binary_search_state.py is a general binary search triage tool that performs a binary search on a set of things to try to identify which thing or thing(s) in the set is ‘bad’. binary_search_state.py assumes that the user has two sets, one where everything is known to be good, and one which contains at least one bad item. binary_search_state.py then copies items from the good and bad sets into a working set and tests the result (good or bad). binary_search_state.py requires that a set of scripts be supplied to it for any particular job. For more information on binary_search_state.py, see
This particular set of scripts is designed to work with binary_search_state.py in order to find the bad object or set of bad objects in an Android build. Furthermore, it can also help find the bad compiler pass and transformation when building that bad object.
After setting up your 2 build trees (see Prerequisites section), do the following:
Decide which test script to use (boot_test.sh or interactive_test.sh)
Get the serial number for the Android device you will use for testing.
Run the following:
$ cd <android_src>
$ source build/envsetup.sh
$ lunch <android_device_lunch_combo>
$ cd <path_to_toolchain_utils>/binary_search_tool/
$ NUM_JOBS=10 ANDROID_SERIAL=<device_serial> \
./android/setup.sh <android_src>
If you chose the boot test, then:
TEST_SCRIPT=android/boot_test.sh
If you chose the interactive test, then:
TEST_SCRIPT=android/interactive_test.sh
Finally, run the binary search tool:
$ python ./binary_search_state.py \
--get_initial_items=android/get_initial_items.sh \
--switch_to_good=android/switch_to_good.sh \
--switch_to_bad=android/switch_to_bad.sh \
--test_setup_script=android/test_setup.sh \
--test_script=$TEST_SCRIPT \
--file_args \
--prune
Once you have completely finished doing the binary search/triage, run the cleanup script:
$ android/cleanup.sh
Check the header comments for each script for more in depth documentation.
boot_test.sh - One of two possible test scripts used to determine if the Android image built from the objects is good or bad. This script tests to see if the image booted, and requires no user intervention.
cleanup.sh - This is called after the binary search tool completes. This script will clean up the common.sh file generated by setup.sh
get_initial_items.sh - This script is used to determine all Android objects that will be bisected.
test_setup.sh - This script will build and flash your image to the Android device. If the flash fails, this script will help the user troubleshoot by trying to flash again or by asking the user to manually flash it.
interactive_test.sh - One of two possible scripts used to determine if the Android image built from the objects is good or bad. This script requires user interaction to determine if the image is good or bad.
setup.sh - This is the first script the user should call, after taking care of the prerequisites. It sets up the environment appropriately for running the Android object binary search triage, and it generates the necessary common script (see below).
switch_to_bad.sh - This script is used to link objects from the ‘bad’ build tree into the work area.
switch_to_good.sh - This script is used to link objects from the ‘good’ build tree into the work area.
generate_cmd.sh - This script will generate another temporary script, which contains the command line options to build the bad object file again with pass/transformation level limit.
common.sh - contains basic environment variable definitions for this binary search triage session.
There are two different Android builds, for the same board/lunch combo with the same set of generated object files. One build creates a good working Android image and the other does not.
The toolchain bug you are tracking down is not related to the linker. If the linker is broken or generates bad code, this tool is unlikely to help you.
PREREQUISITES FOR USING THESE SCRIPTS:
Decide where to store each build tree By default, each build tree is stored in ~/ANDROID_BISECT. However you can override this by exporting BISECT_DIR set to whatever directory you please. Keep in mind these build trees take dozens of gigabytes each.
Setup your android build environment
cd <android_src> source build/envsetup.sh lunch <android_device_lunch_combo>
Populate the good build tree
make cleanexport BISECT_STAGE=POPULATE_GOODmake -j10. The “-j” parameter depends on how many cores your machine has. See Android documentation for more details.Populate the bad build tree
make cleanexport BISECT_STAGE=POPULATE_BADRun the android setup script
cd <path_to_toolchain_utils>/binary_search_tool/NUM_JOBS=<jobs> ANDROID_SERIAL=<android_serial_num> android/setup.sh <android_src>WARNING: It's important that you leave the full out/ directory in your Android source alone after Step 4. The binary search tool will use this directory as a skeleton to build each test image while triaging.
To use these scripts, you must first run setup.sh, passing it the path to your Android source directory. setup.sh will do the following:
This set of scripts comes with two alternate test scripts. One test script, boot_test.sh, just checks to make sure that the image booted (wait for device to boot to home screen) and assumes that is enough. The other test script, interactive_test.sh, is interactive and asks YOU to tell it whether the image on the android device is ok or not (it prompts you and waits for a response).
Once you have run setup.sh (and decided which test script you want to use) run the binary triage tool using these scripts to isolate/identify the bad object:
./binary_search_state.py \ --get_initial_items=android/get_initial_items.sh \ --switch_to_good=android/switch_to_good.sh \ --switch_to_bad=android/switch_to_bad.sh \ --test_setup_script=android/test_setup.sh \ --test_script=android/boot_test.sh \ # could use interactive_test.sh instead --prune
After you have finished running the tool and have identified the bad object(s), you will want to run the cleanup script (android/cleanup.sh).