What is Crystal written in?
Crystal is a programming language, first released in 2014.
Implementation
| Layer | Written in | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Bootstrap | Ruby (since 2014) | Crystal compiler bootstrapped from Ruby |
| Compiler | Crystal (since 2015) | Crystal compiler is self-hosting |
| Compiler | LLVM (since 2014) | Crystal compiler uses LLVM backend |
| Compiler | Ruby (since 2014) | Crystal compiler bootstrapped from Ruby initially |
Self-hosting
Crystal is a self-hosting language: its compiler is written in Crystal itself. Self-hosting means the compiler can compile its own source code, which is a milestone in a language's maturity. New versions of the compiler are built using an older version of the same compiler, a process called bootstrapping.
Self-hosting also acts as a practical stress test: if a language can compile its own compiler, most core language features have been validated in a complex, real-world workload. See what is compiler bootstrapping for a full explanation.
Explore in the Graph
See Crystal's full lineage, including all implementation and influence relationships, in the interactive graph.
Open Interactive Graph →Or view the Crystal language page for the complete record.