Kernel/linux-next
1
0
Fork 0
mirror of https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/next/linux-next.git synced 2024-12-29 09:12:07 +00:00
Code Issues Actions Packages Projects Releases Wiki Activity

bpf: add script and prepare bpf.h for new helpers documentation

Browse Source 
Remove previous "overview" of eBPF helpers from user bpf.h header.
Replace it by a comment explaining how to process the new documentation
(to come in following patches) with a Python script to produce RST, then
man page documentation.

Also add the aforementioned Python script under scripts/. It is used to
process include/uapi/linux/bpf.h and to extract helper descriptions, to
turn it into a RST document that can further be processed with rst2man
to produce a man page. The script takes one "--filename <path/to/file>"
option. If the script is launched from scripts/ in the kernel root
directory, it should be able to find the location of the header to
parse, and "--filename <path/to/file>" is then optional. If it cannot
find the file, then the option becomes mandatory. RST-formatted
documentation is printed to standard output.

Typical workflow for producing the final man page would be:

    $ ./scripts/bpf_helpers_doc.py \
            --filename include/uapi/linux/bpf.h > /tmp/bpf-helpers.rst
    $ rst2man /tmp/bpf-helpers.rst > /tmp/bpf-helpers.7
    $ man /tmp/bpf-helpers.7

Note that the tool kernel-doc cannot be used to document eBPF helpers,
whose signatures are not available directly in the header files
(pre-processor directives are used to produce them at the beginning of
the compilation process).

v4:
- Also remove overviews for newly added bpf_xdp_adjust_tail() and
  bpf_skb_get_xfrm_state().
- Remove vague statement about what helpers are restricted to GPL
  programs in "LICENSE" section for man page footer.
- Replace license boilerplate with SPDX tag for Python script.

v3:
- Change license for man page.
- Remove "for safety reasons" from man page header text.
- Change "packets metadata" to "packets" in man page header text.
- Move and fix comment on helpers introducing no overhead.
- Remove "NOTES" section from man page footer.
- Add "LICENSE" section to man page footer.
- Edit description of file include/uapi/linux/bpf.h in man page footer.

Signed-off-by: Quentin Monnet <quentin.monnet@netronome.com>
Signed-off-by: Daniel Borkmann <daniel@iogearbox.net>
This commit is contained in:
Quentin Monnet 2018-04-25 18:16:52 +01:00 committed by Daniel Borkmann
parent 3f13de6d6f
commit 56a092c895
2 changed files with 434 additions and 403 deletions
Show Stats Download Patch File Download Diff File Expand all files Collapse all files

416
include/uapi/linux/bpf.h
View File

@ -377,412 +377,22 @@ union bpf_attr {
};
} __attribute__((aligned(8)));
/* BPF helper function descriptions:
/* The description below is an attempt at providing documentation to eBPF
* developers about the multiple available eBPF helper functions. It can be
* parsed and used to produce a manual page. The workflow is the following,
* and requires the rst2man utility:
*
* void *bpf_map_lookup_elem(&map, &key)
* Return: Map value or NULL
* $ ./scripts/bpf_helpers_doc.py \
* --filename include/uapi/linux/bpf.h > /tmp/bpf-helpers.rst
* $ rst2man /tmp/bpf-helpers.rst > /tmp/bpf-helpers.7
* $ man /tmp/bpf-helpers.7
*
* int bpf_map_update_elem(&map, &key, &value, flags)
* Return: 0 on success or negative error
* Note that in order to produce this external documentation, some RST
* formatting is used in the descriptions to get "bold" and "italics" in
* manual pages. Also note that the few trailing white spaces are
* intentional, removing them would break paragraphs for rst2man.
*
* int bpf_map_delete_elem(&map, &key)
* Return: 0 on success or negative error
*
* int bpf_probe_read(void *dst, int size, void *src)
* Return: 0 on success or negative error
*
* u64 bpf_ktime_get_ns(void)
* Return: current ktime
*
* int bpf_trace_printk(const char *fmt, int fmt_size, ...)
