8.6 Threaded Code
This Intermediate form of the program is derived from the fact that it is possible, for many High Level languages, to express and optimize the translated form of the program as a sequence of CALLs to certain primitive functions. Just as a thread strings beads together, the “thread” of control flow strings these functions together to achieve the intent of the source program.
The threaded code works in semi-interpretive mode and is amenable to machine-independent optimization. It is the basis for implementation of languages like FORTH, PostScript, GhostScript, Java Bytecode, .NET bytecode, etc. It was also used in the FORTRAN and COBOL compilers on PDP-11 and VAX-11 machines.
There are several ways in which a threaded code can ...
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