The My First Language Frontend with MLIR tutorial was just released, and it ships a ten‑chapter walkthrough that builds a working Kaleidoscope compiler in C++. Chapter 4 demonstrates adding JIT support with only a few lines of code, and Chapter 8 shows how to emit object files.
What the tutorial covers
Each chapter adds a concrete piece of functionality. It starts with a hand‑written lexer (Chapter 1) and moves through recursive‑descent parsing, AST construction, and MLIR code generation (Chapter 3). Later sections extend the language with control flow, user‑defined operators, and mutable variables, illustrating SSA construction and how MLIR lets you skip explicit SSA for mutable locals (Chapter 7). The final chapters add debug information and discuss optional extensions like garbage collection.
How to use it today
The guide assumes you know C++ but no prior compiler experience, making it a low‑bar entry point for teams that want to prototype a DSL or experiment with MLIR. The author encourages you to clone the repo, modify the code, and rerun the steps – it’s designed for rapid iteration rather than production‑grade code. All the source snippets are in the blog post, and the tutorial is freely available at whereisalan.dev.
Caveats to keep in mind
The tutorial deliberately avoids best‑practice software engineering: it relies on global variables, skips visitor patterns, and focuses on clarity over maintainability. As a result, the code is not a template for a production compiler and will need refactoring before you ship it in a product.
When to try it
If your startup is evaluating MLIR for a new language or needs a quick proof‑of‑concept for JIT‑enabled code generation, follow the tutorial now and use the resulting prototype as a baseline for deeper integration. Watch for the upcoming “slow‑pace” series from the same author if you need more background before diving in.
