Groups | Search | Server Info | Keyboard shortcuts | Login | Register [http] [https] [nntp] [nntps]
| From | Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> |
|---|---|
| Newsgroups | comp.lang.c |
| Subject | Re: Understandability |
| Date | 2015-05-02 13:11 -0700 |
| Organization | None to speak of |
| Message-ID | <87bni2oi3i.fsf@kst-u.example.com> (permalink) |
| References | <f088f6c5-01bd-44ca-b51a-04e71d1bd169@googlegroups.com> <WWW-20150502040535@ram.dialup.fu-berlin.de> <mi2fei$75j$2@dont-email.me> <ddd5d238-7d70-4b42-a6f9-c449ea163c27@googlegroups.com> |
David Kleinecke <dkleinecke@gmail.com> writes:
> On Saturday, May 2, 2015 at 5:21:48 AM UTC-7, Noob wrote:
>> On 02/05/2015 04:05, Stefan Ram wrote:
>>
>> > Then restrict your search to wikipedia.
>>
>> Indeed!
>>
>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_Compiler_Collection
>>
>> > The GNU Compiler Collection (GCC) is a compiler system produced by
>> > the GNU Project supporting various programming languages. GCC is a
>> > key component of the GNU toolchain.
>>
>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compiler
>>
>> > A compiler is a computer program (or set of programs) that transforms
>> > source code written in a programming language (the source language)
>> > into another computer language (the target language, often having a
>> > binary form known as object code). The most common reason for
>> > converting a source code is to create an executable program.
>>
>> Regards.
>
> The Wikipedia page on "GNU Compiler Collection" is very poorly written
> and is an excellent example of what I deplore.
It seems like a decent article to me -- but if you think it can be
improved you can do so.
> The definition on the "Compiler" is an excellent example of what I want.
> A description of gcc might well start with that definition (edited
> perhaps), then follow up:
> The program gcc is a compiler for programs written in C programming
> language. The C language is described in ...
Should a manual for an automobile start with an explanation of what an
automobile is? Would you expect someone who doesn't already know what a
compiler is to have any use for a gcc tutorial? Would someone
encountering the unfamiliar word "compiler" in an online tutorial have
any difficulty finding out what it means?
> Gnu is right to call their work a collection. It is really a fiction
> that gcc is a free-standing program.
Saying it's a "fiction" implies that someone is making that claim.
The term "gcc" refers both to the compiler collection and to the command
used to invoke it (one might use "GCC" vs. "gcc" to distinguish between
them). The latter, though it isn't just a single free-standing program,
does act like one; the fact that it invokes other commands is largely
irrelevant to a typical user.
> There are two parts - the front
> and back ends.
There are more than two.
> The front end produces a "source program" in an
> intermediate language which the back end "assembles" into machine code.
> GNU, I believe, uses a Lisplike language called RTL.
I don't know a whole lot about gcc's internal workings, but I don't
believe it writes its intermediate representation to a file. It does
generate an assembly language program, but that's the output of the
"back end".
> One way to make
> gcc a true program would be to make the back end a subroutine called at
> the end of front processing. A pipe might be a better idea.
gcc does have a "-pipe" option.
The way gcc is organized internally is not particularly relevant either
to the C language (the topic of this newsgroup) or to your statements
about the clarity of gcc tutorials.
--
Keith Thompson (The_Other_Keith) kst-u@mib.org <http://www.ghoti.net/~kst>
Working, but not speaking, for JetHead Development, Inc.
"We must do something. This is something. Therefore, we must do this."
-- Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn, "Yes Minister"
Back to comp.lang.c | Previous | Next — Previous in thread | Next in thread | Find similar | Unroll thread
Understandability David Kleinecke <dkleinecke@gmail.com> - 2015-05-01 17:55 -0700
Re: Understandability Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> - 2015-05-01 19:41 -0700
Re: Understandability wssimms@gmail.com - 2015-05-01 20:45 -0700
Re: Understandability Bartc <bc@freeuk.com> - 2015-05-02 10:38 +0100
Re: Understandability David Kleinecke <dkleinecke@gmail.com> - 2015-05-02 09:15 -0700
Re: Understandability David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2015-05-04 09:26 +0200
Re: Understandability David Kleinecke <dkleinecke@gmail.com> - 2015-05-04 12:52 -0700
Re: Understandability Noob <root@127.0.0.1> - 2015-05-02 14:21 +0200
Re: Understandability David Kleinecke <dkleinecke@gmail.com> - 2015-05-02 09:13 -0700
Re: Understandability Ian Collins <ian-news@hotmail.com> - 2015-05-03 08:07 +1200
Re: Understandability Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> - 2015-05-02 13:11 -0700
Re: Understandability David Kleinecke <dkleinecke@gmail.com> - 2015-05-03 10:50 -0700
Re: Understandability Tim Rentsch <txr@alumni.caltech.edu> - 2015-05-03 13:26 -0700
Re: Understandability David Kleinecke <dkleinecke@gmail.com> - 2015-05-04 12:29 -0700
