Towards a toolkit for building language implementations

Abstract

The current work of the authors in the area of software tools for automatic construction of compilers is described. This focuses on attempts to provide for automatic production of the semantic‐analysis and intermediate‐code‐generation parts of the Cigale compiler‐writing system, developed at the University of Nice. This work relies on use of the Amsterdam Compiler Kit (ACK) to ensure a full set of optimizers and code generators based on a semi‐universal intermediate language, and, therefore, emphasizes the filling of the gap between parsing and the intermediate language. It is intended as a pragmatic contribution to the automation of the production of true compilers (rather than mere program evaluators) that generate efficient machine code.