met, or when a certain event has occurred. Pin provides an extensive application programming interface
(API) for instrumentation at many abstraction levels, from one instruction to an entire binary module. It also supports callbacks for many events such as library loads, system calls, signals/exceptions and thread creation events.
for instrumentation.
, and despite JIT compiling from one ISA to the same ISA (and not using a single intermediate representation for all code), most of its APIs are architecture and operating system
independent. It was also designed to be portable itself, carefully isolating platform-specific code from generic code, allowing the fast adaptation of Pin to new platforms. Approximately half of the code is generic and the rest is either architecture or OS dependent.
, liveness analysis and smart register spilling. Pin performs these optimizations automatically whenever possible, without needing users to insert any extra code to allow inlining. Naturally, some optimizations still require user hints, and some code structures are easier to inline than others. Direct linking of jitted code sections, a technique called trace linking, and register binding reconciliation, which minimizes register spilling and remapping, are also used.
Instrumentation (computer programming)
In context of computer programming, instrumentation refers to an ability to monitor or measure the level of a product's performance, to diagnose errors and to write trace information. Programmers implement instrumentation in the form of code instructions that monitor specific components in a system...
framework for the IA-32
IA-32
IA-32 , also known as x86-32, i386 or x86, is the CISC instruction-set architecture of Intel's most commercially successful microprocessors, and was first implemented in the Intel 80386 as a 32-bit extension of x86 architecture...
and x86-64
X86-64
x86-64 is an extension of the x86 instruction set. It supports vastly larger virtual and physical address spaces than are possible on x86, thereby allowing programmers to conveniently work with much larger data sets. x86-64 also provides 64-bit general purpose registers and numerous other...
instruction set architectures
Instruction set
An instruction set, or instruction set architecture , is the part of the computer architecture related to programming, including the native data types, instructions, registers, addressing modes, memory architecture, interrupt and exception handling, and external I/O...
that enables the creation of dynamic program analysis
Dynamic program analysis
Dynamic program analysis is the analysis of computer software that is performed by executing programs built from that software system on a real or virtual processor. For dynamic program analysis to be effective, the target program must be executed with sufficient test inputs to produce interesting...
tools. Some tools built with Pin are Intel Parallel Inspector
Intel Parallel Inspector
Intel Parallel Inspector adds memory and thread checking into Microsoft Visual Studio. Parallel Inspector helps increase the reliability, security, and accuracy of C/C++ applications.* Reliability: Find deadlocks and memory errors that cause lockups & crashes...
, Intel Parallel Amplifier and Intel Parallel Advisor.
The tools created using Pin, called Pintools, can be used to perform program analysis on user space
User space
A conventional computer operating system usually segregates virtual memory into kernel space and user space. Kernel space is strictly reserved for running the kernel, kernel extensions, and most device drivers...
applications in Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
and Windows. As a dynamic binary instrumentation tool, instrumentation is performed at run time
Run time
Run time, run-time or runtime may refer to:* Run time , the period during which a computer program is executing* Run-time system, software designed to support the execution of computer programs...
on the compiled binary files. Thus, it requires no recompiling of source code and can support instrumenting programs that dynamically generate code.
Pin was originally created as a tool for computer architecture analysis, but its flexible API and an active community (called "Pinheads") have created a diverse set of tools for security, emulation and parallel program analysis.
Pin is proprietary software developed and supported by Intel, and is supplied free of charge for non-commercial use together with a kit of reference tools.
Overview
Pin performs instrumentation by taking control of the program just after it loads into memory. It then just-in-time recompilesJust-in-time compilation
In computing, just-in-time compilation , also known as dynamic translation, is a method to improve the runtime performance of computer programs. Historically, computer programs had two modes of runtime operation, either interpreted or static compilation...
(JIT) small sections of binary code just before they are run. New instructions, which perform the analysis, are added to the recompiled code. These new instructions come from the Pintool. A large array of optimization techniques are used to obtain the lowest possible running time and memory use overhead. As of June 2010, Pin's average base overhead is 30 percent (without running a pintool).
