Parrot+Compiler+Tools

=[|Parrot Compiler Tools]=

Parrot is able to natively compile and execute code in two low-level languages, PASM and PIR. These two languages, which are very similar to one another, are very close to the machine and analogous to assembly languages from hardware processors and other virtual machines. While they do expose the power of the PVM in a very direct way, PASM and PIR are not designed to be used for writing large or maintainable programs. For these tasks, higher level languages such as Perl 6, Python 3, Tcl, Ruby, and PHP are preferred instead, and the ultimate goal of Parrot is to support these languages and more. The question is, how do we get programs written in these languages running on Parrot? The answer is PCT.

PCT is a set of classes and tools that enable the easy creation of compilers for high level languages (HLLs) that will run on Parrot. PCT is itself written in PIR, and compiles HLL code down to PIR for compilation and execution on Parrot, but allows the compiler designer to do most work in a high-level dialect of the Perl 6 language. The result is a flexible, dynamic language that can be used for creating other flexible, dynamic languages.