From: craigberry@nospam.mac.com   
      
   On 3/29/25 3:47 PM, Waldek Hebisch wrote:   
   > Chris Townley  wrote:   
   >> On 29/03/2025 18:19, Waldek Hebisch wrote:   
   >>> Simon Clubley  wrote:   
   >>>> On 2025-03-27, Arne Vajhøj  wrote:   
   >>>>>   
   >>>>> or:   
   >>>>> - people use a different backend than LLVM (GCC, custom, whatever)   
   >>>>>   
   >>>>   
   >>>> If anyone knows of a serious backend code generator other than LLVM   
   >>>> or GCC, please feel free to point me at it. :-)   
   >>>>   
   >>>> Simon.   
   >>>>   
   >>>> PS: And no Bill, the Amsterdam Compiler Kit does not apply. :-)   
   >>>   
   >>> Depends what you consider serious (and what "backend" means).   
   >>> There is bunch of compilers that use their own backend,   
   >>> for example optimized Ocaml or SBCL Lisp.  If you aim at   
   >>> highest possible speed, regardless of language, then they   
   >>> can not compete.  If you look at native performance for   
   >>> relevant languages, then they are top performers (there are   
   >>> Lisp compilers which generate code via translation to C,   
   >>> resulting speed is lower than obtained using SBCL).   
   >>>   
   >>> Note that context was porting languages, "classic"   
   >>> languages are covered by VSI, so relevant things are   
   >>> backends for more exotic languages.  There was recent   
   >>> trend to adopt LLVM in such cases, and Julia seem to   
   >>> be prominent example of language dependent on LLVM.   
   >>> But more popular approach seem to be via custom   
   >>> backend or via C.  For example Haskell folks some time   
   >>> ago said that LLVM does not really give them advantages   
   >>> compared to going via C, and C way is easier.   
   >>>   
   >>   
   >> Isn't that what GNAT does for Ada?   
   >   
   > I am not sure what you wanted to say.  GNAT is a native   
   > compiler using GCC backend.  There were some talk about   
   > interfacing it to LLVM, but I am not aware of anything   
   > working in this direction.  GNAT does _not_ generate   
   > C, it interfaces with the backend using constructs not   
   > available in C.   
      
   There does appear to be a GNAT tool that generates C:   
      
   https://docs.adacore.com/live/wave/gnat-ccg/html/gnatccg_ug/gnat   
   ccg/gnat_ccg.html   
      
   That's in addition to (not instead of) the full-featured compiler   
   targeting the GCC back end.   
      
   The LLVM project does have some recent commits so likely it's still   
   moving along:   
      
   https://github.com/AdaCore/gnat-llvm   
      
   --- SoupGate-DOS v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)