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| <h1>clang: a C language family frontend for LLVM</h1> |
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| |
| <p>The goal of the Clang project is to create a new C based language |
| front-end: C, C++, Objective C/C++, OpenCL C and others for the |
| <a href="http://www.llvm.org/">LLVM</a> compiler. You can |
| <a href="get_started.html">get and build</a> the source today.</p> |
| |
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| <h2 id="goals">Features and Goals</h2> |
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| |
| <p>Some of the goals for the project include the following:</p> |
| |
| <p><b><a href="features.html#enduser">End-User Features</a></b>:</p> |
| |
| <ul> |
| <li>Fast compiles and low memory use</li> |
| <li>Expressive diagnostics (<a href="diagnostics.html">examples</a>)</li> |
| <li>GCC compatibility</li> |
| </ul> |
| |
| <p><b><a href="features.html#applications">Utility and |
| Applications</a></b>:</p> |
| |
| <ul> |
| <li>Modular library based architecture</li> |
| <li>Support diverse clients (refactoring, static analysis, code generation, |
| etc.)</li> |
| <li>Allow tight integration with IDEs</li> |
| <li>Use the LLVM 'BSD' License</li> |
| </ul> |
| |
| <p><b><a href="features.html#design">Internal Design and |
| Implementation</a></b>:</p> |
| |
| <ul> |
| <li>A real-world, production quality compiler</li> |
| <li>A simple and hackable code base</li> |
| <li>A single unified parser for C, Objective C, C++, and Objective C++</li> |
| <li>Conformance with C/C++/ObjC and their variants</li> |
| </ul> |
| |
| <p>Of course this is only a rough outline of the goals and features of |
| Clang. To get a true sense of what it is all about, see the <a |
| href="features.html">Features</a> section, which breaks |
| each of these down and explains them in more detail.</p> |
| |
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| <h2>Why?</h2> |
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| |
| <p>Development of the new front-end was started out of a need |
| for a compiler that allows better diagnostics, better integration with |
| IDEs, a license that is compatible with commercial products, and a |
| nimble compiler that is easy to develop and maintain. All of these were |
| motivations for starting work on a new front-end that could |
| meet these needs.</p> |
| |
| <p>A good (but quite dated) introduction to Clang can be found in the |
| following video lectures:</p> |
| |
| <ul> |
| <li><a href="clang_video-05-25-2007.html">Clang Introduction</a> |
| (May 2007)</li> |
| <li><a href="clang_video-07-25-2007.html">Features and Performance of |
| Clang</a> (July 2007)</li> |
| </ul> |
| |
| <p>For a more detailed comparison between Clang and other compilers, please |
| see the <a href="comparison.html">clang comparison page</a>.</p> |
| |
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| <h2>Current Status</h2> |
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| |
| <p>Clang is considered to |
| be a production quality C, Objective-C, C++ and Objective-C++ compiler when |
| targeting X86-32, X86-64, and ARM (other targets may have caveats, but are |
| usually easy to fix). If you are looking for source analysis or |
| source-to-source transformation tools, Clang is probably a great |
| solution for you. Clang supports C++11, C++14 and C++17, please see the <a |
| href="cxx_status.html">C++ status</a> page for more |
| information.</p> |
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| <h2>Get it and get involved!</h2> |
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| |
| <p>Start by <a href="get_started.html">getting the code, building it, and |
| playing with it</a>. This will show you the sorts of things we can do |
| today and will let you have the "Clang experience" first hand: hopefully |
| it will "resonate" with you. :)</p> |
| |
| <p>Once you've done that, please consider <a href="get_involved.html">getting |
| involved in the clang community</a>. The Clang developers include numerous |
| volunteer contributors with a variety of backgrounds. If you're |
| interested in |
| following the development of Clang, signing up for a mailing list is a good |
| way to learn about how the project works.</p> |
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