Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!lll-winken!lll-lcc!ames!necntc!ima!johnl From: johnl@ima.UUCP Newsgroups: comp.compilers Subject: Compilers producing assembly language Message-ID: <765@ima.ISC.COM> Date: Tue, 24-Nov-87 12:08:51 EST Article-I.D.: ima.765 Posted: Tue Nov 24 12:08:51 1987 Date-Received: Sun, 29-Nov-87 02:17:14 EST Sender: johnl@ima.ISC.COM Reply-To: uiucdcs!gatech!emory!arnold (Arnold D. Robbins {EUCC}) Organization: Math & Computer Science, Emory University, Atlanta Lines: 32 Approved: compilers@ima.UUCP This may or may not reopen and old debate that I don't know about... How many compilers in "the real world" produce assembly language instead of relocatable binary? I know that almost all standard (i.e. from a vendor) Unix compilers first produce assembly language. I don't know about some of the more exotic Unix machines such at UTS, Cray Unix or systems where the C compiler was first written for a different OS (e.g. DG). What about second party Unix compilers, e.g. Greenhills, Tartan Labs? What I'm really after is: 1) Are there a lot of Unix compilers that don't produce assembly? 2) Are there common non-Unix compilers that do produce assembly? 3) [The $64,000 question:] Given that one's assembler (like 'as' on Unix) does not have a lot of extra overhead (macros etc.), is there still that big a win in generating relocatable binary directly? -- Arnold Robbins ARPA, CSNET: arnold@emory.ARPA BITNET: arnold@emory UUCP: { decvax, gatech, }!emory!arnold DOMAIN: arnold@emory.edu (soon) [I've heard arguments either way. Most assemblers on non-Unix systems are chock full of features and so are so slow as to be unsuitable for the last pass of a compiler, so the question never comes up. Other than some of the C compilers for the PC which optionally run through the assembler so as to allow in-line assembler to be passed through, I've never seen a non-Unix compiler that produces assembler. -John] -- Send compilers articles to ima!compilers or, in a pinch, to Levine@YALE.ARPA Plausible paths are { ihnp4 | decvax | cbosgd | harvard | yale | cca}!ima Please send responses to the originator of the message -- I cannot forward mail accidentally sent back to compilers. Meta-mail to ima!compilers-request