Zettelkasten

This page is read only. You can view the source, but not change it. Ask your administrator if you think this is wrong.
====== MegabitChip — Session 2026-04-21 Part 2 (Simulation & MMIO-Diff) ======

Continues the 2026-04-21 reloc-splice session. Goal: close the 47/54 reach
gap with simulation tooling.

===== Result =====

  * Three new validation tools built: ''lockstep.py'', ''mmio_diff.py'',
    ''check_asm.sh''.
  * Four more bugs found and fixed.
  * MMIO-write parity: **82 of ~1000 writes match identically** before first
    divergence — concrete proof the early boot path is source-rebuilt.
  * Superseded register-level lockstep with MMIO-trace diff (clang
    reg-alloc noise obscured real signal).

===== Tools added =====

==== check_asm.sh ====

Structural asm-diff gate. Classifies each benchmark dir as
''ASM_EXACT / ORDER_DIFF / REG_DIFF / BRANCH_DIFF / STRUCTURAL_DIFF''.
Current: 100 tested, 3 EXACT, 18 REG_DIFF (same mnemonics + offsets,
different regs — the useful audit signal), 57 BRANCH_DIFF (inflated by
partial-port stubs), 22 STRUCTURAL_DIFF.

==== lockstep.py ====

Two Unicorn instances (vendor + rebuilt), step one insn at a time,
diff all x-regs + sp + pc + nzcv. Supports ''--fn-entry-only'' to
suppress inside-function noise.

**Verdict:** works mechanically but fires false alarms on clang register
allocation ("vendor puts intermediate in x0, our port puts it in x8").
Even filtered to function entries, caller-saved-but-stale regs trigger.
Use for targeted investigation, not as a gate.

==== mmio_diff.py ====

Log MMIO writes (addr, size, val, caller_pc) from each run; diff
sequences in order. MMIO is the silicon-observable behavior — if the
write sequence matches, rebuild is behaviorally equivalent regardless
of how clang chose registers.

First divergent write pinpoints the exact bug in one line of output.
This replaces reach-bisection + lockstep as the primary validation gate
going forward.

===== Bugs fixed =====

  * **54_FUN_9a68** — dst/src swap. Vendor copies ''*arg*'' → ''*(DAT)'';
    our port had it reversed. Surfaced by lockstep (first divergence
    at step 35, mid-copy).
  * **46_FUN_2e88** (MR read helper) — args ''mr_addr''/''byte_index''
    were swapped in the port's C signature. Vendor's asm uses w2 for
    shift amount (byte_index) and w3<<8 for MRCTRL1 (mr_addr). Our
    port had them reversed.
  * **17_FUN_2340** (MR submit) — vendor ends ''mov w0, #0; ret''
    explicitly returning 0. Our ''void'' port preserved whatever
    clang left in x0 (often the ch_base ptr = 0xfe000000). Same class
    as ''fn_27e0''. Change to ''int mr_submit(...) { ...; return 0; }''
  * **113_FUN_4f8 case-2 sub-0** — Ghidra mis-decompiled the BUS_GRF
    register addresses. Vendor writes ''0xFD5F4000'' and ''0xFD5F800C''
    for (grp=2, sub=0); our port wrote ''BUS_GRF_BASE_CFG'' (0xFD5F0000)
    and ''BUS_GRF_DDR_ROUTE'' (0xFD5F0004). Fixed by hardcoding the
    actual vendor addresses.

===== Status =====

  * **Reach gate**: still 47/54 — the 4 fixes each reveal the next
    MMIO-level divergence; reach-count is no longer a discriminating
    signal.
  * **MMIO parity gate** (new primary): writes 1..82 byte-identical,
    write 83 reveals ''fn_62d8'' variant=1-vs-0 discrepancy (likely
    caller passing wrong arg). Keeps peeling bug-by-bug.
  * Vendor total MMIO writes: **1007** in 500k insn budget.
    Rebuilt total: **253** (stops short because of divergence, not
    because 253 writes are all).

===== Next steps =====

  * Continue mmio_diff-driven debug from write 83 onward. Each divergent
    write surfaces one Ghidra-decompile error or one ABI mismatch.
  * Consider dumping the FULL 1007-write vendor trace and using it as a
    **spec file**: every future rebuild must reproduce this exact
    sequence byte-for-byte.
  * When 1007/1007 match: move to Phase 4 (bare-metal on ampere via
    meitner rkdeveloptool). That's the final ground-truth check.

===== Files added =====

  * ''~/src/rk3588-ddr-decompiled/lockstep.py''
  * ''~/src/rk3588-ddr-decompiled/mmio_diff.py''
  * ''~/projects/AMPere/benchmark/check_asm.sh''
  * ''~/projects/AMPere/benchmark/reloc_bisect.sh''

===== Memories updated =====

  * ''feedback_megabitchip_reloc_splicer.md'' — added section on
    MMIO-diff as the superior gate, plus the two new bug-class
    examples (fn_9a68 direction, fn_62d8 address confusion).

===== Observation =====

The iteration pace felt like peeling an onion — each bug fixed
revealed the next. But that IS the correct shape for matching-decomp
with semantic tests: the MMIO sequence is the contract, each mismatch
is a localized bug, and the tools converge us toward the vendor spec.
Much more principled than register-level lockstep, which is too noisy
for compiler-portable C ports.

A fully verified MMIO trace becomes a permanent regression oracle
— useful both for this project and for any future Rockchip DDR
reverse-engineering work. The ''.mmio-trace'' file is the real deliverable.