Compiler Design Tutorial

A compiler translates the code written in one language to some other language without changing the meaning of the program. It is also expected that a compiler should make the target code efficient and optimized in terms of time and space.

Compiler design principles provide an in-depth view of translation and optimization process. Compiler design covers basic translation mechanism and error detection & recovery. It includes lexical, syntax, and semantic analysis as front end, and code generation and optimization as back-end.

Why to Learn Compiler design?

Computers are a balanced mix of software and hardware. Hardware is just a piece of mechanical device and its functions are being controlled by a compatible software. Hardware understands instructions in the form of electronic charge, which is the counterpart of binary language in software programming. Binary language has only two alphabets, 0 and 1. To instruct, the hardware codes must be written in binary format, which is simply a series of 1s and 0s. It would be a difficult and cumbersome task for computer programmers to write such codes, which is why we have compilers to write such codes.

Language Processing System

We have learnt that any computer system is made of hardware and software. The hardware understands a language, which humans cannot understand. So we write programs in high-level language, which is easier for us to understand and remember. These programs are then fed into a series of tools and OS components to get the desired code that can be used by the machine. This is known as Language Processing System.

Audience

This tutorial is designed for students interested in learning the basic principles of compilers.Enthusiastic readers who would like to know more about compilers and those who wish to design a compiler themselves may start from here.

Prerequisites

This tutorial requires no prior knowledge of compiler design but requires basic understanding of at least one programming language such as C, Java etc.It would be an additional advantage if you have had prior exposure to Assembly Programming.