Implement the LLVM backend

1 files changed, 514 insertions, 0 deletions

diff --git a/lib/hipe/llvm/hipe_llvm_main.erl b/lib/hipe/llvm/hipe_llvm_main.erl
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..e911fb89c9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/hipe/llvm/hipe_llvm_main.erl
@@ -0,0 +1,514 @@
+%% -*- erlang-indent-level: 2 -*-
+-module(hipe_llvm_main).
+
+-export([rtl_to_native/4]).
+
+-include("../../kernel/src/hipe_ext_format.hrl").
+-include("hipe_llvm_arch.hrl").
+-include("elf_format.hrl").
+
+%% @doc Translation of RTL to a loadable object. This function takes the RTL
+%%      code and calls hipe_rtl_to_llvm:translate/2 to translate the RTL code to
+%%      LLVM code. After this, LLVM asm is printed to a file and the LLVM tool
+%%      chain is invoked in order to produce an object file.
+rtl_to_native(MFA, RTL, Roots, Options) ->
+  %% Compile to LLVM and get Instruction List (along with infos)
+  {LLVMCode, RelocsDict, ConstTab} =
+    hipe_rtl_to_llvm:translate(RTL, Roots),
+  %% Fix function name to an acceptable LLVM identifier (needed for closures)
+  {_Module, Fun, Arity} = hipe_rtl_to_llvm:fix_mfa_name(MFA),
+  %% Write LLVM Assembly to intermediate file (on disk)
+  {ok, Dir, ObjectFile} =
+    compile_with_llvm(Fun, Arity, LLVMCode, Options, false),
+  %%
+  %% Extract information from object file
+  %%
+  ObjBin = open_object_file(ObjectFile),
+  %% Read and set the ELF class
+  elf_format:set_architecture_flag(ObjBin),
+  %% Get labels info (for switches and jump tables)
+  Labels = elf_format:get_rodata_relocs(ObjBin),
+  {Switches, Closures} = get_tables(ObjBin),
+  %% Associate Labels with Switches and Closures with stack args
+  {SwitchInfos, ExposedClosures} =
+    correlate_labels(Switches ++ Closures, Labels),
+  %% SwitchInfos:     [{"table_50", [Labels]}]
+  %% ExposedClosures: [{"table_closures", [Labels]}]
+  
+  %% Labelmap contains the offsets of the labels in the code that are
+  %% used for switch's jump tables
+  LabelMap = create_labelmap(MFA, SwitchInfos, RelocsDict),
+  %% Get relocation info
+  TextRelocs = elf_format:get_text_relocs(ObjBin),
+  %% AccRefs contains the offsets of all references to relocatable symbols in
+  %% the code:
+  AccRefs = fix_relocations(TextRelocs, RelocsDict, MFA),
+  %% Get stack descriptors
+  SDescs = get_sdescs(ObjBin),
+  %% FixedSDescs are the stack descriptors after correcting calls that have
+  %% arguments in the stack
+  FixedSDescs =
+    fix_stack_descriptors(RelocsDict, AccRefs, SDescs, ExposedClosures),
+  Refs = AccRefs ++ FixedSDescs,
+  %% Get binary code from object file
+  BinCode = elf_format:extract_text(ObjBin),
+  %% Remove temp files (if needed)
+  ok = remove_temp_folder(Dir, Options),
+  %% Return the code together with information that will be used in the
+  %% hipe_llvm_merge module to produce the final binary that will be loaded
+  %% by the hipe unified loader.
+  {MFA, BinCode, byte_size(BinCode), ConstTab, Refs, LabelMap}.
+
+%%------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+%% LLVM tool chain
+%%------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+%% @doc Compile function FunName/Arity to LLVM. Return Dir (in order to remove
+%%      it if we do not want to store temporary files) and ObjectFile name that
+%%      is created by the LLVM tools.
+compile_with_llvm(FunName, Arity, LLVMCode, Options, UseBuffer) ->
+  Filename = atom_to_list(FunName) ++ "_" ++ integer_to_list(Arity),
+  %% Save temp files in a unique folder
+  Dir = unique_folder(FunName, Arity, Options),
+  ok = file:make_dir(Dir),
+  %% Print LLVM assembly to file
+  OpenOpts = [append, raw] ++
+    case UseBuffer of
+      %% true  -> [delayed_write]; % Use delayed_write!
