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user82302
user82302
22:06
would you guys suggest using an ELF library to create an executable or should I be lazy and chmod an empty file
Mast
Mast
@user82302 Context?
user82302
user82302
I'm confused. You tagged this question as compiler, yet it doesn't generate an executable. Is it really an interpreter? — 200_success ♦ 59 mins ago
nhgrif
nhgrif
I'm not going to take a question about "Nothing" seriously.
3
Mast
Mast
@user82302 He's asking something different than you expect I think.
nhgrif
nhgrif
But I will say... a compiler takes source code as input and provides a compiled executable program as output.
An interpreter takes source code as input and prints its output directly to console (it doesn't generate a file)
user82302
user82302
22:09
sounds easy enough
i just need to write an empty ELF file then
Mast
Mast
@user82302 So what is your program supposed to be, a compiler or an interpreter?
user82302
user82302
i'll probably add a REPL option
Mast
Mast
Interpreter it is.
user82302
user82302
but by default it'll be a "compiler"
nhgrif
nhgrif
Since it's the "nothing" language, do you mean RPL?
Mast
Mast
22:11
@user82302 It isn't compiling anything.
user82302
user82302
isn't taking an empty file and converting it to ELF fit your definition of "compiling"?
nhgrif
nhgrif
No.
That's a exe generator.
It doesn't compile anything.
user82302
user82302
it compiles Nothing
Vogel612
Vogel612
compiling is just one step from code to executble
nhgrif
nhgrif
Exactly.
I said a compiler takes source code as its input and provides a compiled executable program as its output.
An empty file isn't source code.
Mast
Mast
22:14
@nhgrif I'd argue an empty file can't be executed and therefore isn't an executable.
user82302
user82302
so if I were to compile an empty file using GCC in freestanding mode, then GCC isn't compiling anything?
nhgrif
nhgrif
If you're compiling C and you don't have a main function, I don't know what GCC will do, but you won't be able to run the output...
Vogel612
Vogel612
I doubt you'd get a .o file out of an empty .c file...
nhgrif
nhgrif
Most likely, GCC will generate an error yelling about not being able to find main.
For what it's worth... I actually could compile a .swift file that had nothing in it... But it'd have to be called main.swift. swift-is-magic and has an implicit main function that exists in a file called main.swift.
user82302
user82302
i'd argue that the compiler and linker are two distinct programs
Mast
Mast
22:18
@user82302 How is that relevant to this discussion?
user82302
user82302
the compiler wouldn't complain about lack of main, the linker would
Mast
Mast
The linker won't have much work if you feed it an empty file.
user82302
user82302
for all intents and purposes generating an exe will replace the "linking" step in the compilation process
Mast
Mast
Bottom line is: what you wrote looks more like an interpreter than like a compiler. Think about whether that's intentional or not.
user82302
user82302
in C, in order to link an executable, there are special "start-up" object files. not the case in Nothing, so I think I can get away with it
Mast
Mast
22:20
An empty ELF is not an executable in my opinion, since it can't be executed.
user82302
user82302
it would not be completely empty. it would contain ELF headers, etc. just it wouldn't do anything
arguably I could have it output "Hello, world!" and still be a valid Nothing executable
Ismael Miguel
Ismael Miguel
@user82302 The specification says that the output doesn't have to be what the user expected and it would still be valid
nhgrif
nhgrif
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