Throw‐away compiling

Abstract A method of compiling called ‘throw‐away compiling’ is presented. This combines the merits of compilation and interpretation. If enough storage is available for a program, it can be compiled in the normal way; if not, the program is stored in a concise intermediate form and compiled dynamically at run‐time, making use of whatever storage is available. When this storage runs out, the previously compiled code is thrown away and the storage is re‐used. The technique is specially suitable for small machines, especially those without virtual memory. The paper explains the advantages and disadvantages of throw‐away compiling, and describes a project where a throw‐away compiler was implemented and tested for performance.