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Many research compilers (e.g., for SR [AO93], Cedar [SZBH86], Lynx [Sco91], and Modula-3 [Har92]) use $\mathrm{C}$ as their IF. $\mathrm{C}$ is well-documented and mostly machine-independent, and $\mathrm{C}$ compilers are much more widely available than alternative back ends. What are the disadvantages of generating $\mathrm{C}$, and how might they be overcome?

   Many research compilers (e.g., for SR [AO93], Cedar [SZBH86], Lynx [Sco91], and Modula-3 [Har92]) use $\mathrm{C}$ as their IF. $\mathrm{C}$ is well-documented and mostly machine-independent, and $\mathrm{C}$ compilers are much more widely available than alternative back ends. What are the disadvantages of generating $\mathrm{C}$, and how might they be overcome?

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Programming Language Pragmatics

Programming Language Pragmatics

Michael L. Scott 1st Edition

Chapter 9, Problem 4

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- **Performance Overhead**: C is a high-level language, and using it as an IF can introduce performance overhead. The generated C code might not be as optimized as code generated by a compiler that directly targets machine code. - **Loss of High-Level Show more…

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Many research compilers (e.g., for SR [AO93], Cedar [SZBH86], Lynx [Sco91], and Modula-3 [Har92]) use $\mathrm{C}$ as their IF. $\mathrm{C}$ is well-documented and mostly machine-independent, and $\mathrm{C}$ compilers are much more widely available than alternative back ends. What are the disadvantages of generating $\mathrm{C}$, and how might they be overcome?

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