On Thu, 3 Mar 2005, Frank Heckenbach wrote: > Well, I haven't looked closely at the Ada code. Perhaps it's an > option for gpc, but I'd imagine it would be a significant initial > effort at least (converting the current code which works rather > closely with backend data structures).
It would be a very big effort. However, as long as GCC datastructures and front end interfaces continue to change freely in development it's the most effective way of insulating GPC from changes to front end interfaces. The present situation involves GPC perpetually playing catchup and Pascal users finding they need to use an old compiler version. > If you or Jim want to take this effort, then let's discuss the > details first before you start something on your own. We (Waldek and > I) currently have some open issues where we consider to (or did > already) add private tree codes, and I suppose they should be > handled by this intermediate layer then as well. I do not plan to do work on GPC (beyond of course if it is integrated then changing it as necessary if I change the interface to front ends, general documentation cleanups and other such changes I may make to the whole integrated GCC tree). I do however belive having extra languages with good testsuites integrated in GCC and included routinely in testing of GCC is beneficial to the robustness of GCC as a whole as well as to users who would be able to get a Pascal compiler with GCC rather than needing to get an older version of GCC for Pascal. Certainly porting to 4.x will require private tree codes - for example, SET_TYPE is no longer handled in the core code as not being used by any integrated language, so it will need to become a private Pascal tree code and be lowered in the Pascal gimplification code. There may be other tree codes for which this applies as well: in general tree codes which are not used in GCC CVS have been removed and those specific to a language have been made language-specific and are lowered to GENERIC tree codes (those in tree.def) in gimplification. People are working on more precise documentation of exactly what the semantics of GENERIC and GIMPLE tree codes are. -- Joseph S. Myers http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~jsm28/gcc/ [EMAIL PROTECTED] (personal mail) [EMAIL PROTECTED] (CodeSourcery mail) [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Bugzilla assignments and CCs)
