4 ms·
Strange article, since there's not some central arbiter that defines the "transpiler" word.
by tyingq 5y ago
Strange article, since there's not some central arbiter that defines the "transpiler" word.
- tokai 5y agoStrange comment, since the semantics of all words are debatable and no central arbiter can be more than an opinion.
- tyingq 5y agoEr, okay. In the tech space, there are often words that refer back to some real or de-facto owner, or strong pattern of historical use. I'm saying this is a case where that isn't true. Making definitive statements about what is, and what isn't a transpiler, is difficult.
- ch4s3 5y agoIt always seems odd to me that there's the separate word "transpiler" that seems to mean compiler that targets JavaScript. I don't really encounter it anywhere else.
- chrisseaton 5y agoYou can transpile to any language. It isn’t specific to JavaScript.
- ch4s3 5y agoI guess I would just use the. word compile. I'm not sure the "similar level of abstraction" distinction always holds a lot of meaning and just feel like splitting hairs to me. But maybe I'm missing something.
- tyingq 5y agoI think that was an attempt to exclude traditional compilers from being transpilers. Like 'C' is not at a similar level of abstraction to ASM or a compiled executable.
- tyingq 5y agoI'm sure there were earlier references, but the first time I'd heard the word was around z80 <-> 8080 ASM translation tools.
- dagw 5y agoThe first transpilers where used to translate between different assembly dialects to help with porting software between platforms. The term then kind of disappeared until the JavaScript community resurrected it