chore(docs): Update compiler walkthrough #2092
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spotandjake
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ospencer,
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jozanza
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spotandjake
commented
Apr 8, 2024
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| Writing a parser by hand is great when you've got a stable grammar, but the language is still rapidly evolving. Using a parser generator allows us to iterate quickly. [Menhir](http://gallium.inria.fr/~fpottier/menhir/) is an excellent production-grade parser generator that produces OCaml code for a parser based on some rules we've defined. We call these rules a "grammar" and you can find the grammar for the Grain language in [parsing/parser.mly](https://github.com/grain-lang/grain/blob/main/compiler/src/parsing/parser.mly). If you'd like to learn more about BNF grammars, check out [this resource](http://people.cs.ksu.edu/~schmidt/300s05/Lectures/GrammarNotes/bnf.html). | ||
| Writing a parser by hand is great when you've got a stable grammar, but as grain is in rapid development and we're always trying to improve the developer experience, We've decided to use a parser generator. [Menhir](http://gallium.inria.fr/~fpottier/menhir/) is an excellent production-grade parser generator that produces OCaml code for a parser based on some rules we've defined. We call these rules a "grammar" and you can find the grammar for the Grain language in [parsing/parser.mly](https://github.com/grain-lang/grain/blob/main/compiler/src/parsing/parser.mly). If you'd like to learn more about BNF grammars, check out [this resource](http://people.cs.ksu.edu/~schmidt/300s05/Lectures/GrammarNotes/bnf.html). |
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Should we mention the parser.messages file?
spotandjake
commented
Apr 8, 2024
| ## An overview of the compiler | ||
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| The grain compiler is a [multi-stage](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multi-pass_compiler) compiler, which means instead of converting directly from `grain syntax` into `wasm` we take multiple passes over the input program performing smaller transformations until we get to the final output. This approach allows us to have a more maintainable compiler and perform deeper analysis on your code which allows us to provide better errors and more abstraction. | ||
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Thoughts on adding something like:
* `src/codegen`: This folder contains everything related to generating wasm output.
* `src/diagnostics`:
* `src/formatting`: This folder contains everthing related to the `grain format` command.
This would provide a quick overview of each folder and its purpose helping to make the compiler more navigatable to interested contributers.
ospencer
reviewed
Apr 9, 2024
ospencer
reviewed
Apr 9, 2024
Co-authored-by: Oscar Spencer <oscar.spen@gmail.com>
ospencer
reviewed
Apr 9, 2024
ospencer
reviewed
Apr 9, 2024
ospencer
reviewed
Apr 9, 2024
ospencer
reviewed
Apr 9, 2024
ospencer
reviewed
Apr 9, 2024
Co-authored-by: Oscar Spencer <oscar.spen@gmail.com>
Co-authored-by: Oscar Spencer <oscar.spen@gmail.com>
Co-authored-by: Oscar Spencer <oscar.spen@gmail.com>
Co-authored-by: Oscar Spencer <oscar.spen@gmail.com>
Co-authored-by: Oscar Spencer <oscar.spen@gmail.com>
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This pr updates the compiler walkthrough docs as they have gotten quite out of date, I think there are quite a few places where more detail could be added but I don't feel I have the background to properly describe them in depth.
I tried to include a lot more wiki links as though compiler development is mostly going to be targetted towards developers with some experience, it's still beneficial for newer contributers who are interested to have a place to start.