SPIRV-LLVMDoes it work on the backend architecture?

[leikang123]

Does it work on the backend architecture? Are there any resources in this regard, what is the purpose of this translator project, and does it work on the back-end architecture? Or something else?

[MrSidims]

I would separate translator into 2 parts:

1. The first one that generates SPIR-V. Across compilers for heterogeneous languages it's used a FE to generate SPIR-V IR. There are several types of such FE, for example GLSL and Vulkan have their own SPIR-V generators. What to do with such SPIR-V IR - is up to the appropriate device's backend.
2. The second part of the translator generates back LLVM IR. It can be used (though not necessarily) by various SPIR-V consumers across different devices' backends, which are on their own are built on LLVM infrastructure. Yet again, you can already generate machine code right from SPIR-V, but AFAIK several vendors are transforming SPIR-V IR to LLVM IR to be used it later in their backend, for example Intel Graphics Compiler does that, see https://github.com/intel/intel-graphics-compiler .