[cfe-dev] C++ TODOs

[Bjørn Roald]

Devang Patel skrev:
>
> On Dec 21, 2007, at 1:00 PM, Bjørn Roald wrote:
>
>> Hi all,
>>
>> I am new to the list and have been lurking a few days.  I am interested
>> in clang mainly as a possible component for tools supporting the C++
>> language.  As I may spend some spare time on the C++ support I would
>> like to know more about what it involves.  If there are any suggestions
>> for small tasks (TODOs) that may give me  a good introduction to
>> developing for clang, that would be nice.  Do you have some sort of
>> roadmap for the C++ support that we plan to follow?
>
> C is the focus right now.  What if I say C++ roadmap begins and ends 
> at "Eventually we want to support C++" ? :)

Yes,  I got that "state of affairs" from presentations and info on the 
web site.

>
> Seriously, there is no simple answer. Until most of active developers 
> shift their focus to C++, it is unlikely that C++ roadmap with enough 
> details will emerge. However that should not stop you moving forward.
>
>  Where do you want to start,
>
>     - depends on your skill set ... do you consider yourself a C++ 
> language lawyer ? power C++ developer ? programming language tools guy 
> ? software designer ? skilled programmer interested in C++ ?  newbie ? 
> etc...

Well I hate to categorize myself, but I am neighther a language lawyer 
nor a newbie, except from those I would say more or less yes to all..

>
>     - depends on your end goal ... develop C++ compiler, 

no.

> develop tools to analyze C++ code, tools to manage C++ project etc..

yes and yes,

> clang's well designed architecture includes separate preprocessor, 
> lexer, parser, semantic analysis, AST, code generation modules. IMO, 
> this will make your life easier once you decide where to start.

I guess my main interrest is in the C++ code to AST steps.

> To get your feet wet, you may want to initially focus on areas where C 
> and C++ language do not agree with each other. For example, 
> http://david.tribble.com/text/cdiffs.htm .
>
Thanks for that link, seems to contain many things to look for.

> Again it is up to you. Where ever you start, you want to follow 
> incremental development model.

certainly.

-- 
Bjørn