index.html revision e6e68b53778bb5a15c10a73a5bf18d8ab73f75e3
15821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles)<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01//EN" 25821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/strict.dtd"> 35821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles)<!-- Material used from: HTML 4.01 specs: http://www.w3.org/TR/html401/ --> 45821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles)<html> 55821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles)<head> 65821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) <META http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1"> 75821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) <title>"clang" C Language Family Frontend for LLVM</title> 85821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) <link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" href="menu.css"> 95821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) <link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" href="content.css"> 102a99a7e74a7f215066514fe81d2bfa6639d9edddTorne (Richard Coles)</head> 115821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles)<body> 125821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles)<!--#include virtual="menu.html.incl"--> 135821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles)<div id="content"> 145821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) <!--*********************************************************************--> 155821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) <h1>clang: a C language family frontend for LLVM</h1> 165821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) <!--*********************************************************************--> 170f1bc08d4cfcc34181b0b5cbf065c40f687bf740Torne (Richard Coles) 182a99a7e74a7f215066514fe81d2bfa6639d9edddTorne (Richard Coles) <p>The goal of the Clang project is to create a new C, C++, Objective C and 192a99a7e74a7f215066514fe81d2bfa6639d9edddTorne (Richard Coles) Objective C++ front-end for the <a href="http://www.llvm.org/">LLVM</a> 202a99a7e74a7f215066514fe81d2bfa6639d9edddTorne (Richard Coles) compiler. You can <a href="get_started.html">get and build</a> the source 215821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) today.</p> 225821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) 232a99a7e74a7f215066514fe81d2bfa6639d9edddTorne (Richard Coles) <!--=====================================================================--> 245821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) <h2 id="goals">Features and Goals</h2> 255821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) <!--=====================================================================--> 265821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) 275821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) <p>Some of the goals for the project include the following:</p> 285821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) 295821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) <p><b><a href="features.html#enduser">End-User Features</a></b>:</p> 305821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) 315821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) <ul> 325821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) <li>Fast compiles and low memory use</li> 332a99a7e74a7f215066514fe81d2bfa6639d9edddTorne (Richard Coles) <li>Expressive diagnostics (<a href="diagnostics.html">examples</a>)</li> 345821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) <li>GCC compatibility</li> 351e9bf3e0803691d0a228da41fc608347b6db4340Torne (Richard Coles) </ul> 361e9bf3e0803691d0a228da41fc608347b6db4340Torne (Richard Coles) 375821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) <p><b><a href="features.html#applications">Utility and 385821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) Applications</a></b>:</p> 395821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) 405821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) <ul> 415821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) <li>Modular library based architecture</li> 425821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) <li>Support diverse clients (refactoring, static analysis, code generation, 435821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) etc)</li> 445821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) <li>Allow tight integration with IDEs</li> 455821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) <li>Use the LLVM 'BSD' License</li> 465821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) </ul> 475821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) 485821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) <p><b><a href="features.html#design">Internal Design and 495821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) Implementation</a></b>:</p> 505821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) 515821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) <ul> 525821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) <li>A real-world, production quality compiler</li> 535821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) <li>A simple and hackable code base</li> 545821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) <li>A single unified parser for C, Objective C, C++, and Objective C++</li> 555821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) <li>Conformance with C/C++/ObjC and their variants</li> 565821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) </ul> 575821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) 584e180b6a0b4720a9b8e9e959a882386f690f08ffTorne (Richard Coles) <p>Of course this is only a rough outline of the goals and features of 595821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) Clang. To get a true sense of what it is all about, see the <a 605821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) href="features.html">Features</a> section, which breaks 615821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) each of these down and explains them in more detail.</p> 625821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) 635821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) 645821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) <!--=====================================================================--> 655821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) <h2>Why?</h2> 665821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) <!--=====================================================================--> 675821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) 685821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) <p>The development of a new front-end was started out of a need -- a need 695821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) for a compiler that allows better diagnostics, better integration with 705821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) IDEs, a license that is compatible with commercial products, and a 715821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) nimble compiler that is easy to develop and maintain. All of these were 725821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) motivations for starting work on a new front-end that could 735821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) meet these needs.</p> 745821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) 757d4cd473f85ac64c3747c96c277f9e506a0d2246Torne (Richard Coles) <p>A good (but quite dated) introduction to Clang can be found in the 765821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) following video lectures:</p> 775821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) 785821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) <ul> 795821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) <li><a href="clang_video-05-25-2007.html">Clang Introduction</a> 805821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) (May 2007)</li> 812a99a7e74a7f215066514fe81d2bfa6639d9edddTorne (Richard Coles) <li><a href="clang_video-07-25-2007.html">Features and Performance of 82c2e0dbddbe15c98d52c4786dac06cb8952a8ae6dTorne (Richard Coles) Clang</a> (July 2007)</li> 83c2e0dbddbe15c98d52c4786dac06cb8952a8ae6dTorne (Richard Coles) </ul> 845821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) 855821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) <p>For a more detailed comparison between Clang and other compilers, please 865821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) see the <a href="comparison.html">clang comparison page</a>.</p> 875821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) 885821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) <!--=====================================================================--> 892a99a7e74a7f215066514fe81d2bfa6639d9edddTorne (Richard Coles) <h2>Current Status</h2> 902a99a7e74a7f215066514fe81d2bfa6639d9edddTorne (Richard Coles) <!--=====================================================================--> 912a99a7e74a7f215066514fe81d2bfa6639d9edddTorne (Richard Coles) 922a99a7e74a7f215066514fe81d2bfa6639d9edddTorne (Richard Coles) <p>Clang is still under heavy development. Clang is considered to 935821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) be a production quality C, Objective-C, C++ and Objective-C++ compiler when 945821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) targeting X86-32, X86-64, and ARM (other targets may have caveats, but are 955821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) usually easy to fix). If you are looking for source analysis or 965821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) source-to-source transformation tools, clang is probably a great 975821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) solution for you. Clang supports C++11, please see the <a 985821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) href="cxx_status.html">C++ status</a> page for more 995821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) information.</p> 100868fa2fe829687343ffae624259930155e16dbd8Torne (Richard Coles) 101868fa2fe829687343ffae624259930155e16dbd8Torne (Richard Coles) <!--=====================================================================--> 102868fa2fe829687343ffae624259930155e16dbd8Torne (Richard Coles) <h2>Get it and get involved!</h2> 1035821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) <!--=====================================================================--> 1045821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) 1055821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) <p>Start by <a href="get_started.html">getting the code, building it, and 1065821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) playing with it</a>. This will show you the sorts of things we can do 1075821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) today and will let you have the "clang experience" first hand: hopefully 1085821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) it will "resonate" with you. :)</p> 1095821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) 1105821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) <p>Once you've done that, please consider <a href="get_involved.html">getting 1115821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) involved in the clang community</a>. The clang developers include numerous 1125821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) volunteer contributors with a variety of backgrounds. If you're 1135821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) interested in 1145821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles) following the development of clang, signing up for a mailing list is a good 115868fa2fe829687343ffae624259930155e16dbd8Torne (Richard Coles) way to learn about how the project works.</p> 1165821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles)</div> 1175821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles)</body> 1185821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles)</html> 1195821806d5e7f356e8fa4b058a389a808ea183019Torne (Richard Coles)