Re: C compiler for PDP-11 sought, optimizing for size in general

I have a copy of the Wulf book, and so does one of my co-workers. If
you know any 50 year old compiler folks, ask if they have a copy.


It does, indeed, optimize for space on the PDP-11, but be warned,
first, that it's about a Bliss compiler, not C, and, second, that it
has a lot of (good) descriptive stuff in it, but hardly complete code
for the compiler.


--jeff


Jonathan Thornburg wrote:


>>I am looking for an optimizing compiler that can take ANSI C (I know
>>about unprotoize, so a K&R C compiler will do) and produces PDP-11
>>assembly code that is optimized for size rather than for speed.
>
>
> If you can find a copy, the book by William Wulf et al, "The Design of
> an Optimizing Compiler", Elsevier, 1975, is about precisely this (a
> PDP-11 optimizing compiler that tries really hard to optimize for
> space).


[As I noted in the last message, the book is available from used
bookstores, and also in print-on-demand form. The BLISS-11 compiler
is right here at ftp://ftp.iecc.com/pub/file/bliss.tar.gz. It'll be a
little challenging to get going because it's a cross-compiler for the
PDP-10 written mostly in BLISS-10 with a little MACRO-10 assembler
mixed in. but I'm sure there are retrocomputers with BLISS-10 and
MACRO-10 around on the net somewhere. -John]

Return to the comp.compilers page.
Search the comp.compilers archives again.