+      false -> []
+    end,
+  {ok, File_llvm} = file:open(Dir ++ Filename ++ ".ll", OpenOpts),
+  hipe_llvm:pp_ins_list(File_llvm, LLVMCode),
+  %% delayed_write can cause file:close not to do a close, hence the two calls
+  ok = file:close(File_llvm),
+  __ = file:close(File_llvm),
+  %% Invoke LLVM compiler tools to produce an object file
+  llvm_opt(Dir, Filename, Options),
+  llvm_llc(Dir, Filename, Options),
+  compile(Dir, Filename, "gcc"), %%FIXME: use llc -filetype=obj and skip this!
+  {ok, Dir, Dir ++ Filename ++ ".o"}.
+
+%% @doc Invoke opt tool to optimize the bitcode (_name.ll -> _name.bc).
+llvm_opt(Dir, Filename, Options) ->
+  Source   = Dir ++ Filename ++ ".ll",
+  Dest     = Dir ++ Filename ++ ".bc",
+  OptLevel = trans_optlev_flag(opt, Options),
+  OptFlags = [OptLevel, "-mem2reg", "-strip"],
+  Command  = "opt " ++ fix_opts(OptFlags) ++ " " ++ Source ++ " -o " ++ Dest,
+  %% io:format("OPT: ~s~n", [Command]),
+  case os:cmd(Command) of
+    "" -> ok;
+    Error -> exit({?MODULE, opt, Error})
+  end.
+
+%% @doc Invoke llc tool to compile the bitcode to object file
+%%      (_name.bc -> _name.o).
+llvm_llc(Dir, Filename, Options) ->
+  Source   = Dir ++ Filename ++ ".bc",
+  OptLevel = trans_optlev_flag(llc, Options),
+  Align    = find_stack_alignment(),
+  LlcFlags = [OptLevel, "-code-model=medium", "-stack-alignment=" ++ Align
+             , "-tailcallopt", "-filetype=asm"], %%FIXME
+  Command  = "llc " ++ fix_opts(LlcFlags) ++ " " ++ Source,
+  %% io:format("LLC: ~s~n", [Command]),
+  case os:cmd(Command) of
+    "" -> ok;
+    Error -> exit({?MODULE, llc, Error})
+  end.
+
+%% @doc Invoke the compiler tool ("gcc", "llvmc", etc.) to generate an object
+%%      file from native assembly.
+compile(Dir, Fun_Name, Compiler) ->
+  Source  = Dir ++ Fun_Name ++ ".s",
+  Dest    = Dir ++ Fun_Name ++ ".o",
+  Command = Compiler ++ " -c " ++ Source ++ " -o " ++ Dest,
+  %% io:format("~s: ~s~n", [Compiler, Command]),
+  case os:cmd(Command) of
+    "" -> ok;
+    Error -> exit({?MODULE, cc, Error})
+  end.
+
+find_stack_alignment() ->
+  case get(hipe_target_arch) of
+    x86 -> "4";
+    amd64 -> "8";
+    _ -> exit({?MODULE, find_stack_alignment, "Unimplemented architecture"})
+  end.
+
+%% @doc Join options.
+fix_opts(Opts) ->
+  string:join(Opts, " ").
+
+%% @doc Translate optimization-level flag (default is "O2").
+trans_optlev_flag(Tool, Options) ->
+  Flag = case Tool of
+	   opt -> llvm_opt;
+	   llc -> llvm_llc
+         end,
+  case proplists:get_value(Flag, Options) of
+    o0 -> ""; % "-O0" does not exist in opt tool
+    o1 -> "-O1";
+    o2 -> "-O2";
+    o3 -> "-O3";
+    undefined -> "-O2"
+  end.
+
+%%------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+%% Functions to manage Relocations
+%%------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+%% @doc Get switch table and closure table.
+get_tables(Elf) ->
+  %% Search Symbol Table for an entry with name prefixed with "table_":
+  Triples = elf_format:get_tab_entries(Elf),
+  Switches = [T || T={"table_" ++ _, _, _} <- Triples],
+  Closures = [T || T={"table_closures" ++ _, _, _} <- Switches],
+  {Switches, Closures}.
+
+%% @doc This function associates symbols who point to some table of labels with
+%%      the corresponding offsets of the labels in the code. These tables can
+%%      either be jump tables for switches or a table which contains the labels
+%%      of blocks that contain closure calls with more than ?NR_ARG_REGS.
