- CSDL should support a variety of machine-level tools while remaining inde-pendent of any one in particular.

Abstract not found

The Zephyr project is partof an effort tobuild aNational Compiler Infrastructure, which will support research in compiling techniques and high-performance computing. Compilers work with source code, abstract syntax, intermediate forms, and machine instructions. By using high-level descriptions of the representations and semantics of these forms, we expect to be able to create compiler components that will be usable with different source languages, front ends, and target machines. To help deal with multiple machines, we are developing a family of Computer Systems Description Languages (CSDL) to describe properties that are relevant to the construction of compilers and other systems software. The languages describe properties of a machine’s instructions or its mutable state, or both. Of particular interest is the description of the semantics of instructions, i.e., their effects on the state of the machine. This report describes our design of λ-RTL, a CSDL language for specifying instructions’ semantics. We describe the effects of instructions using register transfer lists (RTLs). A register transfer list is a collection of assignments to locations, which represent registers, memory,