| AMLDB(8) | System Manager's Manual | AMLDB(8) | 
amldb —
| amldb | [ -dhst] dsdt_file ... | 
amldb utility parses the DSDT (Differentiated System
  Description Table) files, which usually are acquired from ACPI BIOS, and
  executes the sequence of ACPI Control Methods described in AML (ACPI Machine
  Language) with its AML interpreter. The amldb utility
  also has a simple ACPI virtual machine. During execution of the Control
  Methods each access to the region, such as SystemMemory, SystemIO, PCI_Config,
  does not affect the real hardware but only the virtual machine. Because the
  sequence of virtual accesses is maintained in user space, AML interpreter
  developers need not worry about any effect on hardware when they analyze DSDT
  data files. They can develop and debug the interpreter, even if the machine
  has no ACPI BIOS.
The developer will need to acquire a DSDT data file from any
    machine with ACPI BIOS through
    acpidump(8). The DSDT is a
    table, a part of the whole ACPI memory table located in somewhere in the
    BIOS area (0xa0000 - 0x100000). It includes such
    information as the detailed hardware information for PnP, and the set of
    procedures which perform power management from the OS. The information is
    stored in AML format.
The AML interpreter can execute any of the Control Methods specified by users. When executed, it interprets the byte sequence in the Control Method of DSDT, and disassembles the opcodes that it recognizes into ASL (ACPI Source Language) format to be displayed.
If it encounters one of more accesses to the region such as SystemMemory in executing the Control Methods, its ACPI Virtual Machine simulates the input/output operations to the resources in the region. In writing to a certain region, the ACPI Virtual Machine prepares a piece of memory corresponding to its address, if necessary, and holds the specified value in the memory as the region contents. In reading from a certain region, it fetches the value in the memory (region contents), prompts with it as the following:
DEBUG[read(0, 0x100b6813)&mask:0x1](default: 0x1 / 1) >>
for users to have the opportunity to modify it, and hands it to the AML interpreter. In case that there is no corresponding region in the AML Virtual Machine, the value zero is handed.
The interpreter continues to maintain all of the
    region contents until amldb
    terminates. You can specify their initial values with the file
    region.ini in the current directory. If it is
    executed with -d option, it dumps the final status
    of all of its region contents to the file
    region.dmp when it terminates. Each line of there
    files consists of the following fields, separated by tabs; region type,
    address, and value. Region types are specified as follows;
Interactive commands are described below:
sncamldb has
      no way of breakpoint, this command might not so much useful.qamldb is not in
      execution, this command causes to input the next DSDT data file. If there
      are no next DSDT data files, it terminates amldb
      itself.tamldb is
      in execution, this command displays the structure that relates to the
      objects, arguments, and local variables below the scope of the current
      Control Method.iomr
    method
Method: Arg 1 From 0x280626ce To 0x28062775
  Enter argument values (ex. number 1 / string foo). 'q' to quit.
  Arg0 ?
    
    For each argument, a pair of type string and value delimited
        by one or more spaces can be entered. Now only
        number and string can be
        specified as the type string. In the current implementation, only the
        first character of the type string, such as n or
        s, is identified. For example, we can enter as
        follows:
  Arg0 ? n 1
    
    f
    string_’) characters are
      necessary for specifying objects which have less than four character
      string. Unless additional underscores specified, matching occurs as the
      beginning of word with the specified number of characters.hamldb.amldb shows its usage and terminates.
-d-h-samldb terminates.-tamldb, searching _PRS
  (Possible Resource Settings) objects, and executing the
  _PTS (Prepare To Sleep) Control Method by the AML
  interpreter.
% amldb p2b.dsdt.dat
Loading p2b.dsdt.dat...done
AML>f _PRS
\_SB_.PCI0.ISA_.PS2M._PRS.
\_SB_.PCI0.ISA_.IRDA._PRS.
\_SB_.PCI0.ISA_.UAR2._PRS.
\_SB_.PCI0.ISA_.UAR1._PRS.
\_SB_.PCI0.ISA_.ECP_._PRS.
\_SB_.PCI0.ISA_.LPT_._PRS.
\_SB_.PCI0.ISA_.FDC0._PRS.
\_SB_.LNKD._PRS.
\_SB_.LNKC._PRS.
\_SB_.LNKB._PRS.
\_SB_.LNKA._PRS.
AML>r _PTS
Method: Arg 1 From 0x2805f0a3 To 0x2805f0db
  Enter argument values (ex. number 1 / string foo). 'q' to quit.
  Arg0 ? n 5
==== Running _PTS. ====
AML>s
[\_PTS. START]
If(LNot(LEqual(Arg0, 0x5)))
AML>
If(LEqual(Arg0, 0x1))
AML>
If(LEqual(Arg0, 0x2))
AML>
Store(One, TO12)
[aml_region_write(1, 1, 0x1, 0xe42c, 0x18, 0x1)]
amldb: region.ini: No such file or directory
        [1:0x00@0xe42f]->[1:0x01@0xe42f]
[write(1, 0x1, 0xe42f)]
[aml_region_read(1, 1, 0xe42c, 0x18, 0x1)]
        [1:0x01@0xe42f]
DEBUG[read(1, 0xe42f)&mask:0x1](default: 0x1 / 1) >>
[read(1, 0xe42f)->0x1]
AML>
Or(Arg0, 0xf0, Local2)[Copy number 0xf5]
AML>t
_PTS  Method: Arg 1 From 0x2805f0a3 To 0x2805f0db
  Arg0    Num:0x5
  Local2  Num:0xf5
AML>s
Store(Local2, DBG1)
[aml_region_write(1, 1, 0xf5, 0x80, 0x0, 0x8)]
        [1:0x00@0x80]->[1:0xf5@0x80]
[write(1, 0xf5, 0x80)]
[aml_region_read(1, 1, 0x80, 0x0, 0x8)]
        [1:0xf5@0x80]
DEBUG[read(1, 0x80)&mask:0xf5](default: 0xf5 / 245) >>
[read(1, 0x80)->0xf5]
AML>
[\_PTS. END]
_PTS  Method: Arg 1 From 0x2805f0a3 To 0x2805f0db
NO object
==== _PTS finished. ====
AML>q
%
amldb utility appeared in FreeBSD
  5.0.
Some contributions made by
  
  Chitoshi Ohsawa
    <ohsawa@catv1.ccn-net.ne.jp>,
  
  Takayasu IWANASHI
    <takayasu@wendy.a.perfect-liberty.or.jp>,
  
  Norihiro KUMAGAI
    <kumagai@home.com>,
  
  Kenneth Ingham
    <ingham@I-pi.com>, and
  
  Michael Lucas
    <mwlucas@blackhelicopters.org>.
Because the AML interpreter interprets and disassembles simultaneously, it is impossible to implement such features as setting breakpoints with the specified line number in ASL. Setting breakpoints at certain Control Methods, which is not very difficult, has not yet implemented because nobody has ever needed it.
| August 31, 2000 | NetBSD 10.0 |