Explore the intricacies of Rust compilation, linking, and symbol management in this comprehensive conference talk from Conf42 Rustlang 2024. Delve into the compilation phases of Rust, including lexing, parsing, and code analysis. Examine intermediate representations, optimizations, and the LLVM code generation process. Gain insights into Rust's query-based compilation model and understand object files and object code. Follow along with practical experiments in Rust, exploring symbol mangling, compiling and linking object files, and using utilities like nm for symbol table analysis. Investigate the ELF file format, learn about manual linking with the ld linker, and discover how to handle linking errors. Explore the use of static libraries in Rust and the generation of LLVM IR. Conclude with valuable references for further study in Rust development and compilation processes.
Rust Unlinked: Understanding Rustc, Symbols, and Static Libraries
Overview
Syllabus
intro
preamble
understanding linking in rust
compilation phases in rust
lexing, parsing, and code analysis
intermediate representations and optimizations
llvm and code generation
query-based compilation model
introduction to object files
introduction to object code
experimenting with rust
understanding the code example
exploring symbol mangling
compiling and linking object files
using nm utility for symbol table
examining elf file format
manual linking with ld linker
handling linking errors
using static libraries in rust
generating llvm ir
conclusion and references
Taught by
Conf42
