Compiler Construction

Lecturer: Muhammad Fayyaz

Website: fayyazfayzi.com
Email: contact@fayyazfayzi.com
Course Objectives

 At the end of the course we will understand the overall

structure of a compiler
 know significant details of a number of important
techniques commonly used.
 aware of the way in which language features raise
challenges for compiler builders.
Course Syllabus
 Principles of Compilation
 Compiler Structure
 High-Level View of Translation
 Desirable Properties of a Compiler, Scanners, Parsers, Context-
Sensitive Analysis Intermediate Representations.
 The Procedure Abstraction, Code Shape, Code Optimization,
Data-Flow Analysis, Scalar Optimizations, Instruction Selection,
Instruction Scheduling, Register Allocation.
 Implementation of a prototype compiler (Lab Assignment for
the Semester)
Textbook(s)

 Engineering a Compiler, Second Edition by Keith

Cooper and Linda Torczon, Morgan Kaufmann;
2ndEdition (February 21, 2011). ISBN-10: 012088478X
 Reference Material
 Compilers: Principles, Techniques, and Tools By Alfred V. Aho,
Ravi Sethi, Jeffrey D.Ullman, Contributor Jeffrey D. Ullman ,
Prentice Hall; 2ndEdition (2006). ISBN-10: 0321486811
 Modern Compiler Design, By Dick Grune, Henri E. Bal, Ceriel J.
H. Jacobs, Koen G.Langendoen, Springer; 2ndEdition. (2012).
ISBN-10: 1461446988
 Modern Compiler Implementation in C, By Andrew W. Appel,
Maia Ginsburg, Contributor Maia Ginsburg, Cambridge
University Press, (2004). ISBN-10: 0521607655
Why Study This Course
 Learn the programming paradigm
 Learn how programming language APIs work
 Learn programming framework and how they work
 Learn how IDE and Compilers work
 Learn Programming methodologies
 Learn Application Design Patterns
 Learn to develop Testing Tools and how they work
 Learn Documenting Tools and how they work
 Learn the basics of Modeling languages.
Why Take this Course

Reason #1: Understand compilers and languages

 Understand the code structure
 Understand language semantics
 Understand relation between source code and
generated machine code
 Become a better programmer
Why Take this Course

Reason #2: Nice balance of theory and practice

 Theory
 Mathematical models: regular expressions,
automata, grammars, graphs
 Algorithms that use these models
Why Take this Course

Reason #2: Nice balance of theory and practice

 Practice
 Apply theoretical notions to build a real compiler
Why Take this Course

Reason #3: programming experience

 write a large program which manipulates complex data
structures
 learn more about C++ and Intel x86
What are Compilers
 Compilers are computer programs that translate a program
written in one language into a program written in another
language.
 A compiler is a large software system, with many internal
components and algorithms and complex interactions
between them.
 The study of compiler construction is an introduction to
techniques for the translation and improvement of programs,
and a practical exercise in software engineering.
Examples

 Typical Compilers:
 VC, VC++, GCC, JavaC
 FORTRAN, Pascal, VB(?)
 Translators
 Word to PDF
 PDF to Postscript
Typical Compilation
Source Program

Compiler

Target Program
Source Code

int expr( int n )

{
int d;
d = 4*n*n*(n+1)*(n+1);
return d;
}
 The Fundamental Principles of Compilation
 Compilers are large, complex, carefully engineered objects.
 There are two fundamental principles that a compiler writer
must keep in mind at all times. The first principle is inviolable:
1. The compiler must preserve the meaning of the program being
compiled.
2. The compiler must improve the input program in some
discernible way.
Thanks…!