Oxiphant

A PHP subset compiler written in Rust (oxidizing elephant). This project compiles a subset of PHP to x86-64 assembly, which is then compiled to an executable using GCC.

Overview

Oxiphant is a compiler that translates PHP code into executable binaries through a multi-stage compilation process. The compiler supports a subset of PHP features including variables, basic arithmetic operations, control flow statements, and simple I/O.

Data Flow

The following diagram illustrates the data flow through the Oxiphant compiler system:

flowchart TD
    A[PHP Source Code] --> B[Lexer]
    B --> C[Tokens]
    C --> D[Parser]
    D --> E[Abstract Syntax Tree]
    E --> F[Type Checker]
    F --> G[Validated AST]
    G --> H[Code Generator]
    H --> I[Bytecode Instructions]
    I --> J[Assembly Generator]
    J --> K[Assembly Code]
    K --> L[GCC Compiler]
    L --> M[Executable Binary]

    subgraph "Lexical Analysis"
    B
    C
    end

    subgraph "Syntax Analysis"
    D
    E
    end

    subgraph "Semantic Analysis"
    F
    G
    end

    subgraph "Code Generation"
    H
    I
    J
    K
    end

    subgraph "Final Compilation"
    L
    M
    end

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Compilation Stages

1. Lexical Analysis: The source code is tokenized by the lexer, which converts the raw text into a sequence of tokens.

2. Syntax Analysis: The parser converts the token stream into an Abstract Syntax Tree (AST), which represents the hierarchical structure of the program.

3. Semantic Analysis: The type checker validates the AST, ensuring that operations are type-safe and semantically correct.

4. Code Generation:

   • The code generator converts the AST into bytecode instructions.
   • The assembly generator translates these instructions into x86-64 assembly code.

5. Final Compilation: GCC compiles the assembly code into an executable binary.

Project Structure

• src/: Source code for the compiler

  • lexer.rs: Tokenizes PHP source code
  • parser.rs: Parses tokens into an AST
  • typechecker.rs: Validates the AST
  • codegen.rs: Generates bytecode instructions
  • asmgen.rs: Generates assembly code
  • error.rs: Error handling utilities
  • ast.rs: AST data structures
  • lib.rs: Main library interface
  • main.rs: Command-line interface

• tests/: Test scripts and utilities

  • scripts/: PHP test scripts
  • output/: Compiled executables and assembly files

Usage

Compiling a PHP Script

cargo run --bin oxiphant <input.php> [output.exe]

Or use the provided PowerShell script:

.\compile_test.ps1 <script_name>

Running a Compiled Script

./<output.exe>

Or use the provided PowerShell script:

.\run_test.ps1 <script_name>

Testing

The tests/ directory contains test scripts and utilities for testing the compiler. See tests/README.md for more information.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Why Oxiphant?

The name "Oxiphant" is a fusion of two key elements that define this project:

• Oxi from "oxidizing" - a nod to Rust, the programming language used to build this compiler. Rust is often associated with the term "oxidizing" (as opposed to "corroding"), symbolizing its focus on safety and performance.

• phant from "elephant" - representing PHP, whose logo is the well-known blue elephant.