* Return: length of buffer written or negative error
*
* u32 bpf_prandom_u32(void)
* Return: random value
*
* u32 bpf_raw_smp_processor_id(void)
* Return: SMP processor ID
*
* int bpf_skb_store_bytes(skb, offset, from, len, flags)
* store bytes into packet
* @skb: pointer to skb
* @offset: offset within packet from skb->mac_header
* @from: pointer where to copy bytes from
* @len: number of bytes to store into packet
* @flags: bit 0 - if true, recompute skb->csum
* other bits - reserved
* Return: 0 on success or negative error
*
* int bpf_l3_csum_replace(skb, offset, from, to, flags)
* recompute IP checksum
* @skb: pointer to skb
* @offset: offset within packet where IP checksum is located
* @from: old value of header field
* @to: new value of header field
* @flags: bits 0-3 - size of header field
* other bits - reserved
* Return: 0 on success or negative error
*
* int bpf_l4_csum_replace(skb, offset, from, to, flags)
* recompute TCP/UDP checksum
* @skb: pointer to skb
* @offset: offset within packet where TCP/UDP checksum is located
* @from: old value of header field
* @to: new value of header field
* @flags: bits 0-3 - size of header field
* bit 4 - is pseudo header
* other bits - reserved
* Return: 0 on success or negative error
*
* int bpf_tail_call(ctx, prog_array_map, index)
* jump into another BPF program
* @ctx: context pointer passed to next program
* @prog_array_map: pointer to map which type is BPF_MAP_TYPE_PROG_ARRAY
* @index: 32-bit index inside array that selects specific program to run
* Return: 0 on success or negative error
*
* int bpf_clone_redirect(skb, ifindex, flags)
* redirect to another netdev
* @skb: pointer to skb
* @ifindex: ifindex of the net device
* @flags: bit 0 - if set, redirect to ingress instead of egress
* other bits - reserved
* Return: 0 on success or negative error
*
* u64 bpf_get_current_pid_tgid(void)
* Return: current->tgid << 32 | current->pid
*
* u64 bpf_get_current_uid_gid(void)
* Return: current_gid << 32 | current_uid
*
* int bpf_get_current_comm(char *buf, int size_of_buf)
* stores current->comm into buf
* Return: 0 on success or negative error
*
* u32 bpf_get_cgroup_classid(skb)
* retrieve a proc's classid
* @skb: pointer to skb
* Return: classid if != 0
*
* int bpf_skb_vlan_push(skb, vlan_proto, vlan_tci)
* Return: 0 on success or negative error
*
* int bpf_skb_vlan_pop(skb)
* Return: 0 on success or negative error
*
* int bpf_skb_get_tunnel_key(skb, key, size, flags)
* int bpf_skb_set_tunnel_key(skb, key, size, flags)
* retrieve or populate tunnel metadata
* @skb: pointer to skb
* @key: pointer to 'struct bpf_tunnel_key'
* @size: size of 'struct bpf_tunnel_key'
* @flags: room for future extensions
* Return: 0 on success or negative error
*
* u64 bpf_perf_event_read(map, flags)
* read perf event counter value
* @map: pointer to perf_event_array map
* @flags: index of event in the map or bitmask flags
* Return: value of perf event counter read or error code
*
* int bpf_redirect(ifindex, flags)
* redirect to another netdev
* @ifindex: ifindex of the net device
* @flags:
* cls_bpf:
* bit 0 - if set, redirect to ingress instead of egress
* other bits - reserved
* xdp_bpf:
* all bits - reserved
* Return: cls_bpf: TC_ACT_REDIRECT on success or TC_ACT_SHOT on error
* xdp_bfp: XDP_REDIRECT on success or XDP_ABORT on error
* int bpf_redirect_map(map, key, flags)
* redirect to endpoint in map
* @map: pointer to dev map
