Alan Compiler

Info and technical details about the ALAN compiler.

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Table of Contents

• Introduction
  • WinAlan: GUI Compiler
  • Alan CLI Compiler
• Compiler Source Code
  • Parser Generator

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Introduction

The ALAN compiler is found in the Alan SDK (Software Development Kit) along with the ARun interpreter, the ALAN Manual and some examples.

There are two versions of the compiler, one being a command-line tool only, the other providing a GUI (Graphical User Interface). The former is available for all OSs, whereas the latter is only available for Windows.

SDK version	Windows	Linux	MacOSX	setup method
Alan SDK (command line)	alan.exe	alan	alan	stand-alone
Alan SDK (GUI)	winalan.exe	✗	✗	installer

WinAlan: GUI Compiler

When launched, the GUI version of the compiler provides the user with a file selection dialog:

then, after attempting to compile the source adventure, WinAlan displays a compiler report:

Alan CLI Compiler

The command line (CLI) version is more flexible, allows full control over compiler options, can be used in toolchain scripts, and can be integrated with third party editors (e.g. the AlanIDE).

For more info on how to use the command line compiler, see The ALAN Manual:

• §A.1. Compiling
• §A.2. Compiler Switches

Compiler Source Code

The sources of the ALAN compiler can be found in the compiler/ folder of the ALAN IF source repository on GitHub.

Parser Generator

The ALAN compiler was built with the aid of ToolMaker, a proprietary toolset to generate compilers created by Thomas Nilefalk and his colleagues during the '90s.

Although resorting to ToolMaker isn't required unless the ALAN grammar needs to be changed, its sources have been made available in case necessity arises:

• https://github.com/thoni56/ToolMaker

ToolMaker includes ParserMaker, a parser generator for LALR-grammars, which is used for generating the ALAN parser.