Re: Implementation Language Choice

Kevin Albrecht wrote:
> I am an experienced compiler/interpreter writer, but have always
> written my compilers in C/C++ so far. As almost everyone will admit,
> C/C++ are hardly ideal languages. I am considering writing my next
> compiler in some other language, but I am unsure of what language to
> use. What languages have others found useful as implementation
> languages?


You could give D a try. There have been some languages called D since
C got popular, I'm talking about Walter Bright's one. The
documentation is
    available @ http://www.digitalmars.com/d


If you like C and C++ you will love D
It does not have a lot of completly new features, but implements the
currently used in most ones.


You have got templates, (limited) operatator overloading, design by
contract, a garbage collector etc.


> The following features are important to me in a choice for a better
> implementation language:
>
> * mature compiler(s) that produces native-code binaries


That might be a problem...
The only currently working compiler is Walter's one.
It produces native code that is quite fast, but not yet finished.
Walter wants to release 1.0 this year in March.
I'm not sure about that date.
There are different projects writing new compilers.


> * open source - preferable, but not 100% necessary


The D Frontend is open source, but the backend is closed source.


> Thanks,
> Kevin Albrecht


Maybe you want to join a D compiler project, I recently started.


Stephan Wienczny

Return to the comp.compilers page.
Search the comp.compilers archives again.