ham@polya.stanford.EDU (Peter R. Ham) (10/16/88)
The research group that I work in has developed a target independent intermediate language and a front end that generates the intermiate code. We have one backend written for the 68000. Now, we need a VAX backend. We would like to develop (or better yet, borrow) a "target-independent" backend. In addition to our own calling conventions our intermediate code supports in-line assember as well as a new variable type called "shared" which makes partitioning shared global variables (between light weight process effecient.) We also have our own linker and linker format. Is it suitable (and EASY) to use gcc's target independent nature to accept our intermediate language as input and produce our linker format as output? Is this kosher under the GNU liscence? We want to use gcc as a vehicle to explore some of our other research interests with the constraint that the backend of our compiler has to at least retain the effeciency in our intermediate code but also be as target independent as possible since we work in a heterogenous environment. Any ideas? Is it doable? Reasonable? Peter