href="tdsclient.html">SQL Server</a>, <a
href="sqlite.html">SQL Lite</a>, <a
href="mysql.html">MySQL</a>, <a
- href="postgresql">PostgresSQL</A>, <a href="oledb.html">Ole
+ href="postgresql.html">PostgresSQL</A>, <a href="oledb.html">Ole
DB</a> and <a href="odbc.html">ODBC</a>.
<li> Mono includes full LDAP support.
<a name="gcc"></a>
** Mono and GCC
-Q: Are you working on a GCC front-end to C#? A GCC back-end that will
- generate CIL images?
+Q: Are you working on a GCC front-end to C#?
-A: We would love to see a GCC modification that would generate CIL
- images, but there is nothing at this point.
+A: We are not working on a GCC front-end for C#
- The open64 compiler effort from SGI already has modified GCC to
- generate a new intermediate language instead of RTL. This could be
+Q: Will you support C/C++ on the Mono VM?
+
+A:The open64 compiler effort from SGI helps a lot in this direction.
+
+ The Open64 compiler is a modified version of GCC that
+ generates a new intermediate language instead of RTL. This could be
the foundation to generate CIL code, and to implement the upcoming
Managed extensions to C++ from ECMA.
+ Open64 (and other derivative forks of GCC) split the gcc front-ends
+ from the backends by using the WHIRL intermediate representation.
+ Kris has begun the implementation of a translator from WHIRL to CIL.
+
+ So it will be possible to use the GCC compilers to target the CIL.
+
+Q: What about Managed C++?
+
+A: Once a full translator for WHIRL exists, we are interested in
+ looking at expanding the GCC frontends to include extensions for
+ Managed C++.
+
Q: What about making a front-end to GCC that takes CIL images and
generates native code?
A: There is no active work on this area, but Mono already provides
pre-compilation services (Ahead-of-Time compilation).
-Q: But would this work around the GPL in the GCC compiler and allow
- people to work on non-free front-ends?
-
-A: People can already do this by targeting the JVM byte codes (there
- are about 130 compilers for various languages that target the JVM).
<a name="performance"></a>
** Performance