> more like an assembler than a compiler since there is no mess and it outputs C code. Yes, translating between closely related languages is often like this: t

> more like an assembler than a compiler since there is no mess and it outputs C code. Yes, translating between closely related languages is often like this: the mapping between their constructs is 1-to-1 and almost trivial. But try translating e.g. λ-calculus into C in one go, without separate lambda-lifting/closure-converting steps: it's absolutely doable but quite messy.