79 lines
3.4 KiB
Markdown
79 lines
3.4 KiB
Markdown
### Compiling
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The Ast (abstract syntax tree) is created by [salama-reader](https://github.com/salama/salama-reader)
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gem and the classes defined there
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The code in this directory compiles the AST to the virtual machine code, and Parfait object structure.
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If this were an interpreter, we would just walk the tree and do what it says.
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Since it's not things are a little more difficult, especially in time.
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When compiling we deal with two times, compile-time and run-time.
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All the headache comes from mixing those two up.*
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Similarly, the result of compiling is two-fold: a static and a dynamic part.
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- the static part are objects like the constants, but also defined classes and their methods
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- the dynamic part is the code, which is stored as streams of instructions in the MethodSource
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Too make things a little simpler, we create a very high level instruction stream at first and then
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run transformation and optimization passes on the stream to improve it.
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The compiler has a method for each type for ast, named along on_xxx with xxx as the type
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#### Compiler holds scope
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The Compiler instance can hold arbitrary scope needed during the compilation. Since we compile Phisol
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(a static language) things have become more simple.
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A class statement sets the current @clazz scope , a method definition the @method.
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If either are not set when needed compile errors will follow. So easy, so nice.
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All code is encoded as a stream of Instructions in the MethodSource.
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Instructions are stored as a list of Blocks, and Blocks are the smallest unit of code,
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which is always linear.
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Code is added to the method (using add_code), rather than working with the actual instructions.
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This is so each compiling method can just do it's bit and be unaware of the larger structure
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that is being created.
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The general structure of the instructions is a graph
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(with if's and whiles and breaks and what), but we build it to have one start and *one* end (return).
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#### Messages and frames
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Since the machine is virtual, we have to define it, and since it is oo we define it in objects.
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Also it is important to define how instructions operate, which is is in a physical machine would
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be by changing the contents of registers or some stack.
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Our machine is not a register machine, but an object machine: it operates directly on objects and
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also has no separate stack, only objects. There are a number of objects which are accessible,
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and one can think of these (their addresses) as register contents.
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(And one wouldn't be far off as that is the implementation.)
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The objects the machine works on are:
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- Message
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- Frame
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- Self
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- NewMessage
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and working on means, these are the only objects which the machine accesses.
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Ie all others would have to be moved first.
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When a Method needs to make a call, it creates a NewMessage object.
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Messages contain return addresses (yes, plural) and arguments.
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The important thing here is that Messages and Frames are normal objects.
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### Distinctly future proof
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Phisol is designed to be used as an implementation language for a higher oo language. Some, or
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even many, features may not make sense on their own. But these features, like several return
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addresses, are important to implement the higher language.
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In fact, Phisol's main purpose is not even to be written. The main purpose is to have a language to
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compile ruby to. In the same way that the assembler layer in salama is not designed to be written,
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we just need it to create our layers.
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