Editing Compiler (section)

==== Back end ====
The back end is responsible for the CPU architecture specific optimizations and for [[code generation (compiler)|code generation]].<ref name="Hjort Blindell, Gabriel"/>

The main phases of the back end include the following:
* ''Machine dependent optimizations'': optimizations that depend on the details of the CPU architecture that the compiler targets.<ref>Cooper and Toczon (2012), p. 540</ref> A prominent example is [[peephole optimization]]s, which rewrites short sequences of assembler instructions into more efficient instructions.
* ''[[Code generation (compiler)|Code generation]]'': the transformed intermediate language is translated into the output language, usually the native [[machine language]] of the system. This involves resource and storage decisions, such as deciding which variables to fit into [[Register allocation|registers]] and memory and the [[Instruction selection|selection]] and [[Instruction scheduling|scheduling]] of appropriate machine instructions along with their associated [[addressing mode]]s (see also [[Sethi–Ullman algorithm]]). Debug data may also need to be generated to facilitate [[debugging]].