Re: GCC as front end for C++ browser?

Mike Young <mikey@mcs.com> wrote:
>[ extract C++ parser from GCC to use in a browser ]
>Does this sound viable as a quick, evenings-only project?


No way!


>Are there other
>tools that already do a good job of this? Is gcc's front end a suitable
>starting point? How hard is it to learn and use? Where do I find more
>information about gcc internals?


I tried it once and found it very hard. The basics of the intermediate
RTL-representation are very well documented in the .texi files that
come with gcc, but the details, especially the repreentation of the
C++ constructs could only be found reading the code. The problem is:
RTL contains a lot more information, gcc needs to generate target
code and debug information.


But if you're interested, you can have a look at some TRs I made:
ftp to gate.fzi.de:/pub/STONE/Documents/ecd_*


>Are there better, simpler ways to
>accomplish this same end?


You my have a look at cppp: (from the Catalog of compilers,
interpreters, and other language tools)


language: C++
package: cppp
version: 1.14
parts: parser (yacc)
author: Tony Davis <ted@cs.brown.edu>
location: wilma.cs.brown.edu:/pub/cppp.tar.Z
description: A compiler front-end for C++, with complete semantic
                                processing. Outputs abstract syntax graph.
restriction: Permission needed for incorporation into commercial software.
requires: Native C++ compiler, lex, yacc, make, sed (or hand editing)
status: Upgrading the back end.


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