A compiler is a computer program (or set of programs) that transforms source code written in a programming language (the source language) into another computer language (the target language, often having a binary form known as object code).
0
votes
1answer
102 views
Coding shortcuts for type conversions or similar [closed]
bool? example = null;
is actually
Nullable<System.Boolean> example = null;
Now for the bool to System.Boolean conversion or actually compile-time replacement:
We ususally hardly care, as it ...
3
votes
1answer
146 views
Compiler warnings and errors [duplicate]
I come from a C# background before my existing role. I am developing a VB.NET app. The code I inherited had option strict set to off and all other directives set to 'None'. I have recently switched ...
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votes
1answer
46 views
How to keep AST for feature access?
Consider such code (let's say it is C++)
Foo::Bar.get().X
How one should keep the AST for this -- as "tree" with root at left Foo(Bar(get(X)), or with root at right (((Foo)Bar)get)X? Or maybe as a ...
1
vote
1answer
146 views
.NET Compiler Platform (Roslyn) , its relevance to developer community and its performance? [closed]
I'm just starting out with a Code-Quality-plugin development for my organization based on the recently released .NET Compiler Platform APIs (Roslyn APIs). I would like to know what are the most ...
0
votes
1answer
259 views
Why isn't there a python compiler to native machine code?
As I understand, the cause of the speed difference between compiled languages and python is, that the first compiles code all way to the native machine's code, whereas python compiles to python ...
1
vote
1answer
174 views
How does an optimizing compiler react to a program with nested loops?
Say you have a bunch of nested loops.
public void testMethod() {
for(int i = 0; i<1203; i++){
//some computation
for(int k=2; k<123; k++){
...
2
votes
2answers
116 views
How do I simplify a compiler/interpreter?
Recently I wrote an interpreter for operations on sparse matrices (a "sparse matrix calculator") in lex/yacc. The language is still very bare bones and doesn't even include control structures or ...
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votes
2answers
146 views
Is it possible to implement a native compiler for a 'managed language' such as Java?
In most cases, it is possible to create both a native compiler and an interpreter for a programming language. The compiler would simply convert the source code to machine code, and the interpreter ...
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2answers
68 views
Storing tokens during lexing stage
I am currently implementing a lexer that breaks XML files up into tokens, I'm considering ways of passing the tokens onto a parser to create a more useful data structure out of said tokens - my ...
3
votes
2answers
244 views
Are (C) object files created with different compilers binary-compatible?
I understand that C++ compilers are not compatible with each other. However, I was unable to find anything on this topic for C in particular. I know that the C standard leaves a lot of room for ...
1
vote
1answer
134 views
LLVM case: is the success due to the algorithms? [closed]
I'm not sure if this is a subjective question, I hope not but I'm not proficient with LLVM so I'm just wondering: how come it's become so popular and so widespread used in the industry?
Were the ...
-1
votes
1answer
246 views
Is the microsoft C compiler (cl.exe) a compiler driver or a compiler?
gccand clang are both known to be compiler drivers. As such, the gcc executable does not compile anything itself. Rather, it calls the compiler (cc1), assembler (as) and linker (ld) with the right ...
-3
votes
3answers
176 views
Why can't we program without compiling (using an IDE/debugger)? [closed]
I find it very interesting that even people who design a particular framework still have to rely on compiling to ensure the code is correct. I don't mean for 100s of lines of code, but 2-10 lines.
I ...
4
votes
1answer
233 views
Why do some embedded projects shun cross-compiling?
As I've been getting into embedded systems I've noticed that some projects (Arch Arm and OpenBSD for example) frown upon cross compiling. What is the reasoning for this? Is a cross-compiled binary ...
0
votes
4answers
462 views
How does assembly relate to machine/binary code
How does assembly relate to machine/binary code.
For example here is how to print to the screen in mikeOS(a small pure assembly OS), mikeOS it uses NASM to assemble.
BITS 16
ORG 32768
...
1
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2answers
272 views
How do we go from assembly to machine code(code generation) [closed]
I know this is abstract as it's all about signals and switch - (electronics) - underneath, but is there a easy way to visualize the step between assembling code to machine code.
For example if you ...
2
votes
4answers
172 views
Does boostrapping limit the achievable speed of the new compiler?
