Exploring the c4... compiler?
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from tedu@azorius.net to programming@azorius.net on 11 May 2024 00:14
https://azorius.net/g/programming/p/1r3vm7hYdRQJ1MB874-Exploring-the-c4-compiler
from tedu@azorius.net to programming@azorius.net on 11 May 2024 00:14
https://azorius.net/g/programming/p/1r3vm7hYdRQJ1MB874-Exploring-the-c4-compiler
This week I found myself digging through the code of c4, an implementation of C “in four functions”, by Robert Swierczek.
I remember coming across c4 when it was released ten years ago. It got me excited: hey, C in four functions, that means it’s easy to understand right?
That excitement turned into “oh, I see” as soon as I scrolled through the code. c4 is dense, barely commented, and, frankly, strange. It’s unlike anything else I had come across in compiler land.
After reading through the code this week here are the other adjectives I would add to the list: clever, tricky, fascinating, cool. It’s a compiler, it’s a VM, it’s an interpreter, it’s a parser, it’s art, it’s trickshot programming.
#c #compiler #programming
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@tedu
Classic mistake: you went to the evil C4 instead of the good C4 (to say nothing of the explosive C4).
The good C4: https://c4model.com/