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rswier avatar

rswier/c4

0
View on GitHub↗
10,726 stars·1,495 forks·C·GPL-2.0·11 views

C4

c4 is a minimalist C compiler and programming tool designed to translate C source code into executable machine code using a small set of functions. It functions as a stripped-down compilation utility focused on a tiny codebase.

The project serves as an educational tool for studying the internal mechanics of the compilation process. It implements minimalist C compilation to demonstrate how source files are transformed into low-level binary executables.

The compiler utilizes a single-pass compilation model with recursive descent parsing and direct-to-binary emission. It manages the translation process through a minimalist symbol table, hard-coded instruction mapping, and stack-based value passing.

Features

  • C Source Translators - Provides a minimalist compiler that translates C source files directly into machine-specific executable instructions.
  • Educational Compilers - Serves as an educational tool for studying the internal mechanics of compilation via a simplified C compiler.
  • Recursive Descent Parsers - Employs recursive descent parsing to analyze nested language structures through mutually recursive functions.
  • Symbol Table Managers - Implements a minimalist symbol table to resolve memory addresses for variables and functions during compilation.
  • Opcode Mappings - Utilizes a hard-coded instruction mapping table to translate C constructs into machine opcodes.
  • Stack-Based Value Passing - Manages local variables and function arguments by pushing and popping values from the hardware call stack.
  • Minimalist Toolchains - Features a stripped-down codebase and a limited set of functions to illustrate essential compilation mechanics.
  • Direct-to-Binary Emission - Implements a direct-to-binary emission process that bypasses the need for a separate assembler.
  • Minimalist Implementations - Implements a stripped-down compilation process to demonstrate how C source is transformed into binaries.
  • Single-Pass Compilers - Uses a single-pass compilation model to transform source code into machine code in one traversal.
  • C Programming Tools - Provides a low-level utility for compiling C language source files into binary executables.
  • C Tooling - Functions as a low-level programming tool for processing C source files into binary executables.
  • Compilers and Interpreters - C language implementation in four functions.

Star history

Star history chart for rswier/c4Star history chart for rswier/c4

How this analysis was created: This summary and feature list were written by an AI model that read the project's README and public documentation pages. Each feature links to the documentation it came from; stars, license and language come straight from the GitHub API. The model does not read the source code, and the analysis is refreshed when the project is re-analysed. Learn more on our About page.

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Frequently asked questions

What does rswier/c4 do?

c4 is a minimalist C compiler and programming tool designed to translate C source code into executable machine code using a small set of functions. It functions as a stripped-down compilation utility focused on a tiny codebase.

What are the main features of rswier/c4?

The main features of rswier/c4 are: C Source Translators, Educational Compilers, Recursive Descent Parsers, Symbol Table Managers, Opcode Mappings, Stack-Based Value Passing, Minimalist Toolchains, Direct-to-Binary Emission.

What are some open-source alternatives to rswier/c4?

Open-source alternatives to rswier/c4 include: thejameskyle/the-super-tiny-compiler — This project is an educational compiler implementation and a minimalist compiler construction tutorial. It serves as a… jamiebuilds/the-super-tiny-compiler — This project is an educational compiler implementation and architecture demo. It serves as a small-scale C-style… rui314/chibicc — Chibicc is a C11 compiler designed as a reference implementation for studying compiler construction. It translates C… alecthomas/participle — Participle is a Go parser generator and toolkit for building language frontends. It provides a declarative grammar… zig-lang/zig — Zig is a low-level systems programming language designed for writing high-performance software that interacts directly… anthropics/claudes-c-compiler — Claudes C Compiler is a self-contained C compiler toolchain that parses source code, optimizes intermediate…