Compiler Construction

A compiler translates a program written in a high level language into a program written in a lower level language. For students of computer science, building a compiler from scratch is a rite of passage: a challenging and fun project that offers insight into many different aspects of computer science, some deeply theoretical, and others highly practical. This book offers a one semester introduction into compiler construction, enabling the reader to build a simple compiler that accepts a C-like language and translates it into working X86 or ARM assembly language. It is most suitable for undergraduate students who have some experience programming in C, and have taken courses in data structures and computer architecture.

A refreshing antidote to heavy theoretical tomes, this book is a concise, practical guide to modern compiler design and construction by an acknowledged master. Readers are taken step-by-step through each stage of compiler design, using the simple yet powerful method of recursive descent to create a compiler for Oberon-0, a subset of the author's Oberon language. A disk provided with the book gives full listings of the Oberon-0 compiler and associated tools. The hands-on, pragmatic approach makes the book equally attractive for project-oriented courses in compiler design and for software engineers wishing to develop their skills in system software.

This book provides a practically-oriented introduction to high-level programming language implementation. It demystifies what goes on within a compiler and stimulates the reader's interest in compiler design, an essential aspect of computer science. Programming language analysis and translation techniques are used in many software application areas. A Practical Approach to Compiler Construction covers the fundamental principles of the subject in an accessible way. It presents the necessary background theory and shows how it can be applied to implement complete compilers. A step-by-step approach, based on a standard compiler structure is adopted, presenting up-to-date techniques and examples. Strategies and designs are described in detail to guide the reader in implementing a translator for a programming language. A simple high-level language, loosely based on C, is used to illustrate aspects of the compilation process. Code examples in C are included, together with discussion and illustration of how this code can be extended to cover the compilation of more complex languages. Examples are also given of the use of the flex and bison compiler construction tools. Lexical and syntax analysis is covered in detail together with a comprehensive coverage of semantic analysis, intermediate representations, optimisation and code generation. Introductory material on parallelisation is also included. Designed for personal study as well as for use in introductory undergraduate and postgraduate courses in compiler design, the author assumes that readers have a reasonable competence in programming in any high-level language.

Compilers and operating systems constitute the basic interfaces between a programmer and the machine for which he is developing software. In this book we are concerned with the construction of the former. Our intent is to provide the reader with a firm theoretical basis for compiler construction and sound engineering principles for selecting alternate methods, imple menting them, and integrating them into a reliable, economically viable product. The emphasis is upon a clean decomposition employing modules that can be re-used for many compilers, separation of concerns to facilitate team programming, and flexibility to accommodate hardware and system constraints. A reader should be able to understand the questions he must ask when designing a compiler for language X on machine Y, what tradeoffs are possible, and what performance might be obtained. He should not feel that any part of the design rests on whim; each decision must be based upon specific, identifiable characteristics of the source and target languages or upon design goals of the compiler. The vast majority of computer professionals will never write a compiler. Nevertheless, study of compiler technology provides important benefits for almost everyone in the field . • It focuses attention on the basic relationships between languages and machines. Understanding of these relationships eases the inevitable tran sitions to new hardware and programming languages and improves a person's ability to make appropriate tradeoft's in design and implementa tion .

Broad in scope, involving theory, the application of that theory, and programming technology, compiler construction is a moving target, with constant advances in compiler technology taking place. Today, a renewed focus on do-it-yourself programming makes a quality textbook on compilers, that both students and instructors will enjoy using, of even more vital importance. This book covers every topic essential to learning compilers from the ground up and is accompanied by a powerful and flexible software package for evaluating projects, as well as several tutorials, well-defined projects, and test cases.

Software -- Programming Languages.