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Date: Wed, 25 Mar 2009 19:02:41 -0700
From: Roman Shaposhnik <rvs@sun.com>
In-reply-to: <20090326010928.STYN13097.fed1rmmtao102.cox.net@fed1rmimpo01.cox.net>
To: Fans of the OS Plan 9 from Bell Labs <9fans@9fans.net>
Message-id: <2C13A7A6-8BEF-44E3-9D61-B8E30DF9CD3D@sun.com>
References: <880e0bdcca58d6900aa423397baa9a0b@quanstro.net>
	<20090326010928.STYN13097.fed1rmmtao102.cox.net@fed1rmimpo01.cox.net>
Subject: Re: [9fans] request for more GSoC project suggestions
Topicbox-Message-UUID: c6acc558-ead4-11e9-9d60-3106f5b1d025

On Mar 25, 2009, at 6:10 PM, Chris Brannon wrote:
> Erik Quanstrom wrote:
>> On Wed Mar 25 16:39:16 EDT 2009, cmbrannon@cox.net wrote:
>>> The Comeau C++ compiler [1] uses the cfront technique, doesn't
>>> it?  It is
>>> supposed to be very standards-compliant.
>>>
>>> [1] http://www.comeaucomputing.com
>>
>> where do they claim this?  i see a claim that they
>> accept cfront-isms, but that's a different claim.
>
> Quoting http://comeaucomputing.com/faqs/genfaq.html#ccompiler
>
> "Input C++ code is translated into internal compiler trees and
> symbol tables
> looking nothing like C++ or C. As well,
> it generates an internal proprietary intermediate form.
> But instead of using a proprietary back end code generator,
> Comeau C++ 4.3.3 generates C code as its output."
>
> Isn't that what cfront did, more or less?

Not really, no. In their case, I believe, C language is treated
as an intermediate language. It has no traces of the Cisms
of the original C++ code. It is as mangled as an assembler
would be if you do g++ -S foo.cc.

cfront (well, at least the original one) still preserved most
of the original code (as do most of thing like cyclone, cilk, etc.).

Thanks,
Roman.