I am no expert in this field, but I was always wondering, are there issues that could theoretically come up, due to bugs in a previous implementation of the bootstrapped language and leave no way to resolve them?
So specifically, while the language is not bootstrapped, the developers work in a probably 100% tested and working language to implement theirs. Suppose they leave some bugs in the first implementation of their language, and they bootstrap it using their buggy first implementation. Could some of these bugs later be impossible to correct? Like they are on such a low level of the language that even the language constructs that would be needed to correct them are buggy, so they can't do it?
I vaguely remember reading a theoretical article about a compiler that would embed a virus in the result. If it propagated itself somehow, it could be impossible to remove it.
not impossible. build an interpreter for your language and run the compiler in it, to build itself. the result will likely not be "infected" since the compiler hook that reinserts itself misses its cue. (also: compilers with a different structure)
So specifically, while the language is not bootstrapped, the developers work in a probably 100% tested and working language to implement theirs. Suppose they leave some bugs in the first implementation of their language, and they bootstrap it using their buggy first implementation. Could some of these bugs later be impossible to correct? Like they are on such a low level of the language that even the language constructs that would be needed to correct them are buggy, so they can't do it?