Compiler Architecture
This document describes the internal architecture of the Rive compiler.
Overviewโ
The Rive compiler is built in Rust and follows a multi-stage compilation process:
Source Code โ Lexer โ Parser โ AST โ Semantic Analysis โ Code Generation โ Target Code
Componentsโ
Lexerโ
The lexer (tokenizer) converts source code into tokens:
Parserโ
The parser builds an Abstract Syntax Tree (AST) from tokens:
Semantic Analysisโ
Semantic analysis performs type checking and name resolution:
- Liveness Analysis
- Escape Analysis
- Alias Analysis
- Inliner
Code Generationโ
Code generation produces target code (currently Rust-Oriented IR):
Memory Managementโ
Rive uses Auto Value Semantic (aka. AVS) system for memory safety:
- No garbage collector
- Compile-time memory safety
- Zero-cost abstractions
Error Handlingโ
The compiler provides detailed error messages:
rive::semantic
ร Variable 'x' type mismatch: expected 'Int', found 'Text'
โญโ[main.rive:2:18]
1 โ fun main() {
2 โ let x: Int = "hello"
ยท โโโโฌโโโ
ยท โฐโโ here
3 โ }
โฐโโโโ
Error: Semantic analysis failed
Target Platformsโ
Currently supported targets:
- x86_64 Linux
- x86_64 Windows
- x86_64 macOS
Developmentโ
Building the Compilerโ
git clone https://github.com/rive-lang/rive
cd rive
cargo build --release
Running Testsโ
cargo test
Code Organizationโ
โโโ crates/
โ โโโ rive-cli/
โ โโโ rive-codegen/
โ โโโ rive-core/
โ โโโ rive-ir/
โ โโโ rive-lexer/
โ โโโ rive-parser/
โ โโโ rive-semantic/
โ โโโ rive-utils/
โโโ Cargo.toml
Contributingโ
See Contributing Guide for details on how to contribute to the compiler.