+correlate_labels([], _L) -> {[], []};
+correlate_labels(Tables, Labels) ->
+  %% Sort "Tables" based on "ValueOffsets"
+  OffsetSortedTb = lists:ukeysort(2, Tables),
+  %% Unzip offset-sorted list of "Switches"
+  {Names, _Offsets, TablesSizeList} = lists:unzip3(OffsetSortedTb),
+  %% Associate switch names with labels
+  L = split_list(Labels, TablesSizeList),
+  %% Zip back! (to [{SwitchName, Values}])
+  NamesValues = lists:zip(Names, L),
+  case lists:keytake("table_closures", 1, NamesValues) of
+    false ->  %% No closures in the code, no closure table
+      {NamesValues, []};
+    {value, ClosureTableNV, SwitchesNV} ->
+      {SwitchesNV, ClosureTableNV}
+  end.
+
+%% @doc Create a gb_tree which contains information about the labels that used
+%%      for switch's jump tables. The keys of the gb_tree are of the form
+%%      {MFA, Label} and the values are the actual Offsets.
+create_labelmap(MFA, SwitchInfos, RelocsDict) ->
+  create_labelmap(MFA, SwitchInfos, RelocsDict, gb_trees:empty()).
+
+create_labelmap(_, [], _, LabelMap) -> LabelMap;
+create_labelmap(MFA, [{Name, Offsets} | Rest], RelocsDict, LabelMap) ->
+  case dict:fetch(Name, RelocsDict) of
+    {switch, {_TableType, LabelList, _NrLabels, _SortOrder}, _JTabLab} ->
+      KVDict = lists:ukeysort(1, lists:zip(LabelList, Offsets)),
+      NewLabelMap = insert_to_labelmap(KVDict, LabelMap),
+      create_labelmap(MFA, Rest, RelocsDict, NewLabelMap);
+    _ ->
+      exit({?MODULE, create_labelmap, "Not a jump table!"})
+  end.
+
+%% @doc Insert a list of [{Key,Value}] to a LabelMap (gb_tree).
+insert_to_labelmap([], LabelMap) -> LabelMap;
+insert_to_labelmap([{Key, Value}|Rest], LabelMap) ->
+  case gb_trees:lookup(Key, LabelMap) of
+    none ->
+      insert_to_labelmap(Rest, gb_trees:insert(Key, Value, LabelMap));
+    {value, Value} -> %% Exists with the *exact* same Value.
+      insert_to_labelmap(Rest, LabelMap)
+  end.
+
+%% @doc Correlate object file relocation symbols with info from translation to
+%%      llvm code.
+fix_relocations(Relocs, RelocsDict, MFA) ->
+  fix_relocs(Relocs, RelocsDict, MFA, []).
+
+fix_relocs([], _, _, RelocAcc) -> RelocAcc;
+fix_relocs([{Name, Offset}|Rs], RelocsDict, {ModName,_,_}=MFA,  RelocAcc) ->
+  case dict:fetch(Name, RelocsDict) of
+    {atom, AtomName} ->
+      fix_relocs(Rs, RelocsDict, MFA,
+                 [{?LOAD_ATOM, Offset, AtomName}|RelocAcc]);
+    {constant, Label} ->
+      fix_relocs(Rs, RelocsDict, MFA,
+		 [{?LOAD_ADDRESS, Offset, {constant, Label}}|RelocAcc]);
+    {switch, _, JTabLab} -> %% Treat switch exactly as constant
+      fix_relocs(Rs, RelocsDict, MFA,
+                 [{?LOAD_ADDRESS, Offset, {constant, JTabLab}}|RelocAcc]);
+    {closure, _}=Closure ->
+      fix_relocs(Rs, RelocsDict, MFA,
+                 [{?LOAD_ADDRESS, Offset, Closure}|RelocAcc]);
+    {call, {bif, BifName, _}} ->
+      fix_relocs(Rs, RelocsDict, MFA,
+                 [{?CALL_LOCAL, Offset, BifName}|RelocAcc]);
+    %% MFA calls to functions in the same module are of type 3, while all
+    %% other MFA calls are of type 2.
+    {call, {ModName,_F,_A}=CallMFA} ->
+      fix_relocs(Rs, RelocsDict, MFA,
+                 [{?CALL_LOCAL, Offset, CallMFA}|RelocAcc]);
+    {call, CallMFA} ->
+      fix_relocs(Rs, RelocsDict, MFA,
+                 [{?CALL_REMOTE, Offset, CallMFA}|RelocAcc]);
+    Other ->
+      exit({?MODULE, fix_relocs,
+           {"Relocation not in relocation dictionary", Other}})
+  end.
