Selfie – Tiny self-compiling C compiler, RISC-V emulator and hypervisor
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Submission timeline
2007–2026One slot for every year since HN launched. Height is that year's peak points; orange marks a 100+ point or 50+ comment breakout. Select a bar to open its strongest thread.
First comments on top threads
HN comment orderA thread from 2017: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13778353 (Such links are for the curious. Reposts are ok after about a year: https://news.ycombinator.com/newsfaq.html)
This is a really, really cool project. Some fun quotes: > In fact, selfie goes one step further by implementing microkernel functionality as part of the emulator and a hypervisor that can run as part of the emulator, on top of the emulator, and even on top of itself, all with the same code. > The design of the compiler is inspired by the Oberon compiler of Professor Niklaus Wirth from ETH Zurich. The design of the selfie microkernel is…
From the project’s README [1]: > Selfie is implemented in a single (!) file and kept minimal for simplicity. There is also a simple in-memory linker, a RISC-U disassembler, a garbage collector, L1 instruction and data caches, a profiler, and a debugger with replay as well as minimal operating system support in the form of RISC-V system calls built into the emulator and hypervisor. The garbage collector is conservative and even self-collecting. It may operate as library in the same…
The first top-level comment from each of the four biggest threads, in HN’s own order. Excerpts are shortened; open a comment for full context.
- Breakout years
- 3
- Total points
- 697
- Total comments
- 85
100+ points or 50+ comments
reference only — not used in Hall rules or ranking
reference only — not used in Hall rules or ranking
Every submission
| Date | Title as submitted | By | Points | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-03-02 | Selfie: tiny self-compiling C compiler, MIPS emulator and MIPS hypervisorFirst breakout | ingve | 249 | 38 |
| 2020-02-26 | Selfie – Tiny self-compiling C compiler, RISC-V emulator and hypervisorBest thread | giancarlostoro | 261 | 29 |
| 2023-01-16 | selfie – A tiny RISC-V C compiler, emulator and hypervisorLatest 20+ point return | peter_d_sherman | 187 | 18 |