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Intermediate Representation.

The article focuses on intermediate representations (IRs), or intermediate languages, which are designed to manage the complexity of the process of computer program compilation. Features of a well-designed IR are discussed including its ability to be translated into different forms for execution on...

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Published in:Communications of the ACM Vol. 56; no. 12; pp. 57 - 63
Main Author: CHOW, FRED
Format: Article
Published: Association for Computing Machinery Dec2013
Subjects:
Computer networks
Programming languages
Computer software execution
Computer systems
Computers
Electronic systems
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
Summary:The article focuses on intermediate representations (IRs), or intermediate languages, which are designed to manage the complexity of the process of computer program compilation. Features of a well-designed IR are discussed including its ability to be translated into different forms for execution on multiple platforms. The different forms of IR are also highlighted including hierarchical and flat IRs. Applications of IRs for program delivery across networked computers are also discussed. The use of just-in-time (JIT) compilation as a method for speeding up program execution is also mentioned.