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<META http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1">
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<title>Clang C Language Family Frontend for LLVM</title>
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<div id="content">
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<!--*********************************************************************-->
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<h1>Clang: a C language family frontend for LLVM</h1>
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<!--*********************************************************************-->
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2018-03-02 06:01:06 +08:00
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<p>The Clang project provides a language front-end and tooling infrastructure
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for languages in the C language family (C, C++, Objective C/C++, OpenCL,
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CUDA, and RenderScript) for the <a href="http://www.llvm.org/">LLVM</a>
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project. Both a GCC-compatible compiler driver (<tt>clang</tt>) and an
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MSVC-compatible compiler driver (<tt>clang-cl.exe</tt>) are provided. You
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can <a href="get_started.html">get and build</a> the source today.</p>
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<!--=====================================================================-->
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<h2 id="goals">Features and Goals</h2>
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<!--=====================================================================-->
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<p>Some of the goals for the project include the following:</p>
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<p><b><a href="features.html#enduser">End-User Features</a></b>:</p>
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<ul>
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<li>Fast compiles and low memory use</li>
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<li>Expressive diagnostics (<a href="diagnostics.html">examples</a>)</li>
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<li>GCC compatibility</li>
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</ul>
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<p><b><a href="features.html#applications">Utility and
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Applications</a></b>:</p>
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<ul>
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<li>Modular library based architecture</li>
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<li>Support diverse clients (refactoring, static analysis, code generation,
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etc.)</li>
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<li>Allow tight integration with IDEs</li>
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<li>Use the LLVM 'BSD' License</li>
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</ul>
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<p><b><a href="features.html#design">Internal Design and
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Implementation</a></b>:</p>
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<ul>
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<li>A real-world, production quality compiler</li>
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<li>A simple and hackable code base</li>
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<li>A single unified parser for C, Objective C, C++, and Objective C++</li>
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<li>Conformance with C/C++/ObjC and their variants</li>
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</ul>
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<p>Of course this is only a rough outline of the goals and features of
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Clang. To get a true sense of what it is all about, see the <a
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href="features.html">Features</a> section, which breaks
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each of these down and explains them in more detail.</p>
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<!--=====================================================================-->
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<h2>Why?</h2>
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<!--=====================================================================-->
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2014-01-17 01:04:52 +08:00
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<p>Development of the new front-end was started out of a need
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for a compiler that allows better diagnostics, better integration with
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IDEs, a license that is compatible with commercial products, and a
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nimble compiler that is easy to develop and maintain. All of these were
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motivations for starting work on a new front-end that could
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meet these needs.</p>
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<p>A good (but quite dated) introduction to Clang can be found in the
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following video lectures:</p>
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<ul>
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<li><a href="clang_video-05-25-2007.html">Clang Introduction</a>
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(May 2007)</li>
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<li><a href="clang_video-07-25-2007.html">Features and Performance of
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Clang</a> (July 2007)</li>
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</ul>
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<p>For a more detailed comparison between Clang and other compilers, please
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see the <a href="comparison.html">Clang comparison page</a>.</p>
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<!--=====================================================================-->
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<h2>Current Status</h2>
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<!--=====================================================================-->
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2014-01-17 01:04:52 +08:00
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<p>Clang is considered to
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be a production quality C, Objective-C, C++ and Objective-C++ compiler when
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targeting X86-32, X86-64, and ARM (other targets may have caveats, but are
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usually easy to fix). If you are looking for source analysis or
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source-to-source transformation tools, Clang is probably a great
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solution for you. Clang supports C++11, C++14 and C++17, please see the <a
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href="cxx_status.html">C++ status</a> page for more
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information.</p>
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<!--=====================================================================-->
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<h2>Get it and get involved!</h2>
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<!--=====================================================================-->
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<p>Start by <a href="get_started.html">getting the code, building it, and
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playing with it</a>. This will show you the sorts of things we can do
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today and will let you have the "Clang experience" first hand: hopefully
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it will "resonate" with you. :)</p>
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<p>Once you've done that, please consider <a href="get_involved.html">getting
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involved in the Clang community</a>. The Clang developers include numerous
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volunteer contributors with a variety of backgrounds. If you're
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interested in
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following the development of Clang, signing up for a mailing list is a good
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way to learn about how the project works.</p>
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</div>
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</body>
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</html>
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