[plt-scheme] Languages and Tools

On May 6, 2005, at 1:54 PM, Matt Jadud wrote:

>  For list-related administrative tasks:
>  http://list.cs.brown.edu/mailman/listinfo/plt-scheme
>
> So, a slightly off-topic question, but... there are people on this 
> list who will have ideas and opinions about the question. If it's too 
> far off, someone will say so.
>
> Question:
> If you were writing a compiler today, what tools would you use?
>
> When I say "tools", this runs the gamut from languages to libraries to 
> techniques (which isn't a tool, I know)... but a broader or more 
> appropriate term doesn't come to mind.
>
> The "why" of the question is, naturally, of interest.
>
> My question isn't entirely hypothetical... nor am I about to embark on 
> a new compiler project. However, colleagues of mine are, and I'm 
> curious what people outside of my immediate sphere think about this 
> question. It doesn't strike me as a simple one.

The question is too large. W/o constraints, the answer is obviously use 
a language in which it is trivial to process trees (the most common 
form of program representation) and verify whatever aspect of tree 
processing you find critical for your application. That begins with the 
front-end for generating the tree from a sequence of chars and ends 
with the backend where you turn a tree into a flat sequence of machine 
instructions.

-- Matthias