Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!seismo!mcvax!ukc!eagle!icdoc!dcw From: dcw@doc.ic.ac.uk (Duncan C White) Newsgroups: comp.lang.modula2 Subject: Translating M2 -> C Message-ID: <482@ivax.doc.ic.ac.uk> Date: Thu, 16-Jul-87 12:31:05 EDT Article-I.D.: ivax.482 Posted: Thu Jul 16 12:31:05 1987 Date-Received: Sat, 18-Jul-87 11:33:22 EDT Sender: dcw@doc.ic.ac.uk Reply-To: dcw@doc.ic.ac.uk (Duncan C White) Distribution: comp Organization: Dept. of Computing, Imperial College, London, UK. Lines: 40 I have a proposal which I would like people to consider, and comment on: I will outline it as a series of observations, leading to the proposal: 1). every system worth talking about has a C compiler. 2). often, the C compiler is heavily optimised. 3). C is often referred to as a high-level assembler. What people omit is the important word 'portable'. 4). Compilers conventionally produce assembler code. 5). Why not bring all these together, and write a portable M2 compiler which generates C as it's intermediate code. This would imply no tedious mucking around with new backends for different processors. This is the approach used by C++... So, there is the proposal... is the translation likely to be incredibly difficult ? What about processes ? Libraries ? Any other pitfalls I should watch out for ? Anyone else interested in cooperating on such a project ? [Is it completely irrevelent, or crackpot... all suggestions considered] Personally, I would much prefer to write such a compiler in C [on the grounds that it then becomes easier to port the compiler to other systems] Obviously, you'd get a free M2->C translator for the one-off conversion... Duncan. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- JANET address : dcw@uk.ac.ic.doc| Snail Mail : Duncan White, --------------------------------| Dept of Computing, This space intentionally | Imperial College, left blank...... | 180 Queen's Gate, (paradoxical excerpt from | South Kensington, IBM manuals) | London SW7 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tel: UK 01-589-5111 x 4982/4991 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------