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Functions with floating point parameters and return values fail to compile properly on eabihf #31156

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opened 2026年02月09日 06:04:15 +01:00 by CWood-sdf · 3 comments

Zig Version

0.15.2

Steps to Reproduce and Observed Behavior

I have a combined zig and c++ project that runs on a teensy 4.1 (ARM Cortex M7). The C++ is compiled with gnu arm-none-eabi-g++ and the zig is compiled into a shared library and then they both communicate via the C ABI. Since the cortex m7 has hardware float support, I am compiling the libs with: -mcpu cortex_m7 -target arm-freestanding-eabihf, however, I have noticed that zig is still using the software float abi. For the below function:

pubexportfnfloats(fl:f32)f32{constret=fl+1.0;returnret;}

The compiled assembly (built with zig build-lib -mcpu cortex_m7 -target thumb-freestanding-eabihf, obtained with gcc's arm-none-eabi-objdump -d) is:

floats:
 push {r7, lr}
 mov r7, sp
 sub sp, #8
 str r0, [sp, #4]
 mov.w r1, #1065353216 ; 0x3f800000
 bl 0 <__aeabi_fadd>
 add sp, #8
 pop {r7, pc}
 nop
 nop

Whereas the equivalent c++ function is:

floats2(float):
 vmov.f32 s15, #112 ; 0x3f800000 1.0
 push {r7}
 vadd.f32 s0, s0, s15
 add r7, sp, #0
 mov sp, r7
 ldr.w r7, [sp], #4
 bx lr

The difference between the two is that the c++ version uses s0, s1, ... for floating point numbers (which I believe is the correct behavior for hardware floating point numbers (eabihf)), whereas the zig version uses the integer registers r0, r1, ... for taking in parameters

Expected Behavior

I would expect zig to use the floating point registers for floating point parameters and return values when compiled with eabihf rather than using the integer registers (which is correct for eabi, but not eabihf)

### Zig Version 0.15.2 ### Steps to Reproduce and Observed Behavior I have a combined zig and c++ project that runs on a teensy 4.1 (ARM Cortex M7). The C++ is compiled with gnu arm-none-eabi-g++ and the zig is compiled into a shared library and then they both communicate via the C ABI. Since the cortex m7 has hardware float support, I am compiling the libs with: `-mcpu cortex_m7 -target arm-freestanding-eabihf`, however, I have noticed that zig is ***still using the software float abi***. For the below function: ```zig pub export fn floats(fl: f32) f32 { const ret = fl + 1.0; return ret; } ``` The compiled assembly (built with `zig build-lib -mcpu cortex_m7 -target thumb-freestanding-eabihf`, obtained with gcc's `arm-none-eabi-objdump -d`) is: ``` floats: push {r7, lr} mov r7, sp sub sp, #8 str r0, [sp, #4] mov.w r1, #1065353216 ; 0x3f800000 bl 0 <__aeabi_fadd> add sp, #8 pop {r7, pc} nop nop ``` Whereas the equivalent c++ function is: ``` floats2(float): vmov.f32 s15, #112 ; 0x3f800000 1.0 push {r7} vadd.f32 s0, s0, s15 add r7, sp, #0 mov sp, r7 ldr.w r7, [sp], #4 bx lr ``` The difference between the two is that the c++ version uses `s0`, `s1`, ... for floating point numbers (which I believe is the correct behavior for hardware floating point numbers (`eabihf`)), whereas the zig version uses the integer registers `r0`, `r1`, ... for taking in parameters ### Expected Behavior I would expect zig to use the floating point registers for floating point parameters and return values when compiled with `eabihf` rather than using the integer registers (which is correct for `eabi`, but not `eabihf`)

This is happening because the FPU is actually optional on Cortex M7, and Zig correctly reflects that in its cortex_m7 model, unlike LLVM. It should produce the expected output with -mcpu cortex_m7+fp_armv8d16 (or whatever FPU that particular board actually has).

Upstream issue here.

This is happening because the FPU is actually optional on Cortex M7, and Zig correctly reflects that in its `cortex_m7` model, unlike LLVM. It should produce the expected output with `-mcpu cortex_m7+fp_armv8d16` (or whatever FPU that particular board actually has). Upstream issue [here](https://github.com/llvm/llvm-project/issues/113008).
alexrp 2026年02月09日 06:09:32 +01:00
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@alexrp wrote in #31156 (comment):

This is happening because the FPU is actually optional on Cortex M7, and Zig correctly reflects that in its cortex_m7 model, unlike LLVM. It should produce the expected output with -mcpu cortex_m7+fp_armv8d16 (or whatever FPU that particular board actually has).

Upstream issue here.

Thanks for the quick response!

However, it still feels a little odd that when compiling with eabihf I don't even get warned that floating point features aren't being used. Compiling eabihf is explicitly asking for floating point features to be used and it makes sense that cortex m7 doesnt have a default FPU selected, but I feel like the build should fail instead of silently continuing and leaving a binary that is just incompatible with the rest of the C++ code I have

@alexrp wrote in https://codeberg.org/ziglang/zig/issues/31156#issuecomment-10462630: > This is happening because the FPU is actually optional on Cortex M7, and Zig correctly reflects that in its `cortex_m7` model, unlike LLVM. It should produce the expected output with `-mcpu cortex_m7+fp_armv8d16` (or whatever FPU that particular board actually has). > > Upstream issue [here](https://github.com/llvm/llvm-project/issues/113008). Thanks for the quick response! However, it still feels a little odd that when compiling with `eabihf` I don't even get warned that floating point features aren't being used. Compiling `eabihf` is explicitly asking for floating point features to be used and it makes sense that cortex m7 doesnt have a default FPU selected, but I feel like the build *should* fail instead of silently continuing and leaving a binary that is just incompatible with the rest of the C++ code I have

In an ideal world, LLVM would surface an error message about this situation. But since it doesn't, we'll likely have to handle this in the compiler somewhere. It'll probably fall under the general "std.Target overhaul" umbrella: #30949

In an ideal world, LLVM would surface an error message about this situation. But since it doesn't, we'll likely have to handle this in the compiler somewhere. It'll probably fall under the general "`std.Target` overhaul" umbrella: https://codeberg.org/ziglang/zig/issues/30949
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