Matthias Felleisen wrote at 09/17/2011 12:27 PM:
What we really need is a #lang pre.
Would modules done in "#lang pre" provide an intermediate representation, so that different target architecture backends could require the module and emit FPGA HDL, JVM bytecode, some assembler, etc.?
If so, I wonder whether someone has enough a priori knowledge that they could do "#lang pre" from the start, or whether they'd have to work through at least a couple diverse target architectures before the abstractions "#lang pre" provides start to stabilize? (I don't know enough a priori knowledge myself, but someone else might.)
One way someone could get to this "#lang pre" incrementally: (1) develop, say, "#lang pre-fpga", focused on the mechanics of translation, not on modularity; (2) separate the "pre" and "fpga" parts into separate modules; (3) develop, say, "#lang pre-arm", using the same "pre" module from before, which means refactoring the "pre", "fpga", and "arm" modules together, and possibly adding units; (4) make a "#lang pre" based on the "pre" module, which might mean more refactoring of all of the modules to make an IR; (5) maybe do a third target architecture, or get other people using "#lang pre" for other targets, and refine "pre" based on that.
Note that step #1 above might be the most engaging way to start, with the most immediate gratification: you start typing code in a DrRacket window and hitting the Run button, and in half an hour you are starting to generate something that looks like code, and you go from there. The other steps might not be as fun, so we have to bait&switch.
An alternative loosely-coupled community process is for a few people to independently start the fun step #1 for different targets, and then maybe one of them gets hooked and decides to take it to "#lang pre", and they can all compare notes and code for the different targets.
Then there's LLVM, which you might use in some capacity, or you might decide there's a simpler or better way for your needs.
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