VBCC
Encyclopedia
vbcc is the name of a portable and retargetable ISO/ANSI C
compiler.
It supports ISO C according to ISO/IEC 9899:1989 and a subset of the new standard ISO/IEC 9899:1999
.
It is divided into two parts. One is target-independent and the other is target-dependent. vbcc provides complete abstraction of host-arithmetic and target-arithmetic. It fully supports cross-compiling for 8-bit
, 16-bit
, 32-bit
and 64-bit
architectures.
Embedded systems are supported by features like different pointer-sizes, ROM-able code, inline-assembly, bit-types, interrupt-handlers, section-attributes, stack-calculation and many others (depending on the backend).
vbcc provides a large set of high-level optimizations as well as target-specific optimizations to produce faster or smaller code. it is also able to optimize across functions and modules. Target-independent optimizations includes:
Currently backends (with different degree of maturity) exist 68k, Coldfire, PowerPC
, 80x86 (386 and above), Alpha
, C16x/ST10
, 68HC12, z-machine
architectures.
All common operating systems can be supported as host systems, including Windows
and Unix
/Linux
systems.
ANSI C
ANSI C refers to the family of successive standards published by the American National Standards Institute for the C programming language. Software developers writing in C are encouraged to conform to the standards, as doing so aids portability between compilers.-History and outlook:The first...
compiler.
It supports ISO C according to ISO/IEC 9899:1989 and a subset of the new standard ISO/IEC 9899:1999
C99
C99 is a modern dialect of the C programming language. It extends the previous version with new linguistic and library features, and helps implementations make better use of available computer hardware and compiler technology.-History:...
.
It is divided into two parts. One is target-independent and the other is target-dependent. vbcc provides complete abstraction of host-arithmetic and target-arithmetic. It fully supports cross-compiling for 8-bit
8-bit
The first widely adopted 8-bit microprocessor was the Intel 8080, being used in many hobbyist computers of the late 1970s and early 1980s, often running the CP/M operating system. The Zilog Z80 and the Motorola 6800 were also used in similar computers...
, 16-bit
16-bit
-16-bit architecture:The HP BPC, introduced in 1975, was the world's first 16-bit microprocessor. Prominent 16-bit processors include the PDP-11, Intel 8086, Intel 80286 and the WDC 65C816. The Intel 8088 was program-compatible with the Intel 8086, and was 16-bit in that its registers were 16...
, 32-bit
32-bit
The range of integer values that can be stored in 32 bits is 0 through 4,294,967,295. Hence, a processor with 32-bit memory addresses can directly access 4 GB of byte-addressable memory....
and 64-bit
64-bit
64-bit is a word size that defines certain classes of computer architecture, buses, memory and CPUs, and by extension the software that runs on them. 64-bit CPUs have existed in supercomputers since the 1970s and in RISC-based workstations and servers since the early 1990s...
architectures.
Embedded systems are supported by features like different pointer-sizes, ROM-able code, inline-assembly, bit-types, interrupt-handlers, section-attributes, stack-calculation and many others (depending on the backend).
vbcc provides a large set of high-level optimizations as well as target-specific optimizations to produce faster or smaller code. it is also able to optimize across functions and modules. Target-independent optimizations includes:
- cross-module function-inlining
- partial inlining of recursive functions
- inter-procedural data-flow analysis
- inter-procedural register-allocation
- register-allocation for global variables
- global common-subexpression-elimination
- global constant-propagation
- global copy-propagation
- dead-code-elimination
- alias-analysis
- loop-unrolling
- induction-variable elimination
- loop-invariant code-motion
- loop-reversal
Currently backends (with different degree of maturity) exist 68k, Coldfire, PowerPC
PowerPC
PowerPC is a RISC architecture created by the 1991 Apple–IBM–Motorola alliance, known as AIM...
, 80x86 (386 and above), Alpha
DEC Alpha
Alpha, originally known as Alpha AXP, is a 64-bit reduced instruction set computer instruction set architecture developed by Digital Equipment Corporation , designed to replace the 32-bit VAX complex instruction set computer ISA and its implementations. Alpha was implemented in microprocessors...
, C16x/ST10
STMicroelectronics
STMicroelectronics is an Italian-French electronics and semiconductor manufacturer headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.While STMicroelectronics corporate headquarters and the headquarters for EMEA region are based in Geneva, the holding company, STMicroelectronics N.V. is registered in Amsterdam,...
, 68HC12, z-machine
Z-machine
The Z-machine is a virtual machine that was developed by Joel Berez and Marc Blank in 1979 and used by Infocom for its text adventure games. Infocom compiled game code to files containing Z-machine instructions , and could therefore port all its text adventures to a new platform simply by writing a...
architectures.
All common operating systems can be supported as host systems, including Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
and Unix
Unix
Unix is a multitasking, multi-user computer operating system originally developed in 1969 by a group of AT&T employees at Bell Labs, including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, Brian Kernighan, Douglas McIlroy, and Joe Ossanna...
/Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
systems.