I have a good grasp on how the C compiler was boostrapped from itself and how that must have been very efficient, since the first pre-bootstrapping version was written in assembler, which is as low ...
4
votes
4answers
591 views
Why don't compilers support non-English keywords? [closed]
When you read C, C#, Java, Python, PHP and many other programming languages all the syntax is written in English.
Simple code like this
if (X+1 > 4) {
}
while (A == true) {
}
Is written in ...
4
votes
3answers
349 views
Why do some compilers generate direct machine code?
I was taking this course - CMU 18-447, Computer Architecture at Carnegie Mellon to brush my knowledge and concepts.
They say that most of the machine level details and implementations is taken care ...
16
votes
4answers
815 views
Why is it so hard to recruit for compiler[-related] jobs? [closed]
Last week, a few colleauges and I were participating in career fairs at three major universities (two here in the US and one in England), where we were trying (without much success) to recruit for ...
1
vote
5answers
250 views
How to alter the code at runtime in an interpreter?
While reading the difference between Compiler and interpreter , I found the following differences fromt he internet.
Advantages of using compiler:
Since compiler converts the program to native code ...
1
vote
4answers
548 views
Why languages that compile to C/C++ generate unreadable, cryptic code?
I'm willing to compile certain language to C or C++ for some speedups. My idea was, though, to generate readable code and use structures such std::vector and similar wherever I can, expecting CLANG to ...
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votes
3answers
417 views
Are VB.NET to C# converters actually compilers?
Whenever I see programs or scripts that convert between high-level programming languages they are always labelled as converters.
"VB.NET to C# converter" on Google results in expected, useful hits.
...
1
vote
3answers
189 views
Requiring a specific order of compilaiton
When designing a compiled programming language, is it a bad idea to require a specific order of compilation of separate units, according to their dependencies?
To illustrate what I mean, consider C. ...
0
votes
1answer
227 views
How small is the footprint of a small C compiler?
This week I could optimize using a reduced C library that allowed a drastic shrinkage in code size - from about 60 K to about 6 K and then we could load the code in the 8 K on-chip memory of an FPGA ...
0
votes
3answers
168 views
What process do typical (the majority) of high level language compilers use when changing a source-code's variable name to a machine code name?
Do long (very long) variable names slow down the compilation of source code?
I'm aware that the length of variables has 0% impact on interpretation as the compiler changes them to machine code which ...
6
votes
1answer
170 views
.NET BCL Change Analysis - Uses Beyond Sating Curiosity
This is part of a series of questions which focuses on the Abstraction Project, which aims to abstract the concepts used in language design in the form of a framework. There is a sister project to ...
1
vote
2answers
145 views
Will a binary include methods that are not called in the source code?
[Potentially misleading title, but I'm not sure how best to word it.]
Theoretical question on compilers and language design.
Say I'm re-implementing a method in a code base. Instead of removing or ...
3
votes
1answer
373 views
Does setting a function public affect the C# compiler's ability to inline the function as an optimization?
This could be either for the .NET or Mono compilers.
I know that under certain conditions the compiler can inline functions (e.g. small, single call site, etc.) as an optimization. However, if the ...
7
votes
1answer
274 views
How to use BDD to unit test a compiler?
My team is writing a compiler for a domain-specific language (DSL) which will be integrated into an IDE. Right now, we are focused on the analysis phase of the compiler. We are not using any existing ...
15
votes
5answers
882 views
Does Scrum make sense when implementing a new compiler backend?
I have an existing language that I need to port to a new platform. I'll probably attempt this by changing the backend of the existing compiler.
It is a significant amount of work to re-write the ...
1
vote
1answer
162 views
Compiler design decision for dynamic method invocation
I asked about Compiler interpretation of overriding vs overloading on StackOverflow, and got good answers, but this led me to another question that I'm not sure is appropriate for SO, but I think is ...
5
votes
2answers
482 views
Learning YACC nowadays, does it make sense? [closed]
I have a huge project that is using YACC and I would need to fix a bug in it.
I might ask someone else who wrote that to fix it but I'm interested in how compilers work. Does it make sense to learn ...
