Common Programming Language

A minimalist, dependency-free compiler for a C-like language that targets x86-32 assembly.

Overview

Common is a statically-typed systems programming language with:

• No runtime dependencies - compiles to standalone executables
• Direct C interoperability - call and be called by C code
• Predictable codegen - straightforward mapping to assembly
• Complete type system - 8 integer types, pointers, arrays
• Full control flow - if/else, loops, switch, functions
• Zero external dependencies - just libc, gcc, and nasm

Quick Start

Build the Compiler

gcc -o common common.c

Hello World

Create hello.cm:

void puts(uint8 *s);

int32 main(void) {
    puts("Hello, World!");
    return 0;
}

Compile and run:

./common hello.cm hello.asm
nasm -f elf32 hello.asm -o hello.o
gcc -m32 hello.o -o hello
./hello

Or use the Makefile:

make                    # Build compiler and test suite
make test               # Run all tests
make hello              # Build hello example
make examples           # Build all examples
make run-examples       # Build and run all examples

Documentation

For Users

• Quick Reference - One-page cheat sheet for syntax and operators
• Reference Manual - Complete language specification (80+ pages)
• Troubleshooting Guide - Solutions to common problems

For Developers

• Test Suite README - How to run and write tests
• Source Code - Well-commented compiler implementation

Language Features

Types

// Integers
int8  int16  int32  int64      // Signed
uint8 uint16 uint32 uint64     // Unsigned

// Pointers and arrays
int32 *ptr;                    // Pointer
int32 arr[10];                 // Array
uint8 *str = "text";           // String

Control Flow

if (x > 0) { ... }
while (x < 100) { ... }
for (int32 i = 0; i < n; i++) { ... }
switch (x) { case 1: ... break; }

Operators

// Arithmetic: + - * / %
// Comparison: == != < <= > >=
// Logical: && || !
// Bitwise: & | ^ ~ << >>
// Pointers: & *
// Increment: ++ --

Functions

int32 add(int32 a, int32 b) {
    return a + b;
}

int32 factorial(int32 n) {
    if (n <= 1) return 1;
    return n * factorial(n - 1);
}

Example Programs

All examples are in the examples/ directory:

Program	Description
hello.cm	Hello World
fibonacci.cm	Recursive Fibonacci
arrays.cm	Array operations
pointers.cm	Pointer manipulation
bubblesort.cm	Bubble sort algorithm
bitwise.cm	Bitwise operations
types.cm	Type casting examples
switch.cm	Switch statements
primes.cm	Prime number calculator
strings.cm	String functions
calculator.cm	Expression evaluator
linkedlist.cm	Linked list (simulated)

Build any example:

make fibonacci && ./fibonacci
make bubblesort && ./bubblesort

Test Suite

The test suite includes 60+ automated tests covering:

• Arithmetic and operators
• Variables and arrays
• Control flow
• Functions and recursion
• Pointers and type casting
• All integer types

Run tests:

make test
# or
./run_tests.sh

Compilation Pipeline

source.cm → [common compiler] → output.asm → [nasm] → output.o → [gcc] → executable

1. Common compiler: Parses source, generates NASM assembly
2. NASM: Assembles to ELF32 object file
3. GCC: Links with C runtime library

Requirements

• GCC with 32-bit support (gcc-multilib)
• NASM assembler
• Linux or compatible environment (WSL works)

Installation:

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt-get install build-essential gcc-multilib nasm

# Fedora/RHEL  
sudo dnf install gcc glibc-devel.i686 nasm

# Arch
sudo pacman -S gcc lib32-gcc-libs nasm

Language Limitations

• Single file compilation - no modules or includes
• No structs/unions - use arrays for structured data
• No floating point - integers only
• No preprocessor - no #define, #include
• 1D arrays only - simulate 2D with manual indexing
• Partial 64-bit support - types exist but ops truncate to 32-bit

See MANUAL.md for complete details and workarounds.

Implementation Details

Target: x86-32 (IA-32) ELF
Calling convention: cdecl
Stack alignment: 16-byte (System V ABI)
Registers:

• eax: return values, expressions
• ecx: left operand
• edx: scratch
• ebp: frame pointer
• esp: stack pointer

Code sections:

• .text: executable code
• .data: initialized globals, strings
• .bss: zero-initialized globals

Architecture

The compiler is a single-pass implementation in C99:

┌─────────────┐
│   Lexer     │ Tokenize source
├─────────────┤
│   Parser    │ Build AST
├─────────────┤
│  Type Check │ Infer expression types
├─────────────┤
│  Code Gen   │ Emit NASM assembly
└─────────────┘

Key components:

• Lexer (150 LOC): Tokenization with lookahead
• Parser (400 LOC): Recursive descent parser
• Type System (200 LOC): Type inference for pointer arithmetic
• Code Generator (800 LOC): Assembly emission

Total: ~2000 lines of C99

C Interoperability

Common can call C functions:

// Declare C functions
void printf(uint8 *fmt, ...);
void *malloc(uint32 size);
void free(void *ptr);

int32 main(void) {
    printf("Allocated %d bytes\n", 100);
    void *mem = malloc(100);
    free(mem);
    return 0;
}

C can call Common functions:

// common.cm
int32 compute(int32 x) {
    return x * x;
}

// main.c
extern int compute(int);
int main() {
    printf("%d\n", compute(10));
}

Compile:

./common common.cm common.asm
nasm -f elf32 common.asm -o common.o
gcc -m32 main.c common.o -o program

Comparison to C

Similar to C

• Syntax and semantics
• Type system (with fewer types)
• Pointer arithmetic
• Control flow
• Function calls (cdecl)

Different from C

• No preprocessor
• No structs/unions
• No enums
• No static/extern keywords
• No goto
• Single file only
• Simpler type system

Simpler than C

• No type qualifiers (const, volatile)
• No storage classes (auto, register)
• No function pointers (can cast to void*)
• No variadic function definitions
• No bitfields
• No flexible array members

Project Structure

.
├── common.c              # Compiler source (2000 LOC)
├── commonl               # Linker
├── Makefile              # Build automation
├── run_tests.sh          # Quick test script
│
├── MANUAL.md             # Complete language reference
├── QUICKREF.md           # One-page cheat sheet
├── TROUBLESHOOTING.md    # Problem solutions
├── README_TESTS.md       # Test suite documentation
│
├── test_runner.c         # Automated test harness
├── test_suite.cm         # Test suite
│
└── examples/             # Example programs
    ├── hello.cm
    ├── fibonacci.cm
    ├── arrays.cm
    ├── pointers.cm
    ├── bubblesort.cm
    ├── bitwise.cm
    ├── types.cm
    ├── switch.cm
    ├── primes.cm
    ├── strings.cm
    ├── calculator.cm
    └── linkedlist.cm

License

Public domain / CC0. Use freely for any purpose.

Credits

Inspired by:

• C - Dennis Ritchie and Brian Kernighan
• chibicc - Rui Ueyama's educational C compiler
• 8cc - Rui Ueyama's C compiler
• tcc - Fabrice Bellard's Tiny C Compiler

Built for programmers who value:

• Simplicity over features
• Control over convenience
• Learning over abstraction

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Start with the Quick Reference or dive into the Manual.