Bootstrapping a compiler: why?

There’s a principle called “eating your own dogfood”. By using a tool, you demonstrate the usefulness of the tool.

It is often asked, “if the compiler for language X isn’t written in language X, why should I risk using it?”

This of course only applies to languages suitable for the domain of compiler writing.

Related Contents:

  1. Writing a compiler in its own language
  2. Bootstrapping still requires outside support
  3. What is an application binary interface (ABI)?
  4. Learning to write a compiler [closed]
  5. How does an interpreter/compiler work
  6. Learning Resources on Parsers, Interpreters, and Compilers [closed]
  7. How was the first compiler written?
  8. Correct suffix for Fortran 2003 source file – Intel Fortran compiler
  9. Is finding the equivalence of two functions undecidable?
  10. What’s the difference between parse trees and abstract syntax trees (ASTs)?
  11. Way to go from recursion to iteration
  12. Where to learn about VS debugger ‘magic names’
  13. Big-O for Eight Year Olds? [duplicate]
  14. How does an uninitiliazed variable get a garbage value?
  15. Why is the .bss segment required?
  16. Constants and compiler optimization in C++
  17. What is the point of interfaces in PHP?
  18. Compile, Build or Archive problems with Xcode 4 (and dependencies)
  19. Is the buildSessionFactory() Configuration method deprecated in Hibernate?
  20. What does it mean when a numeric constant in C/C++ is prefixed with a 0?
  21. combine two GCC compiled .o object files into a third .o file
  22. How to create a static library with g++?
  23. When / How does Linux load shared libraries into address space?
  24. Can placement new for arrays be used in a portable way?
  25. C compiler asserts – how to implement?
  26. What is referential transparency?
  27. Why is the phrase: “undefined behavior means the compiler can do anything it wants” true?
  28. Can I separate C++ main function and classes from Objective-C and/or C routines at compile and link?
  29. Delegate caching behavior changes in Roslyn
  30. What good are SQL Server schemas?
  31. How many GCC optimization levels are there?
  32. Adding scripting functionality to .NET applications
  33. Portability of #warning preprocessor directive
  34. Which C99 features are available in the MS Visual Studio compiler?
  35. Why don’t the C or C++ standards explicitly define char as signed or unsigned?
  36. What do C and Assembler actually compile to? [closed]
  37. Compiler Value Type Resolution and Hardcoded “0” Integer Values
  38. What does the -ObjC linker flag do?
  39. Update GCC on OSX
  40. Compile a referenced LESS file into CSS with PHP automatically
  41. Is it possible to install a C# compiler without Visual Studio?
  42. C# compiler number literals
  43. Haskell GHC: what is the time complexity of a pattern match with N constructors?
  44. How can I see parse tree, intermediate code, optimization code and assembly code during COMPILATION?
  45. Why only literal strings saved in the intern pool by default?
  46. default maven compiler setting
  47. What is the size of an empty struct in C?
  48. Understanding stack frame of function call in C/C++? [closed]
  49. Equivalent of Class Loaders in .NET
  50. How can I disable compiler warnings in Eclipse on a file specific basis? [duplicate]

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