rtl understanding till what level?

[Fergus Henderson]

On 26-Feb-2002, rashmi kankaria <rashmi_k@email.com> wrote:
> hi,
> if one is given a task of writing a front end of gcc like the existing frontend for cpp(typically till creation of ast with managing other things ofcourse ..) then how much knowledge of rtl is required?

None.  To write a new front-end, you need to understand the gcc "tree" data
structure.  Understanding RTL is optional.  The front-end won't use RTL
directly at all.  (However, some knowledge of RTL can be useful for debugging.)

See gcc.gnu.org/readings.html, in particular:

	Using, Maintaining and Enhancing COBOL for the GNU Compiler Collection
	(GCC) by Joachim Nadler and Tim Josling <tej@melbpc.org.au>. 
	(Especially the chapter on writing a GCC front-end!)

	A Toy Example Language by Jonathan Bartlett <johnnyb@wolfram.com>. 

	Treelang sample language for current snapshot updated by Tim Josling
	<tej@melbpc.org.au>. 

-- 
Fergus Henderson <fjh@cs.mu.oz.au>  |  "I have always known that the pursuit
The University of Melbourne         |  of excellence is a lethal habit"
WWW: <http://www.cs.mu.oz.au/~fjh>  |     -- the last words of T. S. Garp.