Re: Understandability Tim Rentsch <txr@alumni.caltech.edu> - 2015-05-05 05:47 -0700
Re: Understandability raltbos@xs4all.nl (Richard Bos) - 2015-05-08 21:10 +0000
Re: Understandability Ian Collins <ian-news@hotmail.com> - 2015-05-09 09:17 +1200
Re: Understandability Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> - 2015-05-08 14:32 -0700
Re: Understandability David Kleinecke <dkleinecke@gmail.com> - 2015-05-09 09:13 -0700
Re: Understandability Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> - 2015-05-09 16:48 -0700
Re: Understandability David Kleinecke <dkleinecke@gmail.com> - 2015-05-10 11:05 -0700
Re: Understandability David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2015-05-11 08:48 +0200
Re: Understandability David Kleinecke <dkleinecke@gmail.com> - 2015-05-11 09:55 -0700
Re: Understandability James Kuyper <jameskuyper@verizon.net> - 2015-05-11 17:52 -0400
Re: Understandability glen herrmannsfeldt <gah@ugcs.caltech.edu> - 2015-05-11 22:54 +0000
Re: Understandability David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2015-05-12 08:49 +0200
Re: Understandability Morris Dovey <mrdovey@iedu.com> - 2015-05-12 02:15 -0500
Re: Understandability Phil Carmody <pc+usenet@asdf.org> - 2015-05-25 03:15 +0300
Re: Understandability James Kuyper <jameskuyper@verizon.net> - 2015-05-25 00:45 -0400
Re: Understandability David Kleinecke <dkleinecke@gmail.com> - 2015-05-25 10:26 -0700
Re: Understandability David Kleinecke <dkleinecke@gmail.com> - 2015-05-11 10:06 -0700
Re: Understandability David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2015-05-12 08:59 +0200
Re: Understandability David Kleinecke <dkleinecke@gmail.com> - 2015-05-12 08:37 -0700
Re: Understandability David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2015-05-13 08:53 +0200
Re: Understandability Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> - 2015-05-13 08:16 -0700
Re: Understandability David Kleinecke <dkleinecke@gmail.com> - 2015-05-13 09:49 -0700
Re: Understandability Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> - 2015-05-13 10:53 -0700
Re: Understandability David Kleinecke <dkleinecke@gmail.com> - 2015-05-14 10:35 -0700
Re: Understandability David Kleinecke <dkleinecke@gmail.com> - 2015-05-13 09:31 -0700
Re: Understandability James Kuyper <jameskuyper@verizon.net> - 2015-05-13 13:10 -0400
Re: Understandability David Kleinecke <dkleinecke@gmail.com> - 2015-05-14 10:27 -0700
Re: Understandability James Kuyper <jameskuyper@verizon.net> - 2015-05-14 22:51 -0400
Re: Understandability David Kleinecke <dkleinecke@gmail.com> - 2015-05-15 10:02 -0700
Re: Understandability James Kuyper <jameskuyper@verizon.net> - 2015-05-15 13:37 -0400
Re: Understandability David Kleinecke <dkleinecke@gmail.com> - 2015-05-16 09:18 -0700
Re: Understandability David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2015-05-16 23:56 +0200
Re: Understandability gazelle@shell.xmission.com (Kenny McCormack) - 2015-05-17 12:45 +0000
Re: Understandability David Kleinecke <dkleinecke@gmail.com> - 2015-05-17 09:16 -0700
Re: Understandability James Kuyper <jameskuyper@verizon.net> - 2015-05-17 12:47 -0400
Re: Understandability David Kleinecke <dkleinecke@gmail.com> - 2015-05-18 10:54 -0700
Re: Understandability James Kuyper <jameskuyper@verizon.net> - 2015-05-18 15:00 -0400
Re: Understandability David Kleinecke <dkleinecke@gmail.com> - 2015-05-19 09:49 -0700
Re: Understandability James Kuyper <jameskuyper@verizon.net> - 2015-05-19 13:10 -0400
Re: Understandability James Kuyper <jameskuyper@verizon.net> - 2015-05-16 19:01 -0400
Re: Understandability David Kleinecke <dkleinecke@gmail.com> - 2015-05-17 09:30 -0700
Re: Understandability James Kuyper <jameskuyper@verizon.net> - 2015-05-17 12:58 -0400
Re: Understandability David Kleinecke <dkleinecke@gmail.com> - 2015-05-18 10:54 -0700
Re: Understandability James Kuyper <jameskuyper@verizon.net> - 2015-05-18 14:56 -0400
Re: Understandability David Kleinecke <dkleinecke@gmail.com> - 2015-05-19 09:46 -0700
Re: Understandability James Kuyper <jameskuyper@verizon.net> - 2015-05-19 13:16 -0400
Re: Understandability Richard Heathfield <rjh@cpax.org.uk> - 2015-05-19 18:23 +0100
Re: Understandability James Kuyper <jameskuyper@verizon.net> - 2015-05-19 14:02 -0400
Re: Understandability David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2015-05-19 00:11 +0200
Re: Understandability James Kuyper <jameskuyper@verizon.net> - 2015-05-18 18:28 -0400
Re: Understandability Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> - 2015-05-15 10:52 -0700
Re: Understandability David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2015-05-13 21:53 +0200
Re: Understandability David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2015-05-09 16:18 +0200
Re: Understandability Noob <root@127.0.0.1> - 2015-05-09 18:31 +0200
Re: Understandability raltbos@xs4all.nl (Richard Bos) - 2015-05-17 10:44 +0000
Re: Understandability glen herrmannsfeldt <gah@ugcs.caltech.edu> - 2015-05-17 15:53 +0000
Re: Understandability David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2015-05-04 09:15 +0200
Re: Understandability Waldek Hebisch <hebisch@math.uni.wroc.pl> - 2015-05-16 00:28 +0000
Re: Understandability Tim Rentsch <txr@alumni.caltech.edu> - 2015-05-03 10:58 -0700
csiph-web