Stalin (Scheme implementation)
| Developer(s) | Jeffrey Mark Siskind |
|---|---|
| Stable release | 0.11 / October 2, 2006 |
| Operating system | Cross-platform |
| Type | Programming language |
| License | GPL |
| Website | cobweb.ecn.purdue.edu/~qobi/software.html |
Stalin (STAtic Language ImplementatioN) is an aggressive optimizing batch whole-program Scheme compiler written by Jeffrey Mark Siskind. It uses advanced flow analysis and type inference and a variety of other optimization techniques to produce code. Stalin is intended for production use in generating an optimized executable.
The compiler itself runs slowly, and there is little or no support for debugging or other niceties. Full R4RS Scheme is supported, with a few minor and rarely encountered omissions. Interfacing to external C libraries is straightforward. The compiler itself does lifetime analysis and hence does not generate as much garbage as might be expected, but global reclamation of storage is done using the Boehm garbage collector.
The name is a joke: "Stalin brutally optimizes."
Stalin is free software, licensed under the GNU General Public License (GPL), and is available online.
See also
External links
- Stalin home page
- A Google Code project - includes a Windows version and a GUI
- Research Statement by Siskind (compares Stalin with other Scheme compilers, and states that "STALIN often generates code that outperforms handwritten C and Fortran code.")