0
votes
2answers
169 views
Building a tool to fix compiler errors automagically
When a program doesn't compile, error messages are sometimes esoteric. Often a simple Google search leading to a site like stack exchange solves the problem. Now why can't we automate this?
How ...
25
votes
10answers
3k views
Can compilers and interpreters have bugs, and what can we (as users) do to deal with them? [closed]
If a compiler's work is essentially translating source code into machine level code, can there be any glitch in a compiler, i.e. a faulty "translation?"
The same goes for an interpreter: can it fail ...
11
votes
2answers
524 views
Can and do compilers convert recursive logic to equivalent non-recursive logic?
I've been learning F# and it's starting to influence how I think when I'm programming C#. To that end, I have been using recursion when I feel the result improves readability and I can't envision it ...
12
votes
2answers
779 views
What does scannerless parsing have to do with the “Dangling Else Problem”?
I do not understand this sentence from the Wikipedia article on the Dangling Else problem:
[The Dangling Else problem] is a problem that often comes up in compiler construction, especially ...
0
votes
2answers
485 views
embedding programming languages into other languages [duplicate]
In C/C++, there is a keyword that allows you to enter assembly language directly into a method.
Example
int Main()
{
__asm // notify the compiler that this block is assembly language.
{
...
-1
votes
1answer
197 views
Recompiling a java project while it is running
I have a Java program that takes about an hour to run. While it is running, if I change the source code and recompile it, will this affect the above run?
2
votes
0answers
200 views
I want to write a data processing & analysis programming language that compiles to SAS. How to go about choosing a language to write my compiler in?
As a side project I wrote a simple macro in SAS to add syntatic sugar to SAS code. I hate how verbose SAS is sometimes!
So my macro looks like this
%macro md(code);
/* expects a superquoted ...
0
votes
2answers
1k views
How would I make a compiler in C++? [closed]
This probably been asked for but I can't google "How to make a compiler in C++" because I will just get "How to compile C++" as the results. Anyway, for my question, I'd like to make a simple ...
1
vote
1answer
209 views
Cross Compile Arm Program to Intel
I have searched around for a way to run a program meant for ARM processors on an Intel computer, but I can only find ways to do the reverse, to compile Intel programs for ARM. Are there any ...
12
votes
1answer
435 views
Disadvantages of functional intermediate form
I'm writing an optimizer for a language similar to JavaScript, and need to choose an intermediate code representation. The obvious/typical choice these days is Static Single Assignment (SSA).
...
8
votes
5answers
392 views
Is it a good idea to read compiler source code? [closed]
I'm a junior in college majoring in Computer Science. Apart from writing lots of code, I want to start reading source code written by others to improve my coding skills and learn better/different ways ...
4
votes
1answer
986 views
Homogeneous vs. heterogeneous AST representation
What are the reasons to choose a homogeneous vs. a heterogeneous AST representation for implementing a complex domain-specific programming language?
Just to be very clear about what I'm asking, here ...
0
votes
4answers
125 views
Use functions inside a loop declaration
What's the best practice?
This :
for ($i = 0; $i < count($array); $i++) {
//stuff
}
Or, what I usually do :
$count = count($array);
for($i = 0; $i < $count; $i++) {
//stuff
}
Is it the ...
10
votes
4answers
1k views
Is it possible to use the Intel C/C++ compiler on Linux to create object files to be linked on Windows?
Why?
Depending on your source the Intel compiler is likely or most definitely the compiler generating the fastest executables for the x86 architecture (5 to 100 % execution time improvement).
Intel ...
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votes
2answers
304 views
Why do people tend to gravitate to older versions of visual studio? [closed]
I'm starting to pick up all of the perks of C++11, and being a 2010 user i'm considering installing 2012 instead for better c++11 support. But why is it that 2012 doesn't seem as popular as 2010? Am i ...
11
votes
3answers
1k views
Writing a Compiler Compiler - Insight on Use and Features
This is part of a series of questions which focuses on the sister project to the Abstraction Project, which aims to abstract the concepts used in language design in the form of a framework. The ...
0
votes
2answers
234 views
How the cross programming language compiler or translator works [closed]
These days there are more cross programming language compilers (specially from some 'X' language to JavaScript). I wonder how these are developed? What are the general steps to be taken care to write ...
