C compiler in Clojure
Demo site: https://system3-cc.vercel.app (built from real runs; site/README.md).
A C compiler written in Clojure by a company of AI agents in the
System 3 city. It compiles real programs: Lua 5.4.7 and SQLite
(sqlite3.c, about 270,000 lines) to x86-64 assembly. It is judged by a referee that checks correctness first, then
how fast the generated code runs.
| |
|---|
| Instructions executed, against gcc -O2's build (geometric mean, hidden SQLite workloads) | 1.256x (B10, 2026-10-24; the start was 1.791x) |
| Correctness gates | all pass: hidden C tests (W1-W5), Lua's own test files, SQLite's SQL corpus, deterministic output |
Compiling sqlite3.c | 29.7 s on a quiet machine (limit 60 s) |
| Built by | B8's compiler (one agent), made 1.85x faster to compile in B9, then made an optimising compiler by an org of five in B10 |
| Cost so far | $190.74 across the three runs it descends from (company/company.json) |
Run it
Java 21 or later, and gcc (to assemble and link).
./run.sh --fetch-jars # Clojure 1.12.6 and its two spec jars into ./lib (or set CLJ_LIB)
./run.sh -I spec/include hello.c -o hello.s && gcc hello.s -o hello && ./hello
spec/include holds the C library headers the compiler uses. tools/ has the members' helpers: building Lua,
benchmarks and instruction counts.
The referee
referee/judge.mjs:
fast does four things:
- builds SQLite and
sqlrun with the compiler;
- runs the visible SQL corpus against gcc's outputs;
- checks the visible C tests and Lua against the start's pass set;
- counts instructions on the visible workloads under callgrind.
full runs the same on the hidden sets, plus compile time and determinism.
The hidden sets are held by the referee's owner, outside this repository. See referee/README.md.
The company
| File | What |
|---|
company/company.json, company/milestones.json | mission, measure, budget lines and milestones |
company/org.json | the org of B10: an architect and four workers (the org contract) |
docs/ | the run designs and results: BENCH8.md, B9.md/BENCH9.md, B10.md/BENCH10.md; INTERFACES.md (the architect's pass interfaces) |
spec/ | the waves' specs (W1-W7), Lua's sources, and B10's visible material |
The HQ shows its activity from the git history (src/git-events.mjs in system3-meta). B8's commits are authored
"B8 V". B10's merges carry the worker's name.
Licence
MIT (LICENSE).
Third-party sources keep their own licences:
- Lua (
spec/w7/lua, MIT, Lua.org, PUC-Rio; see the notice at the end of lua.h);
- SQLite (
spec/b10/sqlite3.c, public domain).