* @key: index in map to lookup
* @flags: --
* Return: XDP_REDIRECT on success or XDP_ABORT on error
*
* u32 bpf_get_route_realm(skb)
* retrieve a dst's tclassid
* @skb: pointer to skb
* Return: realm if != 0
*
* int bpf_perf_event_output(ctx, map, flags, data, size)
* output perf raw sample
* @ctx: struct pt_regs*
* @map: pointer to perf_event_array map
* @flags: index of event in the map or bitmask flags
* @data: data on stack to be output as raw data
* @size: size of data
* Return: 0 on success or negative error
*
* int bpf_get_stackid(ctx, map, flags)
* walk user or kernel stack and return id
* @ctx: struct pt_regs*
* @map: pointer to stack_trace map
* @flags: bits 0-7 - numer of stack frames to skip
* bit 8 - collect user stack instead of kernel
* bit 9 - compare stacks by hash only
* bit 10 - if two different stacks hash into the same stackid
* discard old
* other bits - reserved
* Return: >= 0 stackid on success or negative error
*
* s64 bpf_csum_diff(from, from_size, to, to_size, seed)
* calculate csum diff
* @from: raw from buffer
* @from_size: length of from buffer
* @to: raw to buffer
* @to_size: length of to buffer
* @seed: optional seed
* Return: csum result or negative error code
*
* int bpf_skb_get_tunnel_opt(skb, opt, size)
* retrieve tunnel options metadata
* @skb: pointer to skb
* @opt: pointer to raw tunnel option data
* @size: size of @opt
* Return: option size
*
* int bpf_skb_set_tunnel_opt(skb, opt, size)
* populate tunnel options metadata
* @skb: pointer to skb
* @opt: pointer to raw tunnel option data
* @size: size of @opt
* Return: 0 on success or negative error
*
* int bpf_skb_change_proto(skb, proto, flags)
* Change protocol of the skb. Currently supported is v4 -> v6,
* v6 -> v4 transitions. The helper will also resize the skb. eBPF
* program is expected to fill the new headers via skb_store_bytes
* and lX_csum_replace.
* @skb: pointer to skb
* @proto: new skb->protocol type
* @flags: reserved
* Return: 0 on success or negative error
*
* int bpf_skb_change_type(skb, type)
* Change packet type of skb.
* @skb: pointer to skb
* @type: new skb->pkt_type type
* Return: 0 on success or negative error
*
* int bpf_skb_under_cgroup(skb, map, index)
* Check cgroup2 membership of skb
* @skb: pointer to skb
* @map: pointer to bpf_map in BPF_MAP_TYPE_CGROUP_ARRAY type
* @index: index of the cgroup in the bpf_map
* Return:
* == 0 skb failed the cgroup2 descendant test
* == 1 skb succeeded the cgroup2 descendant test
* < 0 error
*
* u32 bpf_get_hash_recalc(skb)
* Retrieve and possibly recalculate skb->hash.
* @skb: pointer to skb
* Return: hash
*
* u64 bpf_get_current_task(void)
* Returns current task_struct
* Return: current
*
* int bpf_probe_write_user(void *dst, void *src, int len)
* safely attempt to write to a location
* @dst: destination address in userspace
* @src: source address on stack
* @len: number of bytes to copy
* Return: 0 on success or negative error
*
* int bpf_current_task_under_cgroup(map, index)
* Check cgroup2 membership of current task
* @map: pointer to bpf_map in BPF_MAP_TYPE_CGROUP_ARRAY type
* @index: index of the cgroup in the bpf_map
* Return:
* == 0 current failed the cgroup2 descendant test
* == 1 current succeeded the cgroup2 descendant test
* < 0 error
*
* int bpf_skb_change_tail(skb, len, flags)
* The helper will resize the skb to the given new size, to be used f.e.
* with control messages.
