Re: Compiler in its own language (Was: Re: Play 20K expressions again, Sam)

[mcsun!sunic!dkuug!ddci!jab@uunet.uu.net (Jacob Baekke-Groome)]

bortz@CNAM.CNAM.FR writes:

>In article <9194@verdix.verdix.com>, brucej@verdix.com (Bruce Jones) writes:
>...
>> Well, our new optimizer is written in Ada.  It turns out that Ada is a
>> great language for writing large programs, the new code is very readable
>> and maintainable.

I can only say that we have had the same reasons for using Ada to write our
Ada compilers.

>- this is the greatest test suite you can dream of: if it can compile
>an Ada compiler, it will compile everything :-)

This is not completely true - our experience is that we do not use all 
facilities in Ada extensively - compilers are basicly sequential processes
so you do not need tasking and interrupt handler etc. 

>I tried to list the languages used by some compilers. (If someone wants
>to complete/correct this list?)

>Compiler                 Language

DDC-I                     Ada
>Verdix                   C + now partly in Ada
>Telesoft                 Ada
>Alsys                    Ada
>DEC                      Bliss + Ada (unknown proportions)
>Meridian                 ?
>Ada-Ed, first version    SETL
>Ada-Ed, second version   C
>Systeam                  ?
>GNU Ada                  C, but may be an Ada version (?)

>-------------

>Stephane Bortzmeyer           Conservatoire National des Arts et Metiers
	
/-----------------------------------------------------------------------\
|Jacob Baekke-Groome                      jab@ddci.dk                   |
|DDC International A/S                                                  |
|Gl. Lundtoftevej 1B                      tel +45 45 87 11 44 x 332     |
|2800 Lyngby                              fax +45 45 87 22 17           |
|DENMARK                                                                |
|To do it with Ada - is better that to C it ;-)                         |
\-----------------------------------------------------------------------/