The QBE compiler backend is designed to be a compact yet high-performance C embeddable backend that prioritizes correctness, simplicity, and user-friendliness. It compiles on various x64 operating systems and boasts features like IEEE floating point support, SSA-based intermediate language, and quick compilation times. While currently limited to x64 platforms, plans include ARM support and further enhancements. The backend has been successfully utilized in various projects, showcasing its adaptability and effectiveness in compiler development.

The article explains how tree traversals in programming can be optimized by compiling them to work on serialized tree structures without using pointers. This approach can make programs run significantly faster on current x86 architectures. The authors developed a prototype compiler for a functional language that generates efficient code for traversing trees using packed data representations.