Intermediate Representation
Intermediate Representation (IR) is a data structure or code used internally by compilers, interpreters, and other language processing tools to represent source code in a language-agnostic, optimized form between the original input and the final output (e.g., machine code). It serves as an abstraction layer that enables various transformations, optimizations, and analyses without being tied to a specific source or target language. Common examples include LLVM IR, Java bytecode, and abstract syntax trees (ASTs).
Developers should learn about IR when working on compilers, interpreters, static analyzers, or performance optimization tools, as it is essential for implementing language features, cross-platform compatibility, and code optimization. It is particularly useful in projects involving just-in-time (JIT) compilation, language tooling, or when building domain-specific languages (DSLs) to decouple front-end parsing from back-end code generation.