Re: Commercial compiler constructed via generator?

Ji-Tzay Yang wrote:
> Recently we are surveying the feasibility/efficiency of
> constructing compilers from compiler generators. Are there
> commercial compilers in which some stages are done by compiler
> generators? Or are there successful compilers made by compiler
> generator?


Yes. We use our CoSy compiler construction toolkit to build
commercial compilers. In CoSy, optimizer algorithms (engines) and
the code generator (including register allocator and scheduler) are
generated from optimization and machine descriptions. We find that
this cuts down the typical development time of a commercial-
quality (i.e. robust and performing) compiler by as much as a factor
of four. Because also the internal compiler interfaces are generated
from high-level IR and configuration descriptions, CoSy is very
modular and thus well fit for distributed developments.


CoSy was conceived about 7 years ago, when we realized that increasing
processor complexity and the demand for shorter time to market of ever
better compilers made it necessary to invest in a completely new
technology. Today, about 100 man years of European R&D later, CoSy
is an advanced and robust compiler generation system which is used
by a growing number of organizations. Just recently, ACE and
UK-based Numerical Algorithms Group (NAG) released a Fortran 90
compiler for SPARC (Solaris) which combines the NAG Fortran 90
front end with a CoSy-generated SPARC optimizing backend.


So, yes, I would say that there are successful compilers made by
compiler generators, and generators will become more and more
important in the coming years. It hasn't been easy to get a
complex generator system robust enough for commercial products, but
it exists today and is used successfully by ACE and by our CoSy
partners and customers.


Please contact me (rob@ace.nl) if you'd like more information about
the CoSy technology.


Rob
--
Rob Kurver
ACE Associated Compiler Experts bv
--

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