[M3devel] gcc vs. clang as back-end

[Jay K]

gcc probably isn't as bad as people say.
 Most people are talking about C or C++ compilation, which is architecturally very problematic due the lack of a well designed module system. The same content gets parsed countless times.

  Any speed up you can make, apparently clang has made a few, will be multiplied by a very large amount.


clang doesn't make sense, for a Modula-3 backend.
LLVM does.
Anyone, yes, please feel free to contribute an LLVM backend.


I'll keep poking at the static chain stuff for now.


Thanks,
 - Jay

________________________________
> From: hosking at cs.purdue.edu
> Date: Fri, 25 Jun 2010 11:46:39 -0400
> To: ttmrichter at gmail.com
> CC: m3devel at elegosoft.com
> Subject: Re: [M3devel] gcc vs. clang as back-end
>
>
>
> Hi Michael,
>
> CM3 has a front-end compiler written in Modula-3 that targets an M3-specific IR. Currently, that M3 IR is parsed and compiled by a simple front-end to gcc to generate assembler. It's not clear that Clang itself is the way to go. Rather, I think it would be better to build a translator from M3 IR to LLVM IR.
>
> It would be much more effort to build a whole new M3 front-end around Clang. Or do I misunderstand your suggestion?
>
> -- Tony
>
>
>
> Antony Hosking | Associate Professor | Computer Science | Purdue University
> 305 N. University Street | West Lafayette | IN 47907 | USA
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> On 25 Jun 2010, at 11:07, Michael Richter wrote:
>
> I've just read Jay K's long message about problems integrating with gcc 4.5. The LLVM project has clang out now which is ready for prime time as a C or Objective-C compiler (not yet there for C++, but that's out of scope for CM3 I'd guess). Since clang was specifically designed, as one of its goals, to be easy to use as a form of library, would it not perhaps be better to start using clang as a back-end instead of any version of gcc (which is notoriously difficult to write front-ends, back-ends or tools for)?
>
>
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