Pin is a platform for creating analysis tools. A pin tool comprises instrumentation, analysis and callback routines
Subroutine
In computer science, a subroutine is a portion of code within a larger program that performs a specific task and is relatively independent of the remaining code....
. Instrumentation routines are called when code that has not yet been recompiled is about to be run, and enable the insertion of analysis routines. Analysis routines are called when the code they are associated with is run. Callback routines are called when specific conditions are met, or when a certain event has occurred. Pin provides an extensive application programming interface
Application programming interface
An application programming interface is a source code based specification intended to be used as an interface by software components to communicate with each other...
(API) for instrumentation at many abstraction levels, from one instruction to an entire binary module. It also supports callbacks for many events such as library loads, system calls, signals/exceptions and thread creation events.
Instrumentation modes
Pin supports two modes of instrumentation called JIT mode and Probe mode. JIT mode supports all features of Pin, while Probe mode supports a limited feature set but is far faster, adding almost no overhead to program running time. JIT mode uses a just-in-time compiler to recompile all program code and insert instrumentation, while Probe mode uses code trampolinesTrampoline (computers)
In computer programming, the word trampoline has a number of meanings, and is generally associated with jumps .- Low Level Programming :...
for instrumentation.
Platform independence
Pin was designed for tool portabilityCross-platform
In computing, cross-platform, or multi-platform, is an attribute conferred to computer software or computing methods and concepts that are implemented and inter-operate on multiple computer platforms...
, and despite JIT compiling from one ISA to the same ISA (and not using a single intermediate representation for all code), most of its APIs are architecture and operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
independent. It was also designed to be portable itself, carefully isolating platform-specific code from generic code, allowing the fast adaptation of Pin to new platforms. Approximately half of the code is generic and the rest is either architecture or OS dependent.
Optimizations
Pin uses many techniques to optimize instrumentation and analysis code, using techniques such as inliningInline function
In various versions of the C and C++ programming languages, an inline function is a function upon which the compiler has been requested to perform inline expansion...
, liveness analysis and smart register spilling. Pin performs these optimizations automatically whenever possible, without needing users to insert any extra code to allow inlining. Naturally, some optimizations still require user hints, and some code structures are easier to inline than others. Direct linking of jitted code sections, a technique called trace linking, and register binding reconciliation, which minimizes register spilling and remapping, are also used.
Ease of use
Pin’s API and implementation are focused on making pin tools easy to write. Pin takes full responsibility for assuring that the instrumentation code from the pin tool does not affect the application state. Also, the API enables instrumentation code to request many pieces of information from Pin. For example, the instrumentation code in the pin tool can use the Pin API to get the memory address being accessed by an instruction, without having to examine the instruction in detail.Tools
There are many Pintools that are used for varying tasks.- Components of Intel Parallel StudioIntel Parallel StudioIntel Parallel Studio is a software development product developed by Intel that plugs into the Microsoft Visual Studio Integrated Development Environment. Its purpose is to facilitate developing programs for parallel computing...
make heavy use of pintools for memory debugging, performance analysis, multithreadingThread (computer science)In computer science, a thread of execution is the smallest unit of processing that can be scheduled by an operating system. The implementation of threads and processes differs from one operating system to another, but in most cases, a thread is contained inside a process...
correctness analysis and parallelization preparation. - Intel Software Development Emulator is a pintool that enables the development of applications using instruction set extensions that are not currently implemented in hardware.
- CMP$IM is a cache profiler built using pin.
- PinPlay enables the capture and deterministic replay of the running of multithreaded programs under pin. Capturing the running of a program helps developers overcome the non-determinism inherent in multithreading.
- Pin itself comes with many example tools that make use of its abilities. These tools are licensed under a BSD-like license.
External Links
- Pin: a dynamic binary instrumentation tool home page
- Pinheads, a mailing list for the Pin users community