In the world of parametric programming our languages often seem quite varied and unique. At the core however are two primary approaches, let’s call them templates and generics. In this article I’ll […]
Parsing is where the story of compilation begins. While it may mean something wonderful to us, our source code is merely a stream of character data. It’s the role of a parser […]
If we scratch the surface of a language a bit we find a secret, rich world of type information. Our compilers know more about our code than we do ourselves. In my […]
Determining how to convert object types and ensuring they are correct is a significant component of what a compiler does. For every operation the compiler must determine exactly what type is required […]
A key activity of a compiler is to translate named symbols into memory locations. The process typically involves a few stages: identifying the symbols, segmenting them, and determining the actual address. In […]
How is an overloaded function compiled? It’s not something I truly considered prior to writing Leaf. My first implementation mimicked C++, at least how they appear to behave in C++. It worked, […]
I’m in the midst of reworking a significant aspect of the type system in Leaf. It’s a lot of work, and I’d like to avoid doing it too many times. I need […]
There’s something wrong when a language allows 1/2 to equal 0. It’s easy to understand why this happens, and perhaps it’s even easy to forgive the limitations of C. Nonetheless it’s irksome […]
Abstract machines are the core of what defines a programming language. A wide variety of operating systems and plethora of hardware ensures a bewildering number of things we call computers. When […]
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