RE: VARPG Codegen (was threading in rpg)

-----Original Message-----
From: rpg400-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:rpg400-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of Hans Boldt
Sent: Friday, May 23, 2003 3:14 PM
To: rpg400-l@xxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: VARPG Codegen (was threading in rpg)


Steve Richter wrote:
> well, just for the sake of being argumentative and the advancement of
> technical knowledge, if you translate from w-code up to C, then that C
code
> can run on any platform that provides a C compiler.  ( os400 runtime
> requirements excluded of course ).  For example, how does the w-code to
> windows executable translated code behave in the .NET managed world?
Does
> IBM have to now allocate scarce resources to write a w-code to CLR managed
> code translator?  Is there a w-code to Linux executable translator also?

W-Code models a very low-level machine. W-Code was designed to make
things easier for compilers, and not for programmers. Implementing a
W-Code to C translator would make no sense whatsoever.

Also, how could you possibly have a W-Code to Linux translator?
Linux is an operating system kernel, not a machine architecture, and
has been ported to many different CPU's. W-Code is completely O/S
independent.

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Is W-Code lower level than MI?  An MI to C translator would only have
problems with the hardware specific items like exception handling, CALLX,
BASPCO.  I would assume that w-code is mi without the OS dependent opcodes.
The MI CPYNV, CPYBLA, CPYBLAP, SUB, ADD have one to one equivalents in C.
Did W-Code do away with compare and branch of MI and replace with a nested
IF .... End pair?  I am sure the great, programmer friendly data pointer was
killed!

C is pretty flexible in that it provides all the primitive data types +
function calls and scoping.  So I will stand by my assertion that it would
be worthwhile to have C as a common denominator option because of the
availablity of the C compiler on all platforms.

Is there a W-Code to linux capable executable translator separate from the
W-Code to windows executable translator.  If so, wouldnt a single W-Code to
C translator obviate the need for a w-code translator for each target
platform?

So, the technical question is, what is the difference between C and W-Code?

thanks,

-Steve