MSIL compiler - add support for C++

[GitMensch]

As brought up to #369 this should be make possible some day, to be able to compile it with itself, creating a MSIL compiler that runs as MSIL

This is not intended to be any priority, just "a ticket to remember".

[chuggafan]

http://www.ecma-international.org/publications/files/ECMA-ST/ECMA-372.pdf In case you're wondering btw, this is the PDF of the C++/CLI spec. It'd be awesome to try to get a second C++/CLI compiler in existence, but it's still a big project to undertake.

[LADSoft]

yeah this is probably the lowest priority thing I've got to do :).

FWIW I had never used C++/CLI before I wrote the msil compiler, so it wouldn't be conformant with even the C portions. Mostly it is a C compiler with enough C++ (for example namespaces and simple classes) to be able to compile straight C programs while importing managed code...

[LADSoft]

I found out today that while C++/CLI syntax is standardized, Microsoft isn't supporting it in relation to the latest push to go to using .NET core 2.0. Apparently the cost to support it is prohibitive...

[chuggafan]

Yhea, cost of support for more than 1 compiler would be fairly prohibitive, but as far as I can tell they're still supporting it on windows. It's more of a side thing in all honesty than something we should absolutely focus on. But getting to that standard syntax would probably be helpful for some people.

[bencz]

Hi David! support for C ++/CLI will be removed soon :/ "C++/CLI is not mentioned in 'The .NET Language Strategy' by Mads Torgersen, posted February 1, 2017." ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C%2B%2B/CLI ) Look at this issue: dotnet/wpf#607 ( search for C++ )

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On 11/07/2019 12:33, David Lindauer wrote: I found out today that while C++/CLI syntax is standardized, Microsoft isn't supporting it in relation to the latest push to go to using .NET core 2.0. Apparently the cost to support it is prohibitive... — You are receiving this because you are subscribed to this thread. Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#371?email_source=notifications&email_token=AAI6XMHIWMV7XO6JQZAUPF3P65HDVA5CNFSM4H4T2H62YY3PNVWWK3TUL52HS4DFVREXG43VMVBW63LNMVXHJKTDN5WW2ZLOORPWSZGODZXCWFY#issuecomment-510536471>, or mute the thread <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AAI6XMDXRLI5EVWPDGOHTMTP65HDVANCNFSM4H4T2H6Q>.

[GitMensch]

@LADSoft wrote:

I found out today that while C++/CLI syntax is standardized, Microsoft isn't supporting it in relation to the latest push to go to using .NET core 2.0. Apparently the cost to support it is prohibitive...

Yes, standardized as ECMA-372. From the quoted .NET Core 3.0 issue I see C++/CLI being better integrated and from the article on Wikipedia it seems available in the default .NET framework since VS 2005 (and newer, including 2019).

@bencz wrote:

support for C ++/CLI will be removed soon :/

I have no clue how you come to this conclusion from the referenced links. Can you please elaborate?

[LADSoft]

yeah much later it turned out the conclusion was premature... apparently there is going to be a small window where CLI isn't available from microsoft (although apparently GCC supports it lol) but microsoft is going to fully support it again within a couple of years.

[bencz]

@GitMensch .... is based on the links and also the compiler output ...

[LADSoft]

hm you don't get those warnings if you compile with just /clr

[bencz]

I think it's a good idea to keep an eye on this issue: https://github.com/dotnet/coreclr/issues/659#issuecomment-570452066

Look at the last messages....

[GitMensch]

The most important seems to be MS announcement https://devblogs.microsoft.com/cppblog/the-future-of-cpp-cli-and-dotnet-core-3/

[LADSoft]

yeah seems like it might be nice to support this some day... be quite a while based on the current workload before I could get to it though. Sometimes I wish I had help...

[bencz]

Hi David!
What kind of help you need ?

[LADSoft]

@bencz, well ,write me a compiler? lol no really there are a lot of feature requests and it will be forever until I get to them all, even help with some of the smaller issues would be nice...

I am going to write a detailed thing about how to port this as soon as I get past #297, maybe someone will want to pick up the powerpc port. While that is the kind of thing I love to do myself it is probably also one of the easiest things for someone else to pick up lol!

[bencz]

https://devblogs.microsoft.com/cppblog/porting-a-c-cli-project-to-net-core/

[LADSoft]

thanks!

I was thinking again about writing documents about porting this thing... it is a big deal though because of the assembler...