Code Generation — Concepts, Tools, Techniques

Book excerpt: Code Generation - Concepts, Tools, Techniques is based upon the proceedings of the Dagstuhl workshop on code generation which took place from 20-24 May 1991. The aim of the workshop was to evaluate current methods of code generation and to indicate the main directions which future research is likely to take. It provided an excellent forum for the exchange of ideas and had the added advantage of bringing together European and American experts who were unlikely to meet at less specialised gatherings. This volume contains 14 of the 30 papers presented at the Dagstuhl workshop. The papers deal mainly with the following four topics: tools and techniques for code generation, code generation for parallel architectures, register allocation and phase ordering problems, and formal methods and validations. Most of the papers assess the progress of on-going research work, much of which is published here for the first time, while others provide a review of recently completed projects. The volume also contains summaries of two discussion groups which looked at code generation tools and parallel architectures. As a direct result of one of these discussions, a group of the participants have collaborated to make a pure BURS system available for public distribution. This system, named BURG, is currently being beta-tested. Code Generation - Concepts, Tools, Techniques provides a representative summary of state-of-the-art code generation techniques and an important assessment of possible future innovations. It will be an invaluable reference work for researchers and practitioners in this important area.