Compiler backends
Current backend
The current backend uses a Bytecode representation of the program which will run in a Virtual machine that implements garbage collection. This is similar to Python's approach to running programs, but however as we all know, Python is incredibly terrible for performant code (unless using C bindings).
We want to move away from using a Virtual machine as the main backend and actually provide
executables that can be run on x86_64 backend using either a native (naive) backend, and
LLVM.
However, there are advantages to having a VM implementation for the language, which are primarily:
- We can have an interactive mode, execute code on the fly (with a minor performance hit)
- We can run compile-time code functions that are beyond just templates and constant folding expressions.
Planned backends
Here are the currently planned backends, that will be worked on and stabilised some time in the future:
| Name | Description | Target platform | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
x86_64_native | A native backend for generating executables and performing optimisations ourselves. | x86_64 | ❌ |
x86_64_llvm | An backend powered by the might of LLVM backend. | x86_64 | ❌ |
vm | Virtual machine backend able to run bytecode compiled programs. | any | ✅ |
elf64 | Backend for generating standalone ELFs for un-named host operating systems. | i386 | ❌ |
wasm | WebAssembly backend, convert hash programs into WebAssembly executables | browser/any | ❌ |
js | JS backend, generate TS/JavaScript code from the provided program. | browser/any | ❌ |