A code generation interface for ANSI C

Abstract

Abstract 1cc is a retargetable, production compiler for ANSI C; it has been ported to the VAX, Motorola 68020, SPARC, and MIPS R3000, and some versions have been in use for over a year and a half. It is smaller and faster than generally available alternatives, and its local code is comparable. This paper describes the interface between the target‐independent front end and the target‐dependent back ends. The interface consists of shared data structures, a few functions, and a dag language. While this approach couples the front and back ends tightly, it results in efficient, compact compilers. The interface is illustrated by detailing a code generator that emits naive VAX code.