2006-04-19
jhc - Optimizing Haskell Compiler
jhc looks interesting. It's an optimizing Haskell compiler "...that aims to produce very efficient code as well as explore novel compilation techniques in an attempt to make them practical."
Two things from the site that interested me were:
- Produces 100% portable ISO C. The same C file can compile on machines of different byte order or bit-width without trouble.
- No pre-written runtime. other than 20 lines of boilerplate all code is generated from the Grin intermediate code and subject to all code simplifying and dead code elimination transformations. As a result, jhc currently produces the smallest binaries of any Haskell compiler. (main = putStrLn "Hello, World!" compiles to 6,568 bytes vs 177,120 bytes for GHC 6.4)
