[cfe-commits] r81678 - /cfe/trunk/README.txt

Chris Lattner sabre at nondot.org
Sun Sep 13 10:23:58 PDT 2009


Author: lattner
Date: Sun Sep 13 12:23:57 2009
New Revision: 81678

URL: http://llvm.org/viewvc/llvm-project?rev=81678&view=rev
Log:
rewrite readme.

Modified:
    cfe/trunk/README.txt

Modified: cfe/trunk/README.txt
URL: http://llvm.org/viewvc/llvm-project/cfe/trunk/README.txt?rev=81678&r1=81677&r2=81678&view=diff

==============================================================================
--- cfe/trunk/README.txt (original)
+++ cfe/trunk/README.txt Sun Sep 13 12:23:57 2009
@@ -1,178 +1,26 @@
 //===----------------------------------------------------------------------===//
 // C Language Family Front-end
 //===----------------------------------------------------------------------===//
-                                                             Chris Lattner
 
-I. Introduction:
- 
- clang: noun
-    1. A loud, resonant, metallic sound.
-    2. The strident call of a crane or goose.
-    3. C-language family front-end toolkit.
-
- The world needs better compiler tools, tools which are built as libraries. This
- design point allows reuse of the tools in new and novel ways. However, building
- the tools as libraries isn't enough: they must have clean APIs, be as
- decoupled from each other as possible, and be easy to modify/extend.  This
- requires clean layering, decent design, and avoiding tying the libraries to a
- specific use.  Oh yeah, did I mention that we want the resultant libraries to
- be as fast as possible? :)
-
- This front-end is built as a component of the LLVM toolkit that can be used
- with the LLVM backend or independently of it.  In this spirit, the API has been
- carefully designed as the following components:
- 
-   libsupport  - Basic support library, reused from LLVM.
-
-   libsystem   - System abstraction library, reused from LLVM.
-   
-   libbasic    - Diagnostics, SourceLocations, SourceBuffer abstraction,
-                 file system caching for input source files.  This depends on
-                 libsupport and libsystem.
-
-   libast      - Provides classes to represent the C AST, the C type system,
-                 builtin functions, and various helpers for analyzing and
-                 manipulating the AST (visitors, pretty printers, etc).  This
-                 library depends on libbasic.
-
-
-   liblex      - C/C++/ObjC lexing and preprocessing, identifier hash table,
-                 pragma handling, tokens, and macros.  This depends on libbasic.
-
-   libparse    - C (for now) parsing and local semantic analysis. This library
-                 invokes coarse-grained 'Actions' provided by the client to do
-                 stuff (e.g. libsema builds ASTs).  This depends on liblex.
-
-   libsema     - Provides a set of parser actions to build a standardized AST
-                 for programs.  AST's are 'streamed' out a top-level declaration
-                 at a time, allowing clients to use decl-at-a-time processing,
-                 build up entire translation units, or even build 'whole
-                 program' ASTs depending on how they use the APIs.  This depends
-                 on libast and libparse.
-
-   librewrite  - Fast, scalable rewriting of source code.  This operates on
-                 the raw syntactic text of source code, allowing a client
-                 to insert and delete text in very large source files using
-                 the same source location information embedded in ASTs.  This
-                 is intended to be a low-level API that is useful for
-                 higher-level clients and libraries such as code refactoring.
-
-   libanalysis - Source-level dataflow analysis useful for performing analyses
-                 such as computing live variables.  It also includes a
-                 path-sensitive "graph-reachability" engine for writing
-                 analyses that reason about different possible paths of
-                 execution through source code.  This is currently being
-                 employed to write a set of checks for finding bugs in software.
-
-   libcodegen  - Lower the AST to LLVM IR for optimization & codegen.  Depends
-                 on libast.
-                 
-   clang       - An example driver, client of the libraries at various levels.
-                 This depends on all these libraries, and on LLVM VMCore.
-
- This front-end has been intentionally built as a DAG of libraries, making it
- easy to  reuse individual parts or replace pieces if desired. For example, to
- build a preprocessor, you take the Basic and Lexer libraries. If you want an
- indexer, you take those plus the Parser library and provide some actions for
- indexing.  If you want a refactoring, static analysis, or source-to-source
- compiler tool, it makes sense to take those plus the AST building and semantic
- analyzer library.  Finally, if you want to use this with the LLVM backend,
- you'd take these components plus the AST to LLVM lowering code.
- 
- In the future I hope this toolkit will grow to include new and interesting
- components, including a C++ front-end, ObjC support, and a whole lot of other
