C--

[Simon Peyton-Jones]

We're already compiling via an intermediate data type that is closely
based on C--.   That internal data type is used regardless of whether
you emit C, asm, or C--.

Actually using C-- itself as an output medium keeps slipping down the
agenda, mainly because no one asks for it!  But I still fully intend to
do it.

Simon

| -----Original Message-----
| From: glasgow-haskell-users-bounces at haskell.org
[mailto:glasgow-haskell-users-
| bounces at haskell.org] On Behalf Of Simon Marlow
| Sent: 01 August 2005 13:13
| To: Bulat Ziganshin; glasgow-haskell-users at haskell.org
| Subject: RE: C--
| 
| On 31 July 2005 08:10, Bulat Ziganshin wrote:
| 
| > can you please say about value of using C-- in GHC? will this
| > reduce compile time, increase speed of compiled programs, improve
| > portability or make some other effect? would the C-- compile path
| > replace asm or C path?
| 
| It should reduce compile time compared to compiling via C, though I
| suspect it will still be slower than using GHC's built-in native code
| generator.
| 
| It should improve the speed of compiled programs, because C-- will be
| using its own, efficient, calling convention.  For example, this will
| mean that some arguments can be passed in registers on x86, which we
| can't do currently because of a combination of the lack of registers
and
| limitations in what we can convince gcc to do.
| 
| It should improve portability, because there is less work in GHC
| required to compile via C-- on a new platform: no mangler to modify,
for
| example.
| 
| Eventually, we hope the registerised via-C path would become
redundant.
| The unregisterised path is still useful for bootstrapping, given that
| more platforms have a C compiler than a C-- compiler (if C-- were to
| become ubiquitous, the unregisterised path would become irrelevant
too).
| 
| Cheers,
| 	Simon
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