No header files?

[Michel Fortin]

On 2009-10-23 03:52:10 -0400, Yigal Chripun <yigal100 at gmail.com> said:

> I was suggesting to convert *both* obj files and lib files to llvm 
> bit-code. such library files will still contain the metadata.
> 
> what I ultimately want is to have something similar in concept to .net 
> asseblies/java Jars but with native code (no VM involved). LLVM 
> provides the infrastructure to do exactly this: the compiler generates 
> platform neutral D-assemblies (in llvm bitcode) that can be used on any 
> architecture/OS/llvm-compiler. This would also allow us to use 
> libraries written in other languages when there's an appropriate llvm 
> compiler for them (Ruby, scheme, python, etc).

The LLVM bitcode is too much low-level for that. It won't carry enough 
information about types for correct type checking in D, and it cannot 
express templates. True, you can express arbitrary metadata in bitcode, 
but that'd be a whole new format to create and support...

Perhaps the solution is to embed the "header file" (I mean the '.di' 
file) into the generated object file itself, and make DMD check 
existing object files for an embedded interface. That could work 
independently of the object file format too.


-- 
Michel Fortin
michel.fortin at michelf.com
http://michelf.com/