* @skb: pointer to skb
* @len: new skb length
* @flags: reserved
* Return: 0 on success or negative error
*
* int bpf_skb_pull_data(skb, len)
* The helper will pull in non-linear data in case the skb is non-linear
* and not all of len are part of the linear section. Only needed for
* read/write with direct packet access.
* @skb: pointer to skb
* @len: len to make read/writeable
* Return: 0 on success or negative error
*
* s64 bpf_csum_update(skb, csum)
* Adds csum into skb->csum in case of CHECKSUM_COMPLETE.
* @skb: pointer to skb
* @csum: csum to add
* Return: csum on success or negative error
*
* void bpf_set_hash_invalid(skb)
* Invalidate current skb->hash.
* @skb: pointer to skb
*
* int bpf_get_numa_node_id()
* Return: Id of current NUMA node.
*
* int bpf_skb_change_head()
* Grows headroom of skb and adjusts MAC header offset accordingly.
* Will extends/reallocae as required automatically.
* May change skb data pointer and will thus invalidate any check
* performed for direct packet access.
* @skb: pointer to skb
* @len: length of header to be pushed in front
* @flags: Flags (unused for now)
* Return: 0 on success or negative error
*
* int bpf_xdp_adjust_head(xdp_md, delta)
* Adjust the xdp_md.data by delta
* @xdp_md: pointer to xdp_md
* @delta: An positive/negative integer to be added to xdp_md.data
* Return: 0 on success or negative on error
*
* int bpf_probe_read_str(void *dst, int size, const void *unsafe_ptr)
* Copy a NUL terminated string from unsafe address. In case the string
* length is smaller than size, the target is not padded with further NUL
* bytes. In case the string length is larger than size, just count-1
* bytes are copied and the last byte is set to NUL.
* @dst: destination address
* @size: maximum number of bytes to copy, including the trailing NUL
* @unsafe_ptr: unsafe address
* Return:
* > 0 length of the string including the trailing NUL on success
* < 0 error
*
* u64 bpf_get_socket_cookie(skb)
* Get the cookie for the socket stored inside sk_buff.
* @skb: pointer to skb
* Return: 8 Bytes non-decreasing number on success or 0 if the socket
* field is missing inside sk_buff
*
* u32 bpf_get_socket_uid(skb)
* Get the owner uid of the socket stored inside sk_buff.
* @skb: pointer to skb
* Return: uid of the socket owner on success or overflowuid if failed.
*
* u32 bpf_set_hash(skb, hash)
* Set full skb->hash.
* @skb: pointer to skb
* @hash: hash to set
*
* int bpf_setsockopt(bpf_socket, level, optname, optval, optlen)
* Calls setsockopt. Not all opts are available, only those with
* integer optvals plus TCP_CONGESTION.
* Supported levels: SOL_SOCKET and IPPROTO_TCP
* @bpf_socket: pointer to bpf_socket
* @level: SOL_SOCKET or IPPROTO_TCP
* @optname: option name
* @optval: pointer to option value
* @optlen: length of optval in bytes
* Return: 0 or negative error
*
* int bpf_getsockopt(bpf_socket, level, optname, optval, optlen)
* Calls getsockopt. Not all opts are available.
* Supported levels: IPPROTO_TCP
* @bpf_socket: pointer to bpf_socket
* @level: IPPROTO_TCP
* @optname: option name
* @optval: pointer to option value
* @optlen: length of optval in bytes
* Return: 0 or negative error
*
* int bpf_sock_ops_cb_flags_set(bpf_sock_ops, flags)
* Set callback flags for sock_ops
* @bpf_sock_ops: pointer to bpf_sock_ops_kern struct
* @flags: flags value
* Return: 0 for no error
* -EINVAL if there is no full tcp socket
* bits in flags that are not supported by current kernel
*
* int bpf_skb_adjust_room(skb, len_diff, mode, flags)
* Grow or shrink room in sk_buff.
