Compiling Lisp to Bytecode and Running It

Andrew Healey discusses the process of compiling Lisp to bytecode and executing it in a custom virtual machine (VM). The article begins with a brief overview of a previous project involving a simple VM for Advent of Code, which evaluated a list of instructions. The current focus is on compiling a variant of Lisp, based on Little Lisp, into bytecode that can be executed by a stack-based VM. The author provides examples of how Lisp expressions are translated into bytecode instructions, including operations like addition and conditional jumps. The VM's structure is outlined, detailing how it processes bytecode instructions, manages stack frames, and handles closures. The performance of the VM is described as naive, with potential improvements suggested, such as optimizing memory access and using more efficient data structures. The article concludes with a reflection on the design choices made and a link to the source code on GitHub, along with a recommendation for further reading on bytecode VMs.

- Andrew Healey compiles Lisp to bytecode for execution in a custom VM.

- The VM processes bytecode instructions, including arithmetic and control flow.

- Performance optimizations for the VM are discussed, including memory management.

- The source code is available on GitHub for further exploration.

- The article serves as a resource for those interested in bytecode virtual machines.