LLVM with Morgan Wilde

Every program gets compiled down to 1s and 0s before it can be executed against hardware. Before being translated to machine code, programs that are written in a language like Rust, Swift, or Java spend time in an intermediate representation.

In Java, this intermediate representation is Java bytecode. Many different languages–such as Scala–translate to Java bytecode, because there has been lots of optimization written to speed up Java bytecode. Java bytecode runs on the JVM–the Java Virtual Machine.

LLVM is a project that draws inspiration from the Java Virtual Machine. LLVM originally meant “low level virtual machine” but today it is just called LLVM and describes a set of compiler tools.

In today’s interview with Morgan Wilde, we explore how compilers work, how different processor hardware architectures present a problem for compilers, and why LLVM’s intermediate representation creates a layer of interoperability for any language that compiles down to that intermediate representation.

Whether you are new to compilers or have experience, this episode will appeal to you. Morgan is an excellent teacher and his enthusiasm for the subject comes through. He has a 30-minute YouTube video–A Brief Introduction to LLVM that I highly recommend.

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