* @skb: pointer to skb
* @len_diff: (signed) amount of room to grow/shrink
* @mode: operation mode (enum bpf_adj_room_mode)
* @flags: reserved for future use
* Return: 0 on success or negative error code
*
* int bpf_sk_redirect_map(map, key, flags)
* Redirect skb to a sock in map using key as a lookup key for the
* sock in map.
* @map: pointer to sockmap
* @key: key to lookup sock in map
* @flags: reserved for future use
* Return: SK_PASS
*
* int bpf_sock_map_update(skops, map, key, flags)
* @skops: pointer to bpf_sock_ops
* @map: pointer to sockmap to update
* @key: key to insert/update sock in map
* @flags: same flags as map update elem
*
* int bpf_xdp_adjust_meta(xdp_md, delta)
* Adjust the xdp_md.data_meta by delta
* @xdp_md: pointer to xdp_md
* @delta: An positive/negative integer to be added to xdp_md.data_meta
* Return: 0 on success or negative on error
*
* int bpf_perf_event_read_value(map, flags, buf, buf_size)
* read perf event counter value and perf event enabled/running time
* @map: pointer to perf_event_array map
* @flags: index of event in the map or bitmask flags
* @buf: buf to fill
* @buf_size: size of the buf
* Return: 0 on success or negative error code
*
* int bpf_perf_prog_read_value(ctx, buf, buf_size)
* read perf prog attached perf event counter and enabled/running time
* @ctx: pointer to ctx
* @buf: buf to fill
* @buf_size: size of the buf
* Return : 0 on success or negative error code
*
* int bpf_override_return(pt_regs, rc)
* @pt_regs: pointer to struct pt_regs
* @rc: the return value to set
*
* int bpf_msg_redirect_map(map, key, flags)
* Redirect msg to a sock in map using key as a lookup key for the
* sock in map.
* @map: pointer to sockmap
* @key: key to lookup sock in map
* @flags: reserved for future use
* Return: SK_PASS
*
* int bpf_bind(ctx, addr, addr_len)
* Bind socket to address. Only binding to IP is supported, no port can be
* set in addr.
* @ctx: pointer to context of type bpf_sock_addr
* @addr: pointer to struct sockaddr to bind socket to
* @addr_len: length of sockaddr structure
* Return: 0 on success or negative error code
*
* int bpf_xdp_adjust_tail(xdp_md, delta)
* Adjust the xdp_md.data_end by delta. Only shrinking of packet's
* size is supported.
* @xdp_md: pointer to xdp_md
* @delta: A negative integer to be added to xdp_md.data_end
* Return: 0 on success or negative on error
*
* int bpf_skb_get_xfrm_state(skb, index, xfrm_state, size, flags)
* retrieve XFRM state
* @skb: pointer to skb
* @index: index of the xfrm state in the secpath
* @key: pointer to 'struct bpf_xfrm_state'
* @size: size of 'struct bpf_xfrm_state'
* @flags: room for future extensions
* Return: 0 on success or negative error
* Start of BPF helper function descriptions:
*/
#define __BPF_FUNC_MAPPER(FN) \
FN(unspec), \

421
scripts/bpf_helpers_doc.py Executable file
View File

@ -0,0 +1,421 @@
#!/usr/bin/python3
# SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0-only
#
# Copyright (C) 2018 Netronome Systems, Inc.
# In case user attempts to run with Python 2.
from __future__ import print_function
import argparse
import re
import sys, os
class NoHelperFound(BaseException):
pass
class ParsingError(BaseException):
def __init__(self, line='<line not provided>', reader=None):
if reader:
BaseException.__init__(self,
'Error at file offset %d, parsing line: %s' %
(reader.tell(), line))
else:
BaseException.__init__(self, 'Error parsing line: %s' % line)
class Helper(object):
"""
An object representing the description of an eBPF helper function.
