[M3devel] How to integrate llvm into cm3

[Elmar Stellnberger]

Am 21.05.15 um 19:24 schrieb Rodney M. Bates:
>
> There are pros and cons.  Integrating Peter's cm3-to-llvm conversion into
> the cm3 executable would be faster compiling--one fewer time per 
> interface
> or module for the OS to create a process and run an executable. But it
> would also entail linking in this code, along with some of llvm's 
> infrastructure,
> into cm3, making its executable bigger, with code that might not be 
> executed
> at all, when a different backend is used.  We already have the x86 
> integrated
> backend and the C backend linked in to cm3, whether used or not.
>
> Anybody have thoughts on this?  I suppose it could be set up to be fairly
> easily changed either way too.
>

Why not put each backend into a shared library and load it dynamically?
Are there still problems with shared libraries for some build targets?
On the other hand having cm3-IR handy and being able to translate
cm3-IR by an executable like m3cc into any desired target has proven
to be very handy for debugging as well as chocking the Modula-3
compiler on a new platform.
My personal preference would be to only have one default target
statically compiled in namely that on for cm3-IR and load all other
targets by a shared libarary dynamically. If that should fail for some
reason one can still use m3cc or one of its counterparts to
accomplish the translation process.

Elmar