PL/I Front-end for GCC v0.0.8

[Henrik Sorensen <henrik dot sorensen at balcab dot ch>]

Cross posted to PL1-L@LISTSERV.DARTMOUTH.EDU, gcc@gcc.gnu.org and
comp.lang.pl1


August 2004

This is the eigth code drop of the GCC front-end for the PL/I programming 
language.

PL/I for GCC is released under the terms of the GNU Public License; version 2.

The version 0.0.8 marks an important milestone for the PL/I front-end project, 
because the entire PL/I language can now be parsed using only flex and bison.

If you are testing the PL/I compiler, please inform us about any syntax errors
that might occur. It suffice to send the offending line of code.

Changes in v0.0.8:
 - Implemented token based lookahead.
 - All PL/I Keywords can be used as identifiers.
 - Reduced number of conflicts in the grammar.
 - Addapted installation instructions to use the gcc-core-3.5 snapshot
 - Numerous new testcases has been added.
 - Simplification of INITIAL attribute.

Fixed syntax in v0.0.8:
 - Added FETCH and RELEASE statements.
 - Floating point constants can start with just a '.'
 - Repetition factors in edit format lists.
 - Allow nested DO in PUT/GET datalists.
 - PUT/GET options.
 - Preconditions can now be placed where a label can be placed.
 - ENVIRONMENT options has been reviewed.
 - REWRITE statement was fixed up.
 - LOCATE statement was corrected.
 - Added REFER to the array dimension attribute.
 - Structure declaration in signature for entry parameters.
 - Cleaned up variable declarations.

For a complete changelog look in the README file.

What is pl1gcc ?
The pl1gcc project is an attempt to create a native PL/I compiler using
the GNU Compiler Collection. The project is looking for more people to
join the development and testing. If you want to help speed up the development
of a free PL/I compiler please do contact us and join the fun.

Looking ahead.
The next release will focus on integration of syntax from VA PL/I and Multics.


If you do try the compiler on some of your own code, please let us know
how it goes.

For more information, comments, feedback and download, please visit

http://pl1gcc.sourceforge.net

Have fun

The GCC PL/I Team.
gccpl1dude@users.sourceforge.net