external/bsd/llvm/dist/clang/www/index.html

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  15   <h1>clang: a C language family frontend for LLVM</h1>
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  17
  18   <p>The goal of the Clang project is to create a new C, C++, Objective C and
  19   Objective C++ front-end for the <a href="http://www.llvm.org/">LLVM</a>
  20   compiler.  You can <a href="get_started.html">get and build</a> the source
  21   today.</p>
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  24   <h2 id="goals">Features and Goals</h2>
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  26
  27   <p>Some of the goals for the project include the following:</p>
  28
  29   <p><b><a href="features.html#enduser">End-User Features</a></b>:</p>
  30
  31   <ul>
  32   <li>Fast compiles and low memory use</li>
  33   <li>Expressive diagnostics (<a href="diagnostics.html">examples</a>)</li>
  34   <li>GCC compatibility</li>
  35   </ul>
  36
  37   <p><b><a href="features.html#applications">Utility and
  38      Applications</a></b>:</p>
  39
  40   <ul>
  41   <li>Modular library based architecture</li>
  42   <li>Support diverse clients (refactoring, static analysis, code generation,
  43    etc.)</li>
  44   <li>Allow tight integration with IDEs</li>
  45   <li>Use the LLVM 'BSD' License</li>
  46   </ul>
  47
  48   <p><b><a href="features.html#design">Internal Design and
  49      Implementation</a></b>:</p>
  50
  51   <ul>
  52   <li>A real-world, production quality compiler</li>
  53   <li>A simple and hackable code base</li>
  54   <li>A single unified parser for C, Objective C, C++, and Objective C++</li>
  55   <li>Conformance with C/C++/ObjC and their variants</li>
  56   </ul>
  57
  58   <p>Of course this is only a rough outline of the goals and features of
  59      Clang.  To get a true sense of what it is all about, see the <a
  60      href="features.html">Features</a> section, which breaks
  61      each of these down and explains them in more detail.</p>
  62
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  65   <h2>Why?</h2>
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  67
  68   <p>Development of the new front-end was started out of a need
  69      for a compiler that allows better diagnostics, better integration with
  70      IDEs, a license that is compatible with commercial products, and a
  71      nimble compiler that is easy to develop and maintain.  All of these were
  72      motivations for starting work on a new front-end that could
  73      meet these needs.</p>
  74
  75   <p>A good (but quite dated) introduction to Clang can be found in the
  76      following video lectures:</p>
  77
  78   <ul>
  79     <li><a href="clang_video-05-25-2007.html">Clang Introduction</a>
  80         (May 2007)</li>
  81     <li><a href="clang_video-07-25-2007.html">Features and Performance of
  82         Clang</a>  (July 2007)</li>
  83   </ul>
  84
  85   <p>For a more detailed comparison between Clang and other compilers, please
  86      see the <a href="comparison.html">clang comparison page</a>.</p>
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  89   <h2>Current Status</h2>
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  91
  92   <p>Clang is considered to
  93    be a production quality C, Objective-C, C++ and Objective-C++ compiler when
  94    targeting X86-32, X86-64, and ARM (other targets may have caveats, but are
  95    usually easy to fix).  If you are looking for source analysis or
  96    source-to-source transformation tools, clang is probably a great
  97    solution for you.  Clang supports C++11, please see the <a
  98     href="cxx_status.html">C++ status</a> page for more
  99    information.</p>
 100
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 102   <h2>Get it and get involved!</h2>
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 104
 105   <p>Start by <a href="get_started.html">getting the code, building it, and
 106      playing with it</a>.  This will show you the sorts of things we can do
 107      today and will let you have the "clang experience" first hand: hopefully
 108      it will "resonate" with you. :)</p>
 109
 110   <p>Once you've done that, please consider <a href="get_involved.html">getting
 111      involved in the clang community</a>.  The clang developers include numerous
 112      volunteer contributors with a variety of backgrounds.  If you're
 113      interested in
 114      following the development of clang, signing up for a mailing list is a good
 115      way to learn about how the project works.</p>
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