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Cedric Venet3d658642009-02-14 20:20:19 +0000[diff] [blame]7 <title>"clang" C Language Family Frontend for LLVM</title>
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14 <!--*********************************************************************-->
15 <h1>clang: a C language family frontend for LLVM</h1>
16 <!--*********************************************************************-->
17
18 <p>The goal of the Clang project is to create a new C, C++, Objective C and
19 Objective C++ front-end for the <a href="http://www.llvm.org/">LLVM</a>
20 compiler. You can <a href="get_started.html">get and build</a> the source
21 today.</p>
22
23 <!--=====================================================================-->
24 <h2 id="goals">Features and Goals</h2>
25 <!--=====================================================================-->
26
27 <p>Some of the goals for the project include the following:</p>
28
29 <p><b><a href="features.html#enduser">End-User Features</a></b>:</p>
30
31 <ul>
32 <li>Fast compiles and low memory use</li>
Chris Lattnercec8e772009-03-19 18:58:22 +0000[diff] [blame]33 <li>Expressive diagnostics (<a href="diagnostics.html">examples</a>)</li>
Cedric Venet3d658642009-02-14 20:20:19 +0000[diff] [blame]34 <li>GCC compatibility</li>
35 </ul>
36
37 <p><b><a href="features.html#applications">Utility and
38 Applications</a></b>:</p>
39
40 <ul>
41 <li>Modular library based architecture</li>
42 <li>Support diverse clients (refactoring, static analysis, code generation,
43 etc)</li>
44 <li>Allow tight integration with IDEs</li>
45 <li>Use the LLVM 'BSD' License</li>
46 </ul>
47
48 <p><b><a href="features.html#design">Internal Design and
49 Implementation</a></b>:</p>
50
51 <ul>
52 <li>A real-world, production quality compiler</li>
53 <li>A simple and hackable code base</li>
54 <li>A single unified parser for C, Objective C, C++, and Objective C++</li>
55 <li>Conformance with C/C++/ObjC and their variants</li>
56 </ul>
57
58 <p>Of course this is only a rough outline of the goals and features of
59 Clang. To get a true sense of what it is all about, see the <a
60 href="features.html">Features</a> section, which breaks
61 each of these down and explains them in more detail.</p>
62
63
64 <!--=====================================================================-->
65 <h2>Why?</h2>
66 <!--=====================================================================-->
67
68 <p>The development of a new front-end was started out of a need -- a need
69 for a compiler that allows better diagnostics, better integration with
70 IDEs, a license that is compatible with commercial products, and a
71 nimble compiler that is easy to develop and maintain. All of these were
72 motivations for starting work on a new front-end that could
73 meet these needs.</p>
74
75 <p>A good (but quite dated) introduction to Clang can be found in the
76 following video lectures:</p>
77
78 <ul>
79 <li><a href="clang_video-05-25-2007.html">Clang Introduction</a>
80 (May 2007)</li>
81 <li><a href="clang_video-07-25-2007.html">Features and Performance of
82 Clang</a> (July 2007)</li>
83 </ul>
84
85 <p>For a more detailed comparison between Clang and other compilers, please
86 see the <a href="comparison.html">clang comparison page</a>.</p>
87
88 <!--=====================================================================-->
89 <h2>Current Status</h2>
90 <!--=====================================================================-->
91
Chris Lattnerddb85a72009-02-25 05:43:33 +0000[diff] [blame]92 <p>Clang is still under heavy development. If you are looking for source
93 analysis or source-to-source transformation tools, clang is probably
Gabor Greif6cd81e82009-02-25 09:45:40 +0000[diff] [blame]94 a great solution for you. If you want to use it as a drop-in C or
Chris Lattnerddb85a72009-02-25 05:43:33 +0000[diff] [blame]95 Objective-C compiler targetting X86-32 or X86-64, it should work fairly
96 well, but you may run into occasional bugs. If you are interested in C++,
Gabor Greif6cd81e82009-02-25 09:45:40 +0000[diff] [blame]97 <a href="cxx_status.html">full support</a> is still way off.</p>
Cedric Venet3d658642009-02-14 20:20:19 +0000[diff] [blame]98
Cedric Venet3d658642009-02-14 20:20:19 +0000[diff] [blame]99 <!--=====================================================================-->
100 <h2>Get it and get involved!</h2>
101 <!--=====================================================================-->
102
103 <p>Start by <a href="get_started.html">getting the code, building it, and
104 playing with it</a>. This will show you the sorts of things we can do
105 today and will let you have the "clang experience" first hand: hopefully
106 it will "resonate" with you. :)</p>
107
108 <p>Once you've done that, please consider <a href="get_involved.html">getting
109 involved in the clang community</a>. The clang developers include numerous
110 volunteer contributors with a variety of backgrounds. If you're
111 interested in
112 following the development of clang, signing up for a mailing list is a good
113 way to learn about how the project works.</p>
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