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| <h1>Clang: a C language family frontend for LLVM</h1> |
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| |
| <p>The Clang project provides a language front-end and tooling infrastructure |
| for languages in the C language family (C, C++, Objective C/C++, OpenCL, |
| CUDA, and RenderScript) for the <a href="https://www.llvm.org/">LLVM</a> |
| project. Both a GCC-compatible compiler driver (<tt>clang</tt>) and an |
| MSVC-compatible compiler driver (<tt>clang-cl.exe</tt>) are provided. 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 & MSVC 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 'Apache 2' |
| <a href="https://github.com/llvm/llvm-project/blob/main/LICENSE.TXT">License</a> |
| </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> |
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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 any target supported by LLVM. As example, Clang is used in |
| production to build performance-critical software like Chrome or Firefox. |
| <br /> If you are looking for source analysis or source-to-source |
| transformation tools, Clang is probably a great solution for you. Please see |
| the <a href="cxx_status.html">C++ status</a> page or the |
| <a href="c_status.html">C status</a> page for more information about what |
| standard modes and features are supported.</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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