Dana Compiler

A compiler for the Dana programming language. Dana is an educational programming language designed as a semester project for the Compilers Course (8th semester) in ECE NTUA.

Features

• Frontend: Lexer (Flex) with layout handling, LALR(1) parser (Bison), AST construction
• Semantic Analysis: Type checking, symbol resolution, control flow validation
• LLVM Backend: Code generation, optimization passes
• Dana Runtime Library: Built-in functions, with similar behavior to their C counterparts.

Documentation

Comprehensive documentation is available in the docs/ folder:

• Language Reference - Complete Dana language specification
• Architecture Overview - Compiler architecture and design
• Building and Usage - How to build and use the compiler
• API Reference - Internal API documentation

Example Programs

def hello
   writeString: "Hello world!\n"

def main
    def factorial is int: n as int
        if n <= 1: return: 1
        else: return: n * factorial(n - 1)
    
    var n result is int
    n := readInteger()
    result := factorial(n)
    writeString: "Factorial: "
    writeInteger: result
    writeString: "\n"

For more examples, see the tests/programs directory.

Project Structure

dana_compiler/
├── src/
│   ├── frontend/             # Lexer, parser, AST, semantic analysis
│   ├── backend/              # Code generation, optimization
│   ├── runtime/              # Runtime library
│   └── main.cpp              # Compiler driver
├── tests/
│   ├── programs/             # Valid test programs
│   └── programs-erroneous/   # Programs that should fail
├── docs/                     # Documentation
└── dana2025.pdf              # Language specification

Quick Start

Option 1: Pre-built Binary (Recommended - No Build Required)

Download the latest release from GitHub Releases:

# Download and extract
wget https://github.com/geokoko/dana_compiler/releases/latest/download/danac-linux-x64.tar.gz
tar xzf danac-linux-x64.tar.gz

# Install system-wide
sudo mv danac /usr/local/bin/

# Use it!
danac myprogram.dana && ./a.out

Option 2: Build from Source

git clone https://github.com/geokoko/dana_compiler.git
cd dana_compiler

# Install dependencies (auto-detects your package manager)
# Supports: Ubuntu/Debian (apt), Fedora/RHEL (dnf/yum)
make deps

# Build and install
sudo make install

# Use it!
danac myprogram.dana && ./a.out

Having issues? See Manual Installation for step-by-step instructions.

Dependencies installed automatically

• Build essentials (gcc, g++, make)
• Clang 18 (with C++17 support)
• LLVM 18 (development libraries)
• Flex & Bison
• Python 3 with pip and pytest

Build Commands

make            # Build compiler
make deps       # Install dependencies (auto-detects package manager)
make install    # Install to /usr/local/bin (needs sudo)
make uninstall  # Remove installation
make test       # Run test suite (requires prior build)
make clean      # Clean build artifacts

Supported Distributions

The make deps command works on:

• Ubuntu/Debian (apt) - LLVM 18 installed via official llvm.sh
• Fedora/RHEL (dnf/yum) - uses system LLVM packages

Usage

Basic Compilation

# Compile a Dana program (generates a.out in current directory)
danac program.dana

# Run the compiled program
./a.out

Compiler Flags

danac [OPTIONS] <file.dana>

Options:
  --ast-tree       Print the abstract syntax tree after parsing
  --emit-ir        Emit LLVM IR to stdout instead of compiling
  -O0              No optimization (default)
  -O1              Basic optimizations
  -O2              Moderate optimizations
  -O3              Aggressive optimizations

Examples

# Compile with optimizations
danac -O3 program.dana && ./a.out

# View generated LLVM IR
danac --emit-ir program.dana > program.ll

# Debug: view AST structure
danac --ast-tree program.dana

# Compile and run with input
./a.out < input.txt