@proto: function prototype of the helper function
@desc: textual description of the helper function
@ret: description of the return value of the helper function
"""
def __init__(self, proto='', desc='', ret=''):
self.proto = proto
self.desc = desc
self.ret = ret
def proto_break_down(self):
"""
Break down helper function protocol into smaller chunks: return type,
name, distincts arguments.
"""
arg_re = re.compile('^((const )?(struct )?(\w+|...))( (\**)(\w+))?$')
res = {}
proto_re = re.compile('^(.+) (\**)(\w+)\(((([^,]+)(, )?){1,5})\)$')
capture = proto_re.match(self.proto)
res['ret_type'] = capture.group(1)
res['ret_star'] = capture.group(2)
res['name'] = capture.group(3)
res['args'] = []
args = capture.group(4).split(', ')
for a in args:
capture = arg_re.match(a)
res['args'].append({
'type' : capture.group(1),
'star' : capture.group(6),
'name' : capture.group(7)
})
return res
class HeaderParser(object):
"""
An object used to parse a file in order to extract the documentation of a
list of eBPF helper functions. All the helpers that can be retrieved are
stored as Helper object, in the self.helpers() array.
@filename: name of file to parse, usually include/uapi/linux/bpf.h in the
kernel tree
"""
def __init__(self, filename):
self.reader = open(filename, 'r')
self.line = ''
self.helpers = []
def parse_helper(self):
proto = self.parse_proto()
desc = self.parse_desc()
ret = self.parse_ret()
return Helper(proto=proto, desc=desc, ret=ret)
def parse_proto(self):
# Argument can be of shape:
# - "void"
# - "type name"
# - "type *name"
# - Same as above, with "const" and/or "struct" in front of type
# - "..." (undefined number of arguments, for bpf_trace_printk())
# There is at least one term ("void"), and at most five arguments.
p = re.compile('^ \* ((.+) \**\w+\((((const )?(struct )?(\w+|\.\.\.)( \**\w+)?)(, )?){1,5}\))$')
capture = p.match(self.line)
if not capture:
raise NoHelperFound
self.line = self.reader.readline()
return capture.group(1)
def parse_desc(self):
p = re.compile('^ \* \tDescription$')
capture = p.match(self.line)
if not capture:
# Helper can have empty description and we might be parsing another
# attribute: return but do not consume.
return ''
# Description can be several lines, some of them possibly empty, and it
# stops when another subsection title is met.
desc = ''
while True:
self.line = self.reader.readline()
if self.line == ' *\n':
desc += '\n'
else:
p = re.compile('^ \* \t\t(.*)')
capture = p.match(self.line)
if capture:
desc += capture.group(1) + '\n'
else:
break
return desc
def parse_ret(self):
p = re.compile('^ \* \tReturn$')
capture = p.match(self.line)
if not capture:
# Helper can have empty retval and we might be parsing another
# attribute: return but do not consume.
return ''
# Return value description can be several lines, some of them possibly
# empty, and it stops when another subsection title is met.
ret = ''
while True:
self.line = self.reader.readline()
if self.line == ' *\n':
ret += '\n'
else:
p = re.compile('^ \* \t\t(.*)')
capture = p.match(self.line)
if capture:
ret += capture.group(1) + '\n'
else:
break
return ret
def run(self):
# Advance to start of helper function descriptions.
offset = self.reader.read().find('* Start of BPF helper function descriptions:')
if offset == -1:
raise Exception('Could not find start of eBPF helper descriptions list')
self.reader.seek(offset)
self.reader.readline()
self.reader.readline()
self.line = self.reader.readline()
while True:
try:
helper = self.parse_helper()
self.helpers.append(helper)
except NoHelperFound:
break
self.reader.close()
print('Parsed description of %d helper function(s)' % len(self.helpers),
file=sys.stderr)
###############################################################################
class Printer(object):
"""
A generic class for printers. Printers should be created with an array of
Helper objects, and implement a way to print them in the desired fashion.
