bootstrap

1. operating system (From "to pull oneself up by one's

bootstraps") To load and initialise the operating system on

a computer. Normally abbreviated to "boot".

See bootstrap loader.

2. compiler (From "to pull oneself up by one's bootstraps")

to use a compiler to compile itself.

The usual process is to write an interpreter for a language,

L, in an existing language, M. The compiler is then written

in L and the interpreter is used to run it. This produces an

executable for compiling programs in L from the source of

the compiler in L.

This technique is often used to verify the correctness of a

compiler. It was first used in the LISP community.

See also my favourite toy language.

(27 November 1995)