[zvrba]

LLVM IR is machine-independent, so the NIH accusation is not really fair.

MDIL is described to be the platform's native machine code + some extension tokens (to avoid direct encoding of pointers, for example).

A similar LLVM IR derivative would no longer be by a long shot something resembling LLVM IR, so the property of being "derivative" would not buy you anything.

[gsnedders]

LLVM IR is machine-independent? What? There's plenty that isn't machine-independent, from the obvious (e.g., x86_fp80), to the less obvious (to create IR in the first place one has to have knowledge of the target ABI), what integer types are supported (i64 isn't supported everywhere!), etc.

[barrkel]

LLVM IR is not machine independent, and is documented specifically as not designed to enable portable IR.

[Sephr]

PNaCl's LLVM IR is machine independent and can be used standalone without Chrome.

[gecko]

While true in a narrow sense, it does so by targeting the lowest common practical denominator—in practice, a chip that looks a lot like a 386 or 32-bit ARM with no SIMD pipeline. That puts it as little more than a better GNU Lightning.

[Sephr]

It has SIMD: https://developer.chrome.com/native-client/reference/pnacl-c...