@helpers: array of Helper objects to print to standard output
"""
def __init__(self, helpers):
self.helpers = helpers
def print_header(self):
pass
def print_footer(self):
pass
def print_one(self, helper):
pass
def print_all(self):
self.print_header()
for helper in self.helpers:
self.print_one(helper)
self.print_footer()
class PrinterRST(Printer):
"""
A printer for dumping collected information about helpers as a ReStructured
Text page compatible with the rst2man program, which can be used to
generate a manual page for the helpers.
@helpers: array of Helper objects to print to standard output
"""
def print_header(self):
header = '''\
.. Copyright (C) All BPF authors and contributors from 2014 to present.
.. See git log include/uapi/linux/bpf.h in kernel tree for details.
..
.. %%%LICENSE_START(VERBATIM)
.. Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of this
.. manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice are
.. preserved on all copies.
..
.. Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
.. manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
.. entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
.. permission notice identical to this one.
..
.. Since the Linux kernel and libraries are constantly changing, this
.. manual page may be incorrect or out-of-date. The author(s) assume no
.. responsibility for errors or omissions, or for damages resulting from
.. the use of the information contained herein. The author(s) may not
.. have taken the same level of care in the production of this manual,
.. which is licensed free of charge, as they might when working
.. professionally.
..
.. Formatted or processed versions of this manual, if unaccompanied by
.. the source, must acknowledge the copyright and authors of this work.
.. %%%LICENSE_END
..
.. Please do not edit this file. It was generated from the documentation
.. located in file include/uapi/linux/bpf.h of the Linux kernel sources
.. (helpers description), and from scripts/bpf_helpers_doc.py in the same
.. repository (header and footer).
===========
BPF-HELPERS
===========
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
list of eBPF helper functions
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
:Manual section: 7
DESCRIPTION
===========
The extended Berkeley Packet Filter (eBPF) subsystem consists in programs
written in a pseudo-assembly language, then attached to one of the several
kernel hooks and run in reaction of specific events. This framework differs
from the older, "classic" BPF (or "cBPF") in several aspects, one of them being
the ability to call special functions (or "helpers") from within a program.
These functions are restricted to a white-list of helpers defined in the
kernel.
These helpers are used by eBPF programs to interact with the system, or with
the context in which they work. For instance, they can be used to print
debugging messages, to get the time since the system was booted, to interact
with eBPF maps, or to manipulate network packets. Since there are several eBPF
program types, and that they do not run in the same context, each program type
can only call a subset of those helpers.
Due to eBPF conventions, a helper can not have more than five arguments.
Internally, eBPF programs call directly into the compiled helper functions
without requiring any foreign-function interface. As a result, calling helpers
introduces no overhead, thus offering excellent performance.
This document is an attempt to list and document the helpers available to eBPF
developers. They are sorted by chronological order (the oldest helpers in the
kernel at the top).
HELPERS
=======
'''
print(header)
def print_footer(self):
footer = '''
EXAMPLES
========
Example usage for most of the eBPF helpers listed in this manual page are
available within the Linux kernel sources, at the following locations:
* *samples/bpf/*
* *tools/testing/selftests/bpf/*
LICENSE
=======
eBPF programs can have an associated license, passed along with the bytecode
instructions to the kernel when the programs are loaded. The format for that
string is identical to the one in use for kernel modules (Dual licenses, such
as "Dual BSD/GPL", may be used). Some helper functions are only accessible to
programs that are compatible with the GNU Privacy License (GPL).
In order to use such helpers, the eBPF program must be loaded with the correct
license string passed (via **attr**) to the **bpf**\ () system call, and this
generally translates into the C source code of the program containing a line
similar to the following:
::
char ____license[] __attribute__((section("license"), used)) = "GPL";
IMPLEMENTATION
==============
This manual page is an effort to document the existing eBPF helper functions.
