D target "layers" (was: D Cross Compiler)

[Brendan Simon (eTRIX)]

On 19/04/2011 5:00 AM, d.gnu-request at puremagic.com wrote:
> From: Daniel Green<venix1 at gmail.com>
> On 4/18/2011 5:15 AM, Kagamin wrote:
>> >  Such feature would be fantastic.
> I don't see this becoming a feature of D for quite some time if ever
> although it would make the enforcement easier.
> Once the subsets are defined the next challenge is enforcing them.  Two
> ideas come to me right now.  Enforcing it by checking object symbols,
> most restrictions would generate some form of standardized symbol
> request.  The other is to use the D frontend and create a sort of lint
> checker.
I envisage a compiler switch to tell the compiler the target "layer" -- 
bare, kernel, driver-low, driver-high, user ??
The compiler would then produce a warning or error if certain language 
or run-time features are being used that is not suitable for the target 
layer.

Maybe it can be a flexible system rather than hard coded into the 
compiler, such that there are config files that specify which language 
features are permissible or not.
e.g. --target=bare, --target=kernel, --target=my-custom-target  (where 
my-custom-target[.cfg] is a file in standard location or filename)  
--target=~/D/configs/my-custom-target.cfg ???

I'm sure the XOmB guys/gals (which I'm sure lurk on the various D lists) 
would have some good ideas and thoughts on this too.

Just thinking out loud :)
-- Brendan.