Cranelift

Cranelift is a retargetable code generator developed by the Bytecode Alliance. It is designed to be a fast and lightweight alternative to traditional compilers, primarily targeting ahead-of-time (AOT) and just-in-time (JIT) compilation use cases.

Cranelift distinguishes itself by focusing on single-pass compilation and avoiding complex optimization passes commonly found in more traditional compiler toolchains. Its key design goal is to produce reasonably efficient code quickly, making it well-suited for environments where compile time is a critical performance factor.

The architecture of Cranelift is centered around a register machine Intermediate Representation (IR). This IR is designed to be low-level enough to facilitate efficient code generation for various target architectures, while still being abstract enough to allow for some high-level optimization techniques. The register machine IR enables Cranelift to directly map operations to machine instructions in a streamlined manner.

Cranelift supports a variety of target architectures, including x86-64, AArch64, and WebAssembly. It is actively used in the development of WebAssembly runtimes and other performance-sensitive applications.

One of Cranelift's core features is its support for verifiable compilation. This feature aims to ensure the correctness of the generated code by providing mechanisms to verify that the compiler's transformations are valid and preserve the semantics of the original program. Verifiable compilation is an important aspect for ensuring the reliability and security of compiled software.

In summary, Cranelift is a fast, retargetable code generator emphasizing single-pass compilation and verifiable correctness, targeting use cases where compile-time speed is paramount.