> However, an even cooler move would be to make LLVM IR the official binary representation of OS X, and compile it as part of the install step of a new program.
I've wondered the same thing. In this respect the IR is analogous to Java bytecode, or C# CLI. In this context these share conceptual similarities, allowing for multiple languages to target the same runtime.
This would possibly open up iOS to being able to be more easily targeted by languages-that-aren't-Objective-C. As long as it compiles down to LLVM IR then this "binary" becomes language agnostic. (Actually, for all I know things like RubyMotion do this today. I haven't delved into it to find out.)
I've wondered the same thing. In this respect the IR is analogous to Java bytecode, or C# CLI. In this context these share conceptual similarities, allowing for multiple languages to target the same runtime.
This would possibly open up iOS to being able to be more easily targeted by languages-that-aren't-Objective-C. As long as it compiles down to LLVM IR then this "binary" becomes language agnostic. (Actually, for all I know things like RubyMotion do this today. I haven't delved into it to find out.)