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https://github.com/lethalbit/clank

A C++ Front-end based on LLVM's clang.
https://github.com/lethalbit/clank

c compiler cpp frontend lexer parser

Last synced: about 2 months ago
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A C++ Front-end based on LLVM's clang.

Host: GitHub
URL: https://github.com/lethalbit/clank
Owner: lethalbit
License: other
Created: 2022-07-04T04:12:02.000Z (over 2 years ago)
Default Branch: main
Last Pushed: 2023-02-20T10:40:31.000Z (almost 2 years ago)
Last Synced: 2024-05-01T14:16:53.608Z (8 months ago)
Topics: c, compiler, cpp, frontend, lexer, parser
Language: C++
Homepage: https://lethalbit.github.io/clank/
Size: 6.79 MB
Stars: 19
Watchers: 3
Forks: 2
Open Issues: 0
Metadata Files:
- Readme: README.md
- Changelog: CHANGELOG.md
- Contributing: CONTRIBUTING.md
- Funding: .github/FUNDING.yml
- License: LICENSE
- Code of conduct: CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md

Awesome Lists containing this project

README

# Clank :hammer_and_wrench:

> **Warning** Clank is still in the alpha stages, and can't reliably parse
> any subset of C or C++ yet. Work is ongoing to change this as soon as
> possible, but for now your milage may very.

Clank is a fully stand-alone C++ front-end based on [LLVM](https://llvm.org/)'s [clang](https://clang.llvm.org/) compiler.

It has been heavily modified and de-coupled from LLVM to be a stand alone library with only the C++ standard libraries as dependencies.

> **Note** Clank is ***ONLY*** a language front-end, it does not generate an IL or machine code

### Compiler front end comparison

The following table

| Front End | Open Source | Notes |
|----------------------------------------|--------------------|-------------------------------|
| libclang | :heavy_check_mark: | Tied to LLVM |
| [EDG Front End](https://www.edg.com/c) | :x: | Proprietary and Non-free |
| clank | :heavy_check_mark: | Only builds w/ C++17 or newer |

## FAQ

The following are some questions that you may possible have regarding this project.

### Why not just use libclang?

Mainly for personal reasons, I was never a fan of the API, nor how it dragged a large chunk of LLVM around.

### Why not support building with C++14 and/or C++11

Mainly because a lot of nice things were added in C++17 an it makes de-coupling the code from LLVM easier.

## Planned Support

The [clang](https://clang.llvm.org/) front-end can parse many languages, but clank is mainly focused on C and C++, however work is eventually planned to support most if not all of the languages that clang does as well. The table below shows the status of each language.

There is also the possibility of adding support for [D lang](https://github.com/ldc-developers/ldc) and also possibly [Fortran](https://flang.llvm.org/docs/) but those would be left until after the MVP of supporting C and C++ has been met.

Language
Standard
Status
Extensions

C++
99
🚧 In Progress 🚧
GNU

11
🚧 In Progress 🚧
GNU

14
🚧 In Progress 🚧
GNU

17
🚧 In Progress 🚧
GNU

20
🚧 In Progress 🚧
GNU

2b
🚧 In Progress 🚧
GNU

C
99
⏳ Planned ⏳
GNU

11
⏳ Planned ⏳
GNU

14
⏳ Planned ⏳
GNU

17
⏳ Planned ⏳
GNU

2x
⏳ Planned ⏳
GNU

ObjC
❔
⏳ Planned ⏳
None

ObjC++
❔
⏳ Planned ⏳
None

OpenCL
❔
⏳ Planned ⏳
None

## Examples

A collection of examples will be put in the [examples](./examples/) directory to show how to use Clank to consume C++ code once it is at a point where that is possible.

## Documentation

For more comprehensive documentation, such as usage guides, as well as API documentation, see [https://lethalbit.github.io/clank/](https://lethalbit.github.io/clank/).

## Configuring and Building

The following steps describe how to build Clank, it should be consistent for Linux, macOS, and Windows, but macOS and Windows remain untested.

**NOTE:** The minimum C++ standard to build Clank is C++17.

### Prerequisites

To build Clank, ensure you have the following build time dependencies:
* git
* meson
* ninja
* g++ >= 11 or clang++ >= 11

Optionally, when also building with binding support (which is the default) you also need:
* python >= 3.9
* pybind11 >= 2.7.0

### Configuring

You can build Clank with the default options, all of which can be found in [`meson_options.txt`](meson_options.txt). You can change these by specifying `-D=` at initial meson invocation time, or with `meson configure` in the build directory post initial configure.

To change the install prefix, which is `/usr/local` by default ensure to pass `--prefix ` when running meson for the first time.

In either case, simply running `meson build` from the root of the repository will be sufficient and place all of the build files in the `build` subdirectory.

### Building

Once you have configured Clank appropriately, to simply build and install simply run the following:

```
$ ninja -C build
$ ninja -C build test # Optional: Run Tests
$ ninja -C build install
```

This will build and install Clank into the default prefix which is `/usr/local`, to change that see the configuration steps above.

### Notes to Package Maintainers

If you are building Clank for inclusion in a distributions package system then ensure to set `DESTDIR` prior to running meson install.

There is also a `bugreport_url` configuration option that is set to this repositories issues tracker by default, it is recommended to change it to your distributions bug tracking page.

## License

Clank is under the [Apache 2.0](https://spdx.org/licenses/Apache-2.0.html) license with LLVM exceptions, just like the original clang. The full text of the license can be found in the [`LICENSE`](./LICENSE) file.