NAME

       clif - C-like Interpreter Framework (v0.92)

SYNOPSIS

       clif [ option | filename ]...

WARNING

       The  information  in this manual page can be incomplete. For full documentation see `The Interpreter Clif
       Programmer's Guide'.

DESCRIPTION

       Clif - C-like Interpreter Framework is open-ended system for fast development of programs with C  syntax.
       The  program  is  compiled and if syntactic correct, code is immediately generated. The code is generated
       for a virtual machine. The virtual machine is a part of the framework.

       The Clif works in two basic modes as an interpreter and/or as a compiler  (see  `-fhandle-main'  option).
       The  interpreter mode is default.  In the interpreter mode, the Clif compiles each function and each loop
       only once and generated code is executed repetitively. (This is kind of optimization; the source code  is
       not parsed over and over again.)

       The  compiler  mode is entered if `-fhandle-main' option is specified. The files are compiled and code is
       generated. When the compilation phase is finished, Clif searches  for  the  `main'  function  and  starts
       execution of it.

       The  Clif  is  submitted  with  subset  of  standard  C  library.  The subset is still under development.
       Intrinsic functions can be easily enhanced for user's purposes.

       There are interface functions supporting automatic control and data acquisition, that can  be  optionally
       compiled with Clif.

       The  Clif  does  not  recognize bit-field definition syntax of the C language.  The C preprocessor is not
       implemented yet.

       There could be discrepancies between the Clif and the ANSI C Standard.  We are  working  on  unifying  of
       semantic of the Clif with the ANSI C Standard.

OPTIONS

       For  each  command  line,  one or more filename can be specified (usually with .ci suffix). The files are
       parsed in order of specification in the command line. The file clif.ini is implicitly opened.  It  is  an
       initialization file. Options used invariably are specified in the file.

       Some  of  -fname  options  have  a  -fno-name  form.  Default  value  is  always  mentioned in the option
       description.  Summary of options follows. Explanations are in next sections.

       Overall Options
              -bc -c -copying -help -v -version -verbose -warranty

       Options Controlling Clif behavior
              -fcall-by-reference -fno-call-by-reference -fcall-by-value -fno-call-by-value -fhandle-main

       Debugging Options
              -g -dy

       Warning Options
              -w -Wcomment -Wformat -Wimplicit -Wreturn-type -Wtrigraphs -Wuninitialized -Wall -W
              -Waggregate-return -Wunused

OVERALL OPTIONS

       -bc    option  specifies  number of 512-Byte pages for the Clif environment main memory. The arithmetical
              and temporary stack is multiple of this option as well.

       -c     Compile only. (Not fully supported yet.)

       -copying
              Show copying.

       -help  Show short help.

       -v, -version
              Show version.

       -verbose
              Prints general purpose of the Clif and authors.

       -warranty
              Show warranty.

OPTIONS CONTROLLING CLIF BEHAVIOR

       -fcall-by-reference
              Specifies parameter passing mechanism (default).  If  explicitly  specified,  `-fno-call-by-value'
              must be specified as well.

       -fno-call-by-reference
              do  not  pass parameter by reference. If explicitly specified, `-fcall-by-value' must be specified
              as well.

       -fcall-by-value
              call by value parameter passing mechanism. If explicitly specified, `-fno-call-by-reference'  must
              be specified.

       -fno-call-by-value
              do  not pass parameters by value (default). If explicitly specified, `-fcall-by-reference' must be
              specified.

       -fhandle-main
              simulate compiler-like behavior. The files on the command line and included  files  are  compiled.
              The  `main' function must be defined. After parsing pass, the generated code is executed. The main
              function is the beginning of execution.

DEBUGGING OPTIONS

       -g     produce debugging information. The source lines are output during virtual machine code execution.

       -dy    dump debugging information during parsing to standard error.

WARNING OPTIONS

       -w     Inhibit all warning messages.

       -Wcomment
              Warn when a comment-start sequence `/*' appears in a comment.

       -Wformat
              Check calls to `printf', `scanf', etc., to make  sure  that  the  arguments  supplied  have  types
              appropriate to the specified format string.

       -Wimplicit
              Warn if a function or parameter is implicitly declared.

       -Wreturn-type
              Warn  if  the  return  statement  is without return value in non-void function, or with a value in
              `void´ function.

       -Wtrigraphs
              Warn about trigraphs usage.

       -Wuninitialized
              An automatic variable is used without first being initialized.

       -Wall  All of the above warnings.

       -W     Print extra warning messages.

       -Waggregate-return
              Warn if any functions that return structures or unions are defined or called.

       -Wunused
              Warn whenever a variable is unused aside from its declaration.

FILES

       file.ci        Clif source file
       clif.ini       Initialization file

SEE ALSO

       cc(1), gcc(1), as(1), ld(1), gdb(1), adb(1), dbx(1), sdb(1).
       The Interpreter Clif. Programmer's Guide., L. Koren and T. Hruz

BUGS

       There are many, for sure. Please, help to make this software better and  report  them  to  Ludovit  Koren
       <koren@vm.stuba.sk>. For instructions on reporting bugs, see the Interpreter Clif Programmer's Guide.

COPYING

       Copyright 1998, 1999, 2000 Free Software Foundation, Inc.

       Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of this manual provided the copyright notice
       and this permission notice are preserved on all copies.

       Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this manual under  the  conditions  for
       verbatim  copying,  provided  that  the entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
       permission notice identical to this one.

       Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual into another language, under the
       above  conditions  for  modified  versions,  except  that  this  permission  notice  may  be  included in
       translations approved by the Free Software Foundation instead of in the original English.

AUTHORS

       See the Interpreter Clif Programmer's Guide for the contributors to Clif.