Ask HN: A C compiler in a microkernel in a 406 line js CPU emulator. What next?

9 points

11 years ago

I made up a 14 instruction CPU specification: http://recc.robertelder.org/op-cpu.txt I wrote a C compiler for a very large subset (not all) of C89 for this CPU: https://github.com/RobertElderSoftware/recc I wrote emulators for the CPU in 4 different languages: https://github.com/RobertElderSoftware/recc/tree/master/emulators I wrote bare bones microkernel: https://github.com/RobertElderSoftware/recc/tree/master/kernel I can cross-compile the preprocessor, lexer, parser and code generator and run them inside a kernel task, which runs inside the CPU emulators for javascript, python, java, and C (but it is currently super slow): http://recc.robertelder.org/compile-demo/

I'm looking for feedback on what direction to go in next. What would you like to see most?

Directions I can go in:

- Fully client side C compiler and IDE - Full access to parse tree, static analysis with rich html annotations for errors - For example, if a function call has arguments that don't match the prototype, show a detailed graphic demonstrating that the arguments don't fit into the function - Write a proper shell for the kernel - CPU Emulators for more languages - Make the compiler produce faster code (it is currently anti-optimized for code simplicity) - Implement currently unsupported C features (float, double, union, goto, K&R C style functions, ...) - Work toward having better static analysis (warnings) than GCC or CLANG (but only for C89) - Write blog posts (about what?) - Work toward compiling the Linux Kernel - Create learning tools to help visualize the OS and program stack as the program executes (In addition to showing stack values, provide type annotations via background colours/graphics eg. (0x10000 <= unsigned int)) - Static analysis for MISRA C - A web based visual tool/animation that shows you every step of how the C preprocessor works - Other ideas

Project Home: http://recc.robertelder.org/

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