LLVM (Low Level Virtual Machine) is an open source compiler infrastructure that provides a set of tools and libraries for building compilers, debuggers, and other software development tools. It was originally developed at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and is now maintained by the LLVM Foundation.

LLVM consists of a set of modular and reusable compiler and toolchain technologies that can be used to build a wide range of compilers and other tools. It includes a compiler front end, which translates high-level programming languages into intermediate representations (IRs); and a compiler back end, which translates IRs into machine code that can be executed on a specific target architecture.

LLVM is designed to be modular and flexible, allowing developers to use only the tools and technologies they need for their specific projects. It can be used to build compilers for a wide range of programming languages, including C, C++, and Fortran, as well as other languages such as Swift and Rust.

In addition to its use as a compiler infrastructure, LLVM is used in a number of other applications, including runtime code generation, static analysis, and program optimization.

LLVM has become widely used in the software development community; many popular projects, such as the Clang C++ compiler, use it as the underlying infrastructure. It is an active and evolving project, with a strong community of contributors and users.

Open source compiler infrastructure refers to a set of tools and libraries used to build compilers and other software development tools. These tools are made available to the public under an open source license, which allows anyone to access, modify, and distribute the source code.

Open source compiler infrastructure provides a powerful and flexible set of tools that are widely used by developers around the world. One of the main benefits is that developers can collaborate and contribute to the development of the tools they use. This can lead to a more robust and feature-rich set of tools, as developers from around the world contribute their ideas and expertise.

Open source compiler infrastructure also allows developers to customize and extend tools to meet the specific needs of their projects. This can be particularly useful for projects that require specialized or unique features that are not available in commercial tools.

There are a number of open source compiler infrastructure projects available; GCC (GNU Compiler Collection) is another.

The software development industry is constantly evolving, and new tools and technologies are being introduced regularly. Given that open source compiler infrastructure supports some flexibility of choice, developers need to stay up-to-date with the latest technologies to ensure that they are using the most effective tools for their projects.

Here are some of the latest industry trends for software development tools:

• Integrated development environments (IDEs): IDEs are tools that provide a comprehensive set of features for software development, including code editing, debugging, and testing. Some of the most popular IDEs include Visual Studio, Eclipse, and PyCharm.
• Version control systems: Version control systems allow developers to track and manage changes to their code over time. Git is currently the most widely used version control system, but other popular options include Mercurial and Subversion.
• Project management tools: Project management tools help developers organize and track the progress of their projects. Some popular tools include Jira, Asana, and Trello.
• Testing and debugging tools: Testing and debugging tools are essential for ensuring that code is of high quality and performs as expected. Some popular tools include JUnit, Selenium, and GDB.
• Containerization tools: Containerization tools, such as Docker, allow developers to package their applications and dependencies into lightweight, portable containers that can be easily deployed on any platform.
• Cloud-based tools: Cloud-based tools, such as AWS and Azure, allow developers to build, deploy, and manage applications in the cloud.

In addition to these tools, developers also use a wide range of programming languages, frameworks, and libraries, depending on the specific needs of their projects. Some of the most popular programming languages include Java, Python, and C++, while popular frameworks include Django, Spring, and React.

Wind River Diab Compiler and VxWorks

Boost application performance, reduce memory footprint, and produce high-quality, standards-compliant object code for embedded systems with Wind River^® Diab Compiler. Diab Compiler is leveraging the LLVM com­munity effort, providing access to the latest Arm^® SoCs coupled with the familiar Diab interface to which customers are accustomed.

Additionally, VxWorks^®, the industry’s leading real-time operating system, provides the new LLVM-based infrastructure that enables support for a broad set of modern and productive tools and frameworks.

In the embedded market, there is tremendous pressure to pack performance and features into small-memory devices that consume less power. To help meet these demands, Diab Compiler offers hundreds of optimization options, such as global, local, processor-specific, profile-driven, and whole-program optimization for fine-tuning of software for performance, footprint, or both.

The Wind River compiler team has a long history of developing and using the open source compiler GCC for VxWorks. The team also integrates and fixes issues in GCC for Wind River Linux. However, as the landscape has shifted toward participating in and leveraging more open source products such as LLVM-based compilers, Wind River has begun to deploy LLVM as the main compiler for VxWorks because of its strong industry backing, modern code base, and the ease of development it provides. The Wind River compiler team has also leveraged an LLVM-based effort for Diab Compiler products and has started offering an LLVM-based cross-compiler for Arm.

Diab Compiler’s LLVM-based 7.x product line offers an easy migration path for existing Diab Compiler 5.9.x customers by providing migration guides and shipping with the Diab Compiler linker and other binary utilities, plus GNU binutils. With Diab Compiler 7.x, existing GCC and Diab Compiler 5.9.x customers can easily migrate their applications.

It is not enough to adopt and improve an LLVM-based compiler for the safety-critical market. Preexisting defects in LLVM, Clang, and compiler runtime libraries must be continually analyzed, categorized, and published with information about any safety impacts caused by these defects.

Use standard global options settings or customize the compiler options for the best results for your application code. With these performance gains, you’ll build devices that use less memory and require lower-power processors, reducing the hardware costs of your projects. And each release of Diab Compiler includes new optimizations to unlock further performance and code density improvements.

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