+
+%%------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+%% Functions to manage Stack Descriptors
+%%------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+%% @doc This function takes an ELF Object File binary and returns a proper sdesc
+%%      list for Erlang/OTP System's loader. The return value should be of the
+%%      form:
+%%        {
+%%          4, Safepoint Address,
+%%          {ExnLabel OR [], FrameSize, StackArity, {Liveroot stack frame indexes}},
+%%        }
+get_sdescs(Elf) ->
+  case elf_format:extract_note(Elf, ?NOTE_ERLGC_NAME) of
+    <<>> -> % Object file has no ".note.gc" section!
+      [];
+    NoteGC_bin ->
+      %% Get safe point addresses (stored in ".rela.note.gc" section):
+      RelaNoteGC = elf_format:extract_rela(Elf, ?NOTE(?NOTE_ERLGC_NAME)),
+      SPCount = length(RelaNoteGC),
+      T = SPCount * ?SP_ADDR_SIZE,
+      %% Pattern match fields of ".note.gc":
+      <<SPCount:(?bits(?SP_COUNT_SIZE))/integer-little, % Sanity check!
+        SPAddrs:T/binary, % NOTE: In 64bit they are relocs!
+        StkFrameSize:(?bits(?SP_STKFRAME_SIZE))/integer-little,
+        StkArity:(?bits(?SP_STKARITY_SIZE))/integer-little,
+        _LiveRootCount:(?bits(?SP_LIVEROOTCNT_SIZE))/integer-little, % Skip
+        Roots/binary>> = NoteGC_bin,
+      LiveRoots = get_liveroots(Roots, []),
+      %% Extract information about the safe point addresses:
+      SPOffs =
+        case elf_format:is64bit() of
+          true -> %% Find offsets in ".rela.note.gc":
+            elf_format:get_rela_addends(RelaNoteGC);
+          false -> %% Find offsets in SPAddrs (in ".note.gc"):
+            get_spoffs(SPAddrs, [])
+        end,
+      %% Extract Exception Handler labels:
+      ExnHandlers = elf_format:get_exn_handlers(Elf),
+      %% Combine ExnHandlers and Safe point addresses (return addresses):
+      ExnAndSPOffs = combine_ras_and_exns(ExnHandlers, SPOffs, []),
+      create_sdesc_list(ExnAndSPOffs, StkFrameSize, StkArity, LiveRoots, [])
+  end.
+
+%% @doc Extracts a bunch of integers (live roots) from a binary. Returns a tuple
+%%      as need for stack descriptors.
+get_liveroots(<<>>, Acc) ->
+  list_to_tuple(Acc);
+get_liveroots(<<Root:?bits(?LR_STKINDEX_SIZE)/integer-little,
+                MoreRoots/binary>>, Acc) ->
+  get_liveroots(MoreRoots, [Root | Acc]).
+
+%% @doc Extracts a bunch of integers (safepoint offsets) from a binary. Returns
+%%      a tuple as need for stack descriptors.
+get_spoffs(<<>>, Acc) ->
+  lists:reverse(Acc);
+get_spoffs(<<SPOff:?bits(?SP_ADDR_SIZE)/integer-little, More/binary>>, Acc) ->
+  get_spoffs(More, [SPOff | Acc]).
+
+combine_ras_and_exns(_, [], Acc) ->
+  lists:reverse(Acc);
+combine_ras_and_exns(ExnHandlers, [RA | MoreRAs], Acc) ->
+  %% FIXME: do something better than O(n^2) by taking advantage of the property
+  %% ||ExnHandlers|| <= ||RAs||
+  Handler = find_exn_handler(RA, ExnHandlers),
+  combine_ras_and_exns(ExnHandlers, MoreRAs, [{Handler, RA} | Acc]).
+
+find_exn_handler(_, []) ->
+  [];
+find_exn_handler(RA, [{Start, End, Handler} | MoreExnHandlers]) ->
+  case (RA >= Start andalso RA =< End) of
+    true ->
+      Handler;
+    false ->
+      find_exn_handler(RA, MoreExnHandlers)
+  end.
