| Chris Lattner | f8cc40d | 2007-10-06 05:09:04 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 1 | <!-- Material used from: HTML 4.01 specs: http://www.w3.org/TR/html401/ --> |
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| 6 | <title>Clang c-lang parser for LLVM</title> |
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| 12 | <div id="content"> |
| 13 | <h1>Clang: a C language front-end for LLVM</h1> |
| 14 | <h2>About</h2> |
| 15 | <p>The goal of the Clang project is to create a new <a href="http://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/cfe/trunk/LICENSE.TXT">BSD Licensed</a> C, C++, & ObjC front-end for the <a href="http://www.llvm.org/">LLVM</a> compiler. |
| 16 | <br><br> |
| 17 | <p>In the context of this website, the term Clang actually refers to two things: |
| 18 | <p>1) A "code name" for the LLVM compiler front-end. |
| 19 | <p>2) A specific library in the LLVM front-end -- in particular the "driver" that makes all the other libraries work together. |
| 20 | <br><br> |
| 21 | <p>The developers of Clang include contributers from Apple and numerous other volunteers. |
| 22 | <h2>Why?</h2> |
| 23 | <p>The development of a new front-end was started out of a need -- a need for a compiler that allows better diagnostics, better integration with IDEs, a license that is compatible with commercial products, and a compiler that is easier to develop and maintain. All of these were motivations for starting work on a new C/C++/ObjC front-end that could meet these needs. |
| 24 | <p>An excellent introduction to Clang can be found in the following video lectures: |
| 25 | <ul> |
| 26 | <li><a href="clang_video-05-25-2007.html">Clang Introduction</a> |
| 27 | <li><a href="clang_video-07-25-2007.html">Features and Performance of Clang</a> |
| 28 | </ul> |
| 29 | <h2>Features/Goals</h2> |
| 30 | Some of the goals for the project include the following: |
| 31 | <ul> |
| 32 | <li>Real-world, production quality compiler.</li> |
| 33 | <li>A single unified parser for C/ObjC/C++</li> |
| 34 | <li>Language conformance with C, ObjC, C++ (including variants, like C90, C99, etc)</li> |
| 35 | <li>GCC compatibility (supports GCC extensions, but allow them to be disabled)</li> |
| 36 | <li>Library based architecture with finely crafted C++ API's</li> |
| 37 | <li>High performance</li> |
| 38 | <li>Design for integration with IDEs as well as code generation with <a href="http://llvm.org">LLVM</a>.</li> |
| 39 | <li><a href="features.html#expressivediags">Expressive diagnostics</a></li> |
| 40 | <li>BSD License</li> |
| 41 | </ul> |
| 42 | Of course this is only a rough outline of the goals and features of Clang. To get a true sense of what the new LLVM front-end is all about, as well as why you might want to considering using it, see the <a href="features.html">Features</a> section. |
| 43 | <h2>Try Clang</h2> |
| Chris Lattner | 36f0935 | 2007-10-06 05:13:47 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 44 | If you are a compiler developer and want to try out Clang, then build instructions are available on the <a href="get_involved.html#build">Get Involved</a> page. Note that clang is still early in development. If you are looking for source analysis or source-to-source transformation tools, clang is probably a great solution for you. If you want to use it as a drop in C compiler, it is not yet ready. |
| Chris Lattner | f8cc40d | 2007-10-06 05:09:04 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 45 | <h2>Get Involved</h2> |
| 46 | If you are interested in working on Clang, then check out the <a href="get_involved.html">Get Involved</a> section. |
| 47 | </div> |
| 48 | </body> |
| Kevin | a5dc235 | 2007-10-05 21:17:52 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 49 | </html> |