But as of this writing, the BPF sub-system is under heavy development. New eBPF
program or map types are added, along with new helper functions. Some helpers
are occasionally made available for additional program types. So in spite of
the efforts of the community, this page might not be up-to-date. If you want to
check by yourself what helper functions exist in your kernel, or what types of
programs they can support, here are some files among the kernel tree that you
may be interested in:
* *include/uapi/linux/bpf.h* is the main BPF header. It contains the full list
of all helper functions, as well as many other BPF definitions including most
of the flags, structs or constants used by the helpers.
* *net/core/filter.c* contains the definition of most network-related helper
functions, and the list of program types from which they can be used.
* *kernel/trace/bpf_trace.c* is the equivalent for most tracing program-related
helpers.
* *kernel/bpf/verifier.c* contains the functions used to check that valid types
of eBPF maps are used with a given helper function.
* *kernel/bpf/* directory contains other files in which additional helpers are
defined (for cgroups, sockmaps, etc.).
Compatibility between helper functions and program types can generally be found
in the files where helper functions are defined. Look for the **struct
bpf_func_proto** objects and for functions returning them: these functions
contain a list of helpers that a given program type can call. Note that the
**default:** label of the **switch ... case** used to filter helpers can call
other functions, themselves allowing access to additional helpers. The
requirement for GPL license is also in those **struct bpf_func_proto**.
Compatibility between helper functions and map types can be found in the
**check_map_func_compatibility**\ () function in file *kernel/bpf/verifier.c*.
Helper functions that invalidate the checks on **data** and **data_end**
pointers for network processing are listed in function
**bpf_helper_changes_pkt_data**\ () in file *net/core/filter.c*.
SEE ALSO
========
**bpf**\ (2),
**cgroups**\ (7),
**ip**\ (8),
**perf_event_open**\ (2),
**sendmsg**\ (2),
**socket**\ (7),
**tc-bpf**\ (8)'''
print(footer)
def print_proto(self, helper):
"""
Format function protocol with bold and italics markers. This makes RST
file less readable, but gives nice results in the manual page.
"""
proto = helper.proto_break_down()
print('**%s %s%s(' % (proto['ret_type'],
proto['ret_star'].replace('*', '\\*'),
proto['name']),
end='')
comma = ''
for a in proto['args']:
one_arg = '{}{}'.format(comma, a['type'])
if a['name']:
if a['star']:
one_arg += ' {}**\ '.format(a['star'].replace('*', '\\*'))
else:
one_arg += '** '
one_arg += '*{}*\\ **'.format(a['name'])
comma = ', '
print(one_arg, end='')
print(')**')
def print_one(self, helper):
self.print_proto(helper)
if (helper.desc):
print('\tDescription')
# Do not strip all newline characters: formatted code at the end of
# a section must be followed by a blank line.
for line in re.sub('\n$', '', helper.desc, count=1).split('\n'):
print('{}{}'.format('\t\t' if line else '', line))
if (helper.ret):
print('\tReturn')
for line in helper.ret.rstrip().split('\n'):
print('{}{}'.format('\t\t' if line else '', line))
print('')
###############################################################################
# If script is launched from scripts/ from kernel tree and can access
# ../include/uapi/linux/bpf.h, use it as a default name for the file to parse,
# otherwise the --filename argument will be required from the command line.
script = os.path.abspath(sys.argv[0])
linuxRoot = os.path.dirname(os.path.dirname(script))
bpfh = os.path.join(linuxRoot, 'include/uapi/linux/bpf.h')
argParser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description="""
Parse eBPF header file and generate documentation for eBPF helper functions.
The RST-formatted output produced can be turned into a manual page with the
rst2man utility.
""")
if (os.path.isfile(bpfh)):
argParser.add_argument('--filename', help='path to include/uapi/linux/bpf.h',
default=bpfh)
else:
argParser.add_argument('--filename', help='path to include/uapi/linux/bpf.h')
args = argParser.parse_args()
# Parse file.
headerParser = HeaderParser(args.filename)
headerParser.run()
# Print formatted output to standard output.
printer = PrinterRST(headerParser.helpers)
printer.print_all()