+
+create_sdesc_list([], _, _, _, Acc) ->
+  lists:reverse(Acc);
+create_sdesc_list([{ExnLbl, SPOff} | MoreExnAndSPOffs],
+		  StkFrameSize, StkArity, LiveRoots, Acc) ->
+  Hdlr = case ExnLbl of
+           0 -> [];
+           N -> N
+         end,
+  create_sdesc_list(MoreExnAndSPOffs, StkFrameSize, StkArity, LiveRoots,
+                    [{?SDESC, SPOff, {Hdlr, StkFrameSize, StkArity, LiveRoots}}
+                     | Acc]).
+
+%% @doc This function is responsible for correcting the stack descriptors of
+%%      the calls that are found in the code and have more than NR_ARG_REGS
+%%      (thus, some of their arguments are passed to the stack). Because of the
+%%      Reserved Call Frame feature that the LLVM uses, the stack descriptors
+%%      are not correct since at the point of call the frame size is reduced
+%%      proportionally to the number of arguments that are passed on the stack.
+%%      Also the offsets of the roots need to be re-adjusted.
+fix_stack_descriptors(_, _, [], _) ->
+  [];
+fix_stack_descriptors(RelocsDict, Relocs, SDescs, ExposedClosures) ->
+  %% NamedCalls are MFA and BIF calls that need fix
+  NamedCalls       = calls_with_stack_args(RelocsDict),
+  NamedCallsOffs   = calls_offsets_arity(Relocs, NamedCalls),
+  ExposedClosures1 =
+    case dict:is_key("table_closures", RelocsDict) of
+      true -> %% A Table with closures exists
+        {table_closures, ArityList} = dict:fetch("table_closures", RelocsDict),
+        case ExposedClosures of
+          {_,  Offsets} ->
+            lists:zip(Offsets, ArityList);
+          _ ->
+            exit({?MODULE, fix_stack_descriptors,
+                 {"Wrong exposed closures", ExposedClosures}})
+        end;
+      false ->
+        []
+    end,
+  ClosuresOffs = closures_offsets_arity(ExposedClosures1, SDescs),
+  fix_sdescs(NamedCallsOffs ++ ClosuresOffs, SDescs).
+
+%% @doc This function takes as argument the relocation dictionary as produced by
+%%      the translation of RTL code to LLVM and finds the names of the calls
+%%      (MFA and BIF calls) that have more than NR_ARG_REGS.
+calls_with_stack_args(Dict) ->
+  calls_with_stack_args(dict:to_list(Dict), []).
+
+calls_with_stack_args([], Calls) -> Calls;
+calls_with_stack_args([ {_Name, {call, {M, F, A}}} | Rest], Calls)
+  when A > ?NR_ARG_REGS ->
+  Call =
+    case M of
+      bif -> {F,A};
+      _ -> {M,F,A}
+    end,
+  calls_with_stack_args(Rest, [Call|Calls]);
+calls_with_stack_args([_|Rest], Calls) ->
+  calls_with_stack_args(Rest, Calls).
+
+%% @doc This function extracts the stack arity and the offset in the code of
+%%      the named calls (MFAs, BIFs) that have stack arguments.
+calls_offsets_arity(AccRefs, CallsWithStackArgs) ->
+  calls_offsets_arity(AccRefs, CallsWithStackArgs, []).
+
+calls_offsets_arity([], _, Acc) -> Acc;
+calls_offsets_arity([{Type, Offset, Term} | Rest], CallsWithStackArgs, Acc)
+  when Type =:= ?CALL_REMOTE orelse Type =:= ?CALL_LOCAL ->
+  case lists:member(Term, CallsWithStackArgs) of
+    true ->
+      Arity =
+        case Term of
+          {_M, _F, A} -> A;
+          {_F, A} -> A
+        end,
+      calls_offsets_arity(Rest, CallsWithStackArgs,
+                          [{Offset + 4, Arity - ?NR_ARG_REGS} | Acc]);
+    false ->
+      calls_offsets_arity(Rest, CallsWithStackArgs, Acc)
+  end;
+calls_offsets_arity([_|Rest], CallsWithStackArgs, Acc) ->
+  calls_offsets_arity(Rest, CallsWithStackArgs, Acc).
+
+%% @doc This function extracts the stack arity and the offsets of closures that
+%%      have stack arity. The Closures argument represents the
+%%      hipe_bifs:llvm_exposure_closure/0 calls in the code. The actual closure
+%%      is the next call in the code, so the offset of the next call must be
+%%      calculated from the stack descriptors.
