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|  | <title>Clang C Language Family Frontend for LLVM</title> | 
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|  | <h1>Clang: a C language family frontend for LLVM</h1> | 
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|  | <p>The Clang project provides a language front-end and tooling infrastructure | 
|  | for languages in the C language family (C, C++, Objective C/C++, OpenCL, | 
|  | CUDA, and RenderScript) for the <a href="https://www.llvm.org/">LLVM</a> | 
|  | project. Both a GCC-compatible compiler driver (<tt>clang</tt>) and an | 
|  | MSVC-compatible compiler driver (<tt>clang-cl.exe</tt>) are provided. You | 
|  | can <a href="get_started.html">get and build</a> the source today.</p> | 
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|  | <h2 id="goals">Features and Goals</h2> | 
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|  | <p>Some of the goals for the project include the following:</p> | 
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|  | <p><b><a href="features.html#enduser">End-User Features</a></b>:</p> | 
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|  | <ul> | 
|  | <li>Fast compiles and low memory use</li> | 
|  | <li>Expressive diagnostics (<a href="diagnostics.html">examples</a>)</li> | 
|  | <li>GCC & MSVC compatibility</li> | 
|  | </ul> | 
|  |  | 
|  | <p><b><a href="features.html#applications">Utility and | 
|  | Applications</a></b>:</p> | 
|  |  | 
|  | <ul> | 
|  | <li>Modular library based architecture</li> | 
|  | <li>Support diverse clients (refactoring, static analysis, code generation, | 
|  | etc.)</li> | 
|  | <li>Allow tight integration with IDEs</li> | 
|  | <li>Use the LLVM 'Apache 2' | 
|  | <a href="https://github.com/llvm/llvm-project/blob/main/LICENSE.TXT">License</a> | 
|  | </li> | 
|  | </ul> | 
|  |  | 
|  | <p><b><a href="features.html#design">Internal Design and | 
|  | Implementation</a></b>:</p> | 
|  |  | 
|  | <ul> | 
|  | <li>A real-world, production quality compiler</li> | 
|  | <li>A simple and hackable code base</li> | 
|  | <li>A single unified parser for C, Objective C, C++, and Objective C++</li> | 
|  | <li>Conformance with C/C++/ObjC and their variants</li> | 
|  | </ul> | 
|  |  | 
|  | <p>Of course this is only a rough outline of the goals and features of | 
|  | Clang.  To get a true sense of what it is all about, see the <a | 
|  | href="features.html">Features</a> section, which breaks | 
|  | each of these down and explains them in more detail.</p> | 
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|  | <h2>Why?</h2> | 
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|  | <p>Development of the new front-end was started out of a need | 
|  | for a compiler that allows better diagnostics, better integration with | 
|  | IDEs, a license that is compatible with commercial products, and a | 
|  | nimble compiler that is easy to develop and maintain.  All of these were | 
|  | motivations for starting work on a new front-end that could | 
|  | meet these needs.</p> | 
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|  | <h2>Current Status</h2> | 
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|  | <p>Clang is considered to | 
|  | be a production quality C, Objective-C, C++ and Objective-C++ compiler when | 
|  | targeting any target supported by LLVM. As example, Clang is used in | 
|  | production to build performance-critical software like Chrome or Firefox. | 
|  | <br />  If you are looking for source analysis or source-to-source | 
|  | transformation tools, Clang is probably a great solution for you. Please see | 
|  | the <a href="cxx_status.html">C++ status</a> page or the | 
|  | <a href="c_status.html">C status</a> page for more information about what | 
|  | standard modes and features are supported.</p> | 
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|  | <h2>Get it and get involved!</h2> | 
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|  |  | 
|  | <p>Start by <a href="get_started.html">getting the code, building it, and | 
|  | playing with it</a>.  This will show you the sorts of things we can do | 
|  | today and will let you have the "Clang experience" first hand: hopefully | 
|  | it will "resonate" with you. :)</p> | 
|  |  | 
|  | <p>Once you've done that, please consider <a href="get_involved.html">getting | 
|  | involved in the Clang community</a>.  The Clang developers include numerous | 
|  | volunteer contributors with a variety of backgrounds.  If you're | 
|  | interested in | 
|  | following the development of Clang, signing up for a mailing list is a good | 
|  | way to learn about how the project works.</p> | 
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