[cfe-dev] Exposing conversions from clang::QualType to llvm::Type

[Benoit Vey via cfe-dev]

Hello,

First of all, some context. I'm currently working on an LLVM-based  
compiler for a language that needs advanced interoperability with C.  
One key point of this is to be able to parse function declarations  
from C headers to then call into C seamlessly. I'd like to use the  
Clang API to build the correct declarations in LLVM IR but as far as I  
can tell based on my (limited) knowledge of the Clang code base, this  
isn't currently possible out of the box.

Clang currently exposes the CGFunctionInfo data structure, which  
provides exhaustive information on function ABIs. However, the  
construction of an llvm::Type from a CGFunctionInfo is implemented in  
the CodeGenTypes::ConvertType functions, which are part of the  
internal API. These functions are rather complex so I don't think that  
reimplementing them in my compiler would be a good idea.

It seems to me that exposing the ConvertType functions in the public  
API would be the correct way to solve the problem. I wanted to get  
feedback on whether this would be a good idea, or if another direction  
should be taken. I'd be happy to submit a patch once we've agreed on a  
way forward.

Benoit Vey

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