+closures_offsets_arity([], _) ->
+  [];
+closures_offsets_arity(ExposedClosures, SDescs) ->
+  Offsets = [Offset || {_, Offset, _} <- SDescs],
+  %% Offsets and closures must be sorted in order for find_offsets/3 to work
+  SortedOffsets = lists:sort(Offsets),
+  SortedExposedClosures = lists:keysort(1, ExposedClosures),
+  find_offsets(SortedExposedClosures, SortedOffsets, []).
+
+find_offsets([], _, Acc) -> Acc;
+find_offsets([{Off,Arity}|Rest], Offsets, Acc) ->
+  [I | RestOffsets] = lists:dropwhile(fun (Y) -> Y<Off end, Offsets),
+  find_offsets(Rest, RestOffsets, [{I, Arity}|Acc]).
+
+%% The functions below correct the arity of calls, that are identified
+%% by offset, in the stack descriptors.
+fix_sdescs([], SDescs) -> SDescs;
+fix_sdescs([{Offset, Arity} | Rest], SDescs) ->
+  case lists:keyfind(Offset, 2, SDescs) of
+    false ->
+      fix_sdescs(Rest, SDescs);
+    {?SDESC, Offset, SDesc} ->
+      {ExnHandler, FrameSize, StkArity, Roots} = SDesc,
+      DecRoot = fun(X) -> X-Arity end,
+      NewRootsList = lists:map(DecRoot, tuple_to_list(Roots)),
+      NewSDesc =
+        case length(NewRootsList) > 0 andalso hd(NewRootsList) >= 0 of
+          true ->
+            {?SDESC, Offset, {ExnHandler, FrameSize-Arity, StkArity,
+			      list_to_tuple(NewRootsList)}};
+          false ->
+            {?SDESC, Offset, {ExnHandler, FrameSize, StkArity, Roots}}
+        end,
+      RestSDescs = lists:keydelete(Offset, 2, SDescs),
+      fix_sdescs(Rest, [NewSDesc | RestSDescs])
+  end.
+
+
+%%------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+%% Miscellaneous functions
+%%------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+%% @doc A function that opens a file as binary. The function takes as argument
+%%      the name of the file and returns an Erlang binary.
+-spec open_object_file(string()) -> binary().
+open_object_file(ObjFile) ->
+  case file:read_file(ObjFile) of
+    {ok, Binary} ->
+      Binary;
+    {error, Reason} ->
+      exit({?MODULE, open_file, Reason})
+  end.
+
+remove_temp_folder(Dir, Options) ->
+  case proplists:get_bool(llvm_save_temps, Options) of
+    true -> ok;
+    false -> spawn(fun () -> "" = os:cmd("rm -rf " ++ Dir) end), ok
+  end.
+
+unique_id(FunName, Arity) ->
+  integer_to_list(erlang:phash2({FunName, Arity, now()})).
+
+unique_folder(FunName, Arity, Options) ->
+  DirName = "llvm_" ++ unique_id(FunName, Arity) ++ "/",
+  Dir =
+    case proplists:get_bool(llvm_save_temps, Options) of
+      true ->  %% Store folder in current directory
+        DirName;
+      false -> %% Temporarily store folder in tempfs (/dev/shm/)
+        "/dev/shm/" ++ DirName
+    end,
+  %% Make sure it does not exist
+  case dir_exists(Dir) of
+    true -> %% Dir already exists! Generate again.
+      unique_folder(FunName, Arity, Options);
+    false ->
+      Dir
+  end.
+
+%% @doc Function that checks that a given Filename is an existing Directory
+%%      Name (from http://rosettacode.org/wiki/Ensure_that_a_file_exists#Erlang)
+dir_exists(Filename) ->
+  {Flag, Info} = file:read_file_info(Filename),
+  (Flag =:= ok) andalso (element(3, Info) =:= directory).
+
+%% @doc Function that takes as arguments a list of integers and a list with
+%%      numbers indicating how many items should each tuple have and splits
+%%      the original list to a list of lists of integers (with the specified
+%%      number of elements), i.e. [ [...], [...] ].
+-spec split_list([integer()], [integer()]) -> [ [integer()] ].
+split_list(List, ElemsPerTuple) ->
+  split_list(List, ElemsPerTuple, []).
+
+-spec split_list([integer()], [integer()], [ [integer()] ]) -> [ [integer()] ].
+split_list([], [], Acc) ->
+  lists:reverse(Acc);
+split_list(List, [NumOfElems | MoreNums], Acc) ->
+  {L1, L2} = lists:split(NumOfElems, List),
+  split_list(L2, MoreNums, [ L1 | Acc]).