[fpc-devel] FPC compiler architecture documentation

[Mark Morgan Lloyd]

Florian Klaempfl wrote:
> Am 30.08.2012 13:42, schrieb Marco van de Voort:
>> In our previous episode, Graeme Geldenhuys said:
>>> I found this old PDF documenting the FPC compiler architecture. I
>>> remember in recent years others attempted to do a similar thing. I don't
>>> know how accurate this PDF still is, considering it is based on FPC
>>> v1.x,
>>
>> Not really I think.
>>
>> I converted it from the original word document to latex/pdf. The source
>> is in fpcdocs/internal directory
>> http://svn.freepascal.org/cgi-bin/viewvc.cgi/trunk/internal/?root=docs
>>
>> Still waiting for sb to actualize it.
> 
> While it still might an interesting reading for somebody not involved in 
> the compiler development I doubt it's usefulness. It requires a lot of 
> work of some of the compiler developers but I doubt that a good 
> developer needs such a document to get into the compiler so updating the 
> document is wasted time in the sense of bringing the compiler forward.

Define "good developer". I've exchanged pleasantries with- for example- 
experienced IBM mainframe developers who don't understand the extent to 
which FPC is self-hosted, i.e. you start a port with a cross-compiler on 
a PC rather than by using a different compiler (e.g. P5) on the target 
system.

Right now there's adequate documentation for how to build the compiler, 
but no introductory text for the interested outsider.

-- 
Mark Morgan Lloyd
markMLl .AT. telemetry.co .DOT. uk

[Opinions above are the author's, not those of his employers or colleagues]