arocc | dmd | |
---|---|---|
10 | 147 | |
765 | 2,893 | |
- | 0.4% | |
9.7 | 9.9 | |
7 days ago | 3 days ago | |
Zig | D | |
MIT License | Boost Software License 1.0 |
Stars - the number of stars that a project has on GitHub. Growth - month over month growth in stars.
Activity is a relative number indicating how actively a project is being developed. Recent commits have higher weight than older ones.
For example, an activity of 9.0 indicates that a project is amongst the top 10% of the most actively developed projects that we are tracking.
arocc
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no more bit fiddling (and introducing bilge)
Possible reference as it requires to use the compiler as part of language abi: https://github.com/Vexu/arocc/issues/178 Not sure, where a better thread with explanations of the flaws is.
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Zig Build System
Zig calls clang to compile C code. This doesn't add a new dependency since Zig already depends on LLVM. In the future when Zig doesn't depend as much on LLVM, there might be a reason to use a C compiler written in Zig (e.g. https://github.com/Vexu/arocc)
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Embedded C Coding Standard
Bit field rules are underspecified or plain wrongly implemented, because in their edge cases clang and GCC differ in semantics. See https://github.com/Vexu/arocc/issues/178 This should be further restricted with static asserts as compiler semantics even changed with versions and doing this manually/doing code review is error prone.
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How much better is Zig's "no-FFI" C interop compared to FFIs in other languages?
You might want to contribute or look into https://github.com/Vexu/arocc, which is planned to be eventually an alternative frontend. Is arocc able to handle your use cases?
- Aro: A C compiler written in Zig
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Zig 0.9.0
> Does this mean that y'all are open to the self-hosted compiler supporting CPU architectures unlikely to ever have LLVM support?
Yes! We won't block 1.0 on the quality of the less mainstream targets, but that's what the tier system is for - to ship a compiler that has varying levels of quality for various targets, while communicating clearly to users what kind of experience they can expect for each one.
SuperH patches are absolutely welcome.
> how is zig cc anticipated to work with a self-hosted Zig? Will there be a dependency on clang [...]?
The main distribution of Zig will be LLVM/Clang-enabled. However it is already possible to build a version of Zig that does not have these features enabled. In such case, compiling C, C++, and Objective-C code will result in an error.
However, the arocc project[1] is emerging, which, depending on a combination of how much funding ZSF gets and how much enthusiasm the unpaid contributors working in their spare time have, is looking like a promising C frontend that would be available even without LLVM/Clang. It is C only, however, with no intention of compiling C++ or Objective-C.
> would zig cc support the planned C backend?
As it is currently implemented: no. Zig invokes clang to turn C source code into object files.
However, with the arocc frontend above, this would be converting the C source code into ZIR (or perhaps AIR), which could then be lowered with any of the backends, including the (partially complete) C backend. In such case, the C output would look drastically different than the input. It would look more like an IR than natural C code that a human would write.
[1]: https://github.com/Vexu/arocc
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[Rust advocates] demean software that's not memory safe the way that politicians use their words to sow anger. C has won, and Rust blew it's shot aiming at C++ instead.
Implementing only the language part takes like 10k LOC.
- Maintain It with Zig
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Adding ANSI C11 C compiler to D so it can import and compile C files directly
> 9. Without a C compiler, we're stuck with, wedded to, and beholden to libclang.
> I wouldn't be surprised that the eventual cost of adapting ourselves to
> libclang will exceed the cost of doing our own C compiler.
This is a really insightful point. I had to learn this the hard way :)
We might follow your lead on this, as we have done with so many other great ideas implemented in D.
Ironically, Vexu started from the other side as you, with the preprocessor mostly done, but the backend left to-do: https://github.com/Vexu/arocc
One thing that might make libclang worth the cost, however, is its ability to compile C++ code as well. On Zig's end of things, all we have to do is provide libcxx, libcxxabi, libunwind, compiler-rt, and linking, and then libclang is really pulling a lot of weight by compiling C++ code into object files. Sadly this ability is just too useful in practice to ignore. For example, LLVM itself is C++ so if Zig wants to be able to bootstrap itself, it needs this capability.
Still, I think your maneuver here is the best long-term approach to tackle this problem, and I imagine as time goes on we'll start to migrate towards D's solution here. Maybe someday the Zig distribution that does not have LLVM extensions enabled will be the more popular one!
I'll be watching the evolution of this new feature in D with great interest!
dmd
- A History of C Compilers – Part 1: Performance, Portability and Freedom
- D2 Playground
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DMD Compiler as a Library: A Call to Arms
Here's the pipeline spitting out the same error as on my macbook did.
https://github.com/dlang/dmd/actions/runs/8023469412/job/219...
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My favourite Git commit (2019)
Not completely on topic (if you read TFA) but my favorite Git commit is by compiler badass and HN frequenter, where he checks in an entire C compiler to the D language repo:
https://github.com/dlang/dmd/pull/12507
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27102584
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The C Bounded Model Checker: Criminally Underused
A new generated code alone is 4000 lines long [1]. The actual code added is just 2000 lines, and some are used to pay debts, I mean, to make a proper code generator (which can be alternatively written in a simpler scripting langauge). In any case it is never comparable to the entier C parser proper.
[1] https://github.com/dlang/dmd/pull/15307/files#diff-3677bcc89...
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OpenD, a D language fork that is open to your contributions
D is completely opensource already (https://github.com/dlang/dmd). The "open" of OpenD is just ADR saying that OpenD will be more open to new language features than D has historically been.
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The OpenD Programming Language (fork of D)
The reference compiler, DMD, is open source: https://github.com/dlang/dmd
But they don't accept just any Pull Request or features the community submits, understandably. There's a process called DIP for language improvements: https://github.com/dlang/DIPs/blob/master/DIPs/README.md
However, by some accounts, it's really hard to get anything through.
Given D already has so many feature, I find that to be a good thing , to be honest, by not everyone agrees, of course.
- Odin Programming Language
- D Programming Language
What are some alternatives?
stage0 - A set of minimal dependency bootstrap binaries
zig - General-purpose programming language and toolchain for maintaining robust, optimal, and reusable software.
mach - zig game engine & graphics toolkit
ldc - The LLVM-based D Compiler.
zig-riscv-embedded - Experimental Zig-based CoAP node for the HiFive1 RISC-V board
v - Simple, fast, safe, compiled language for developing maintainable software. Compiles itself in <1s with zero library dependencies. Supports automatic C => V translation. https://vlang.io
bzflag - 3D multi-player tank battle game
dextool - Suite of C/C++ tooling built on LLVM/Clang
dstep - A tool for converting C and Objective-C headers to D modules
Odin - Odin Programming Language
llvm-project - The LLVM Project is a collection of modular and reusable compiler and toolchain technologies.