Re: A New Compiler

Colin Paul Adams wrote:

>>>>>> "Rick" == Rick  <hanson.rickyj@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> writes:
> 
>     Rick> I've been programming for about 10 years now and recently
>     Rick> came across the Eiffel language.  In all of that time I've
>     Rick> never written a compiler and have decided I'd like to write
>     Rick> a new one for Eiffel.  I'm looking for some people to tell
>     Rick> me what they would like to see in a new compiler.  What
>     Rick> standard should it be written to?  What platform would you
>     Rick> use it on?  Would you like to see a full IDE or just a
>     Rick> compiler?  How about a symbolic debugger?  Do you prefer a
>     Rick> native language compiler or one that produces C/C++ code?
>     Rick> Any comment you wish to make would be very welcome.
> 
> As others have said, writing a new compiler from scratch is a huge
> project.
> 
> I would suggest taking over the now (apparently) finalized SmartEiffel
> 1.2r7 code base, and making the following changes:
> 
> 1) Change the default from case-sensitive to case-insensitive (it's
>    worth keeping the case-sensitive option as a non-standard
>    non-default option as part of a style-checking option, perhaps).
>    That will be trivial, but it will help you find your way around the
>    code.
> 
> 2) Move the language implemented by the compiler towards full ECMA
>    compliance (that should keep you busy enough :-)).
> 
> 3) Get the compile-to-java code working again.
> 
> These tasks alone would be an extremely worthwhile contribution to the
> Eiffel community.

are you crazy?

SE produces really ugly C code and have a big potential to damage any
normal
brain that looks into it.