Terminology

This section covers the various terms used throughout the documentation.

• Lexer: converts the raw code into a list of Tokens
• Parser: takes the output of the lexer and creates an Abstract Syntax Tree (AST)
• Lowering: "lowers" the AST into an Intermediate Representation (IR)
• Intermediate Representation: different representation of the code than the AST, better suited for analysis and optimization
• Backend/Code Generator: converts the IR into the final output (the .pex file)