How do I translate CIL to LLVM IR?

Question

I want to compile C# to LLVM IR. So I think translate compiled CIL to LLVM IR is one way I can try.

There are some tools I can use such as vmkit and mono-llvm.

Is anybody using this tools? Or how can I translate CIL to LLVM?

Answer 1

To get LLVM IR code from CIL you need to use the tool il2bc (other name C# Native) which you can download from http://csnative.codeplex.com/.

You just need to perform some simple steps.

Il2Bc.exe <Your DLL>.dll

If you want to generate an executable from it, you need to compile the generated .ll file (LLVM IR Code).

For example, you have your "Hello World" app

1. Compile it (it will generate a helloworld.ll file)

   Il2Bc.exe helloworld.cs /corelib:CoreLib.dll
   

2. Generate LLVM IR file for the core library (it will generate corelib.ll file)

   Il2Bc.exe CoreLib.dll
   

3. You need to generate an EXE file (it will generate a .EXE file):

   llc -filetype=obj -mtriple=i686-w64-mingw32 CoreLib.ll
   llc -filetype=obj -mtriple=i686-w64-mingw32 helloworld.ll
   g++ -o helloworld.exe helloworld.obj CoreLib.obj -lstdc++ -lgc-lib -march=i686 -L .