What is Intermediate representation?

A form of the program inside a compiler that depends on neither the source language nor the target CPU. Most optimizations operate on it, separating language-specific front ends from CPU-specific back ends.

Field: Compilers

Intermediate representation in the explanations

Questions that mention Intermediate representation (4)

  1. What is the main advantage of using an intermediate representation (IR), independent of both source language and CPU, inside a compiler?
  2. Which describes three-address code, a kind of intermediate representation?
  3. Which describes the basic structure of LLVM?
  4. Which optimization does link-time optimization (LTO) make possible?

Related terms

LLVM Abstract syntax tree Basic block Common subexpression elimination Constant folding Control-flow graph Function inlining Instruction scheduling JIT compilation Lexical analysis

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