Show HN: Optimizing compiler for a large subset of C, written in Rust (opens in new tab)

(github.com)

11 pointsxqb641y ago6 comments

Hello.

I wanted to share what I had been working on for the past couple of months or so. It's an optimizing C compiler for a large subset of the C programming language written in Rust. It's basically a Rust implementation of the C compiler from Nora Sandler's book[1].

It has been a great educational exercise and I wholeheartedly recommend it to everyone.

[1]: https://nostarch.com/writing-c-compiler

6 comments

lutusp1y ago

It's my hope that people will take the hint: "Wait ... if Rust is a better way to compile C than C itself, maybe I should learn Rust."

unclad59681y ago

Rust itself is compiled with LLVM which is millions of lines of C++. Does that mean that C++ is better than rust?

yjftsjthsd-h1y ago

What makes you think Rust is a better way to compile C than C?

fanf21y ago

Algebraic data types

hu31y ago

Currently, that would be Zig.

kif1y ago

I've tried Rust, and it's just too much cognitive overhead. C is simple, and that simplicity is hard to beat. Go on the other hand is more like C in that regard.

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