C-Alpha Compiler

A modern compiler implementation for the C-Alpha programming language, featuring a complete toolchain with lexical analysis, parsing, semantic analysis, and code generation capabilities.

Features

• Complete Compiler Pipeline: Lexer, parser, semantic analyzer, and code generator
• Language Server Protocol (LSP): Full IDE support with syntax highlighting and error detection
• VS Code Extension: Integrated development environment support
• Comprehensive Testing: Unit and integration tests for all components
• Modern C++20: Built with modern C++ standards and best practices

Prerequisites

• C++ Compiler: GCC 11+ or Clang 18+ with C++20 support
• CMake: Version 3.20 or higher
• LLVM: Version 18+ (for advanced features)
• Git: For version control and submodules

Platform Support

• Windows 10/11 (MSVC 2019+)
• macOS 10.15+ (Xcode 12+)
• Ubuntu 20.04+ / Debian 11+

Build Instructions

Out-of-Source Build (Recommended)

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/Leinadix/C-Alpha.git
cd C-Alpha

# Create build directory
mkdir build && cd build

# Configure with CMake
cmake .. -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release

# Build the project
make -j$(nproc)

Debug Build

mkdir build-debug && cd build-debug
cmake .. -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug
make -j$(nproc)

Installation

# From build directory
make install

# Or specify custom prefix
cmake .. -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=/usr/local
make install

Running Tests

# From build directory
ctest --verbose

# Or run individual test suites
./test_compiler
./test_semantic
./test_codegen
./test_syscall

Usage

Compiler

# Compile an C-Alpha source file
./alpha_c input.calpha -o output

# With debug symbols
./alpha_c input.calpha -o output -g

# Show help
./alpha_c --help

Language Server

# Start the LSP server
./alpha_lsp --stdio

VS Code Extension

1. Install the extension from vscode-calpha/
2. Open an .calpha file
3. Enjoy syntax highlighting and error detection

Project Structure

C-Alpha/
├── src/                    # Core implementation
│   ├── lexer.cpp          # Lexical analyzer
│   ├── parser.cpp         # Syntax parser
│   ├── semantic.cpp       # Semantic analyzer
│   ├── codegen.cpp        # Code generator
│   └── preprocessor.cpp   # Preprocessor
├── include/               # Public headers
├── tests/                 # Test suites
├── lsp/                   # Language Server Protocol
├── vscode-calpha/         # VS Code extension
├── alpha/                 # Example programs
│   └── lib/std/          # Standard library
├── external/              # Third-party dependencies
└── docs/                  # Generated documentation

Code Style and Contributing

This project follows the LLVM Coding Standards.

Before Contributing

1. Format your code: clang-format -i src/**/*.cpp include/**/*.hpp
2. Run static analysis: clang-tidy src/**/*.cpp
3. Run tests: ctest
4. Update documentation: Add Doxygen comments for public APIs

Contribution Guidelines

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch: git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature
3. Make your changes following the code style
4. Add tests for new functionality
5. Commit your changes: git commit -m 'Add amazing feature'
6. Push to the branch: git push origin feature/amazing-feature
7. Open a Pull Request

For detailed contribution guidelines, see CONTRIBUTING.md.

Documentation

• API Documentation: Generated with Doxygen at docs/html/index.html
• Language Reference: See docs/language-reference.md
• Developer Guide: See docs/developer-guide.md

Continuous Integration

The project uses GitHub Actions for:

• Multi-platform builds: Ubuntu, macOS, Windows
• Multiple compilers: GCC, Clang, MSVC
• Code formatting: clang-format validation
• Static analysis: clang-tidy checks
• Test execution: Complete test suite
• Coverage reporting: Code coverage analysis

Versioning

This project follows Semantic Versioning 2.0.0:

• Major: Breaking changes
• Minor: New features (backward compatible)
• Patch: Bug fixes (backward compatible)

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Acknowledgments

• LLVM Project for compiler infrastructure inspiration
• nlohmann/json for JSON parsing in the LSP server
• The C++ community for modern language features

Support

• Issues: Report bugs and feature requests on GitHub Issues
• Discussions: Join the conversation on GitHub Discussions
• Documentation: Visit the project wiki