Lexicon Entry
Intermediate Representation (IR)
A compiler's internal representation of a program, sitting between the source language and target machine code. Designed to be language-independent and target-independent.
Related Knowledge & Cross-References
Guide
The Ultimate Guide to Compiler Optimization Passes: Boosting Performance with -O2
You have written your code, but how does the compiler make it run three times faster when you enable optimizations? We demystify compiler optimization passes and see exactly what happens under the hood.
Guide
LLVM IR Tutorial: The Hidden Language Between Your C Code and Assembly
Master LLVM IR in this hands-on tutorial. Learn SSA form, basic blocks, and PHI nodes with real Clang output and Godbolt examples — from C to IR to x86-64 and ARM64.