- things.
-
- Finally, it should be pointed out that the goal here is to build something that
- is high-quality and industrial-strength: all the obnoxious features of the C
- family must be correctly supported (trigraphs, preprocessor arcana, K&R-style
- prototypes, GCC/MS extensions, etc).  It cannot be used if it is not 'real'.
-
-
-II. Usage of clang driver:
-
- * Basic Command-Line Options:
-   - Help: clang --help
-   - Standard GCC options accepted: -E, -I*, -i*, -pedantic, -std=c90, etc.
-   - To make diagnostics more gcc-like: -fno-caret-diagnostics -fno-show-column
-   - Enable metric printing: -stats
-
- * -fsyntax-only is currently the default mode.
-
- * -E mode works the same way as GCC.
-
- * -Eonly mode does all preprocessing, but does not print the output,
-     useful for timing the preprocessor.
- 
- * -fsyntax-only is currently partially implemented, lacking some
-     semantic analysis (some errors and warnings are not produced).
-
- * -parse-noop parses code without building an AST.  This is useful
-     for timing the cost of the parser without including AST building
-     time.
- 
- * -parse-ast builds ASTs, but doesn't print them.  This is most
-     useful for timing AST building vs -parse-noop.
- 
- * -parse-ast-print pretty prints most expression and statements nodes.
-
- * -parse-ast-check checks that diagnostic messages that are expected
-     are reported and that those which are reported are expected.
-
- * -dump-cfg builds ASTs and then CFGs.  CFGs are then pretty-printed.
-
- * -view-cfg builds ASTs and then CFGs.  CFGs are then visualized by
-     invoking Graphviz.
-
-     For more information on getting Graphviz to work with clang/LLVM,
-     see: http://llvm.org/docs/ProgrammersManual.html#ViewGraph
-
-
-III. Current advantages over GCC:
-
- * Column numbers are fully tracked (no 256 col limit, no GCC-style pruning).
- * All diagnostics have column numbers, includes 'caret diagnostics', and they
-   highlight regions of interesting code (e.g. the LHS and RHS of a binop).
- * Full diagnostic customization by client (can format diagnostics however they
-   like, e.g. in an IDE or refactoring tool) through DiagnosticClient interface.
- * Built as a framework, can be reused by multiple tools.
- * All languages supported linked into same library (no cc1,cc1obj, ...).
- * mmap's code in read-only, does not dirty the pages like GCC (mem footprint).
- * LLVM License, can be linked into non-GPL projects.
- * Full diagnostic control, per diagnostic.  Diagnostics are identified by ID.
- * Significantly faster than GCC at semantic analysis, parsing, preprocessing
-   and lexing.
- * Defers exposing platform-specific stuff to as late as possible, tracks use of
-   platform-specific features (e.g. #ifdef PPC) to allow 'portable bytecodes'.
- * The lexer doesn't rely on the "lexer hack": it has no notion of scope and
-   does not categorize identifiers as types or variables -- this is up to the
-   parser to decide.
-
-Potential Future Features:
-
- * Fine grained diag control within the source (#pragma enable/disable warning).
- * Better token tracking within macros?  (Token came from this line, which is
-   a macro argument instantiated here, recursively instantiated here).
- * Fast #import with a module system.
- * Dependency tracking: change to header file doesn't recompile every function
-   that texually depends on it: recompile only those functions that need it.
-   This is aka 'incremental parsing'.
-
-
-IV. Missing Functionality / Improvements
-
-Lexer:
- * Source character mapping.  GCC supports ASCII and UTF-8.
-   See GCC options: -ftarget-charset and -ftarget-wide-charset.
- * Universal character support.  Experimental in GCC, enabled with
-   -fextended-identifiers.
- * -fpreprocessed mode.
-
-Preprocessor:
- * #assert/#unassert
- * MSExtension: "L#param" stringizes to a wide string literal.
- * Add support for -M*
-
-Traditional Preprocessor:
- * Currently, we have none. :)
+Welcome to Clang.  This is a compiler front-end for the C family of languages
+(C, C++, Objective-C, and Objective-C++) which is built as part of the LLVM
+compiler intrastructure project.
+
+Unlike many other compiler frontends, Clang is useful for a number of things
+beyond just compiling code: we intend for Clang to be host to a number of
+different source level tools.  One example of this is the Clang Static Analyzer.
+
+If you're interested in more (including how to build Clang) it is best to read
+the relevant web sites.  Here are some pointers:
+
+Information on Clang:              http://clang.llvm.org/
+Building and using Clang:          http://clang.llvm.org/get_started.html
+Clang Static Analyzer:             http://clang-analyzer.llvm.org/
+Information on the LLVM project:   http://llvm.org/
+
+If you have questions or comments about Clang, a great place to discuss them is
+on the Clang development mailing list:
+  http://lists.cs.uiuc.edu/mailman/listinfo/cfe-dev
 
+If you find a bug in Clang, please file it in the LLVM bug tracker:
+  http://llvm.org/bugs/





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