All Questions
Tagged with programmingcompilers
18 questions
3votes
1answer
194views
Is there any compiler (either native or cross-compiler) for NEC PC-88?
After searching for the file system for this computer I have gained interest in this machine and development for it. I have found a C compiler but anything else. So basically I would like to ask if ...
- 1,696
12votes
2answers
1kviews
Is there a pre-defined compiler macro for legacy Microsoft C 5.10 to get the compiler's name and version number?
In Microsoft Visual C++, I can use the macros _MSC_VER for compiler identification and _MSC_FULL_VER for its version number to retrieve the data of the used compiler at runtime of my C program. But ...
- 1,282
23votes
3answers
3kviews
Why were OS/360 PL/I procedure calls so expensive in terms of stack space?
In 1977, Guy Steele published a paper entitled Debunking the “expensive procedure call” myth or, procedure call implementations considered harmful or, LAMBDA: The Ultimate GOTO. The paper was the ...
- 332
3votes
1answer
2kviews
What were top-10 popular programming languages in the 60s, 70s, and the 80s?
TIOBE index has been tracking the most popular programming languages since 2001, which reflects the dominance of C/C++/Java in the first score of 21st century. However C derivatives hadn't beat Pascal ...
- 3,814
18votes
3answers
3kviews
When did type punning through violating the strict aliasing rule become disallowed?
Looking at the C code from the Fast Inverse Square Root, the casting of a float to a long is done via pointer arithmetic: i = * ( long * ) &y; // evil floating point bit level hacking The ...
- 1,073
26votes
12answers
7kviews
Why were nested functions excluded from B and C?
I'm learning C and was curious as to why the language does not allow nested functions. From what I've read, the lack of nested functions seems to have been a simplification that was inherited from its ...
- 551
5votes
1answer
299views
Which extant ALGOL-60 compilers fully support numeric labels?
This question is prompted by a related one by texdr.aft. It turns out that the Revised report on Algol-60 allowed numeric labels (3.5.1, page 15), <label> ::= <identifier> | <unsigned ...
- 21.5k
9votes
1answer
683views
What was the first compiler/interpreter/assembler to indicate problematic columns in diagnostic messages?
These days, most compilers and interpreters seem to provide the following in diagnostics: A description of the problem The name of the source file A line number A relevant position within the line ...
- 3,800
13votes
6answers
902views
Are there any primary sources for the “passing constant by reference” behavior in old Fortran compilers?
Occasionally I have heard references to a peculiarity of certain (old) Fortran compilers, with regards to subprogram argument passing. Here is an example, from an answer to a Stack Overflow question: ...
- 3,800
1vote
2answers
294views
What was the first language compiler to support subtype polymorphism? [closed]
I'm trying to understand the history of Dependency Injection in compiled languages, as an intentional feature of the language. The Wikipedia article on the subject is decidedly Java focused, but I ...
- 61.7k
6votes
0answers
283views
How did the template cache in CFront work?
I've seen some discussion of how templates were historically implemented in CFront around the web, including here. The link describes the Borland model, which is familiar, and the CFront model with a ...
- 243
12votes
4answers
1kviews
How was dataflow analysis performed before SSA?
If we look at something like LLVM or the GNU Compiler Collection, Dalvik and many others, their intermediate representation (IR) uses SSA (Static Single Assignment form), as part of their Data-Flow ...
- 40.3k
3votes
4answers
1kviews
Was there ever a compiler type that was just large enough to contain a memory segment?
From this answer, Hark back to the days of segmented 16-bit architectures for example: an array might be limited to a single segment (so a 16-bit size_t would do) BUT you could have multiple ...
- 3,478
21votes
3answers
8kviews
Native C compiler for Sinclair ZX Spectrum
I am looking for a native C compiler for the Spectrum 128. I would like one which: Has good support for the latest C standard at the time. Is not limited to compiling ridiculously short source code. ...
- 2,060
21votes
5answers
4kviews
Early Forth for personal computers
What were the earliest Forth programming language implementations for 8-bit personal computers? Was it FIG Forth? Or a predecessor? Or some other development? Why did Forth lose its relative ...
- 8,367
