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| layout | title |
|---|---|
| typed | Typed intermediate representation |
Intermediate representation
Compilers use different intermediate representations to go from the source code to a binary, which would otherwise be too big a step.
The typed intermediate representation is a strongly typed layer, between the dynamically typed ruby above, and the register machine below. One can think of it as a mix between c and c++, minus the syntax aspect. While in 2015, this layer existed as a language, (see soml-parser), it is now a tree representation only.
Object oriented to the core, including calling convention
Types are modeled by the class Type and carry information about instance variable names and their basic type. Every object stores a reference to it's type, and while types are immutable, the reference may change. The basic types every object is made up off, include at least integer and reference (pointer).
The object model, ie the basic properties of objects that the system relies on, is quite simple and explained in the runtime section. It involves a single reference per object. Also the object memory model is kept quite simple in that object sizes are always small multiples of the cache size of the hardware machine. We use object encapsulation to build up larger looking objects from these basic blocks.
The calling convention is also object oriented, not stack based*. Message objects used to define the data needed for invocation. They carry arguments, a frame and return addresses. Return addresses are pre-calculated and determined by the caller, and yes, there are several. In fact there is one return address per basic type, plus one for exception. A method invocation may thus be made to return to an entirely different location than the caller. *(A stack, as used in c, is not typed, not object oriented, and as such a source of problems)
There is no non- object based memory at all. The only global constants are instances of classes that can be accessed by writing the class name in ruby source.
Runtime / Parfait
The typed representation layer depends on the higher layer to actually determine and instantiate types (type objects, or objects of class Type). This includes method arguments and local variables.
The typed layer is mainly concerned in defining TypedMethods, for which argument or local variable have specified type (like in c). Basic Type names are the class names they represent, but the "int" may be used for brevity instead of Integer. As mentioned a function may return to different addresses according to type, though this is not fully implemented.
The runtime, Parfait, is kept to a minimum, currently around 15 classes, described in detail here.
Historically Parfait has been coded in ruby, as it was first needed in the compiler. This had the additional benefit of providing solid test cases for the functionality.