Can I compile code from multiple languages together with LLVM?

Question

Can I write a program in two different languages and compile them together in one LLVM executable?

For example, part of my program is in C++, and part of it is in D.

the compiler is allowed to say yes, maybe but the ABI will surely say no no no — user2485710
– user2485710, Commented Jun 5, 2014 at 21:34

Eli Bendersky · Accepted Answer · 2014-06-05 21:39:21Z

5

Not in the general case. Only if the languages are ABI-compatible. This is true for C and C++ to a very limited degree (extern "C" code from the C++ side), and much less so for other languages.

answered Jun 5, 2014 at 21:39

Eli Bendersky

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4 Comments

Victor L Over a year ago

Shouldn't such compatibility be much easier if both languages are compiled with LLVM?

Eli Bendersky Over a year ago

@VictorLyuboslavsky: if you invest extra work into it. Both Julia and Haskell (via GHC) compile to LLVM IR. It doesn't mean you can just call any Haskell function from Julia

shrm Over a year ago

@EliBendersky If they both compile to LLVM-IR, can the two IRs be combined using llvm-link and then be interpreted with lli successfully?

Eli Bendersky Over a year ago

@mishr: no, it's not that simple. LLVM IR cannot represent any non-trivial data structures - this is the ABI, and the frontend handles this. So if you pass some object from one language to another, LLVM IR cannot magically know how to decompose the object in one language and rebuild it in another.

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