Compiler Design

Contents: Preface. 1. Introduction. 2. Evolution and Development. 3. Compilers and Interpreters. 4. Source Code. 5. Lexical Analysis. 6. Syntax Analyzer. 7. Compiler Optimization. 8. Code Generator. 9. Bootstrapping. 10. Programming Languages. 11. Various Compilers. 12. Compiling Tools. Bibliography. Index.

“Simply in order to reduce the complexity of designing and building computers, nearly all the computers are made to execute relatively simple commands. A programme for a computer must be built be combining very simple commands into a programme in what is called machine language. Since this is a tedious and error-prone process, most of the programming is, instead, done using a high-level programming language. This language can be different from the machine language that the computer can execute; so some means for bridging the gap is required. This is where the compiler comes in.

A compiler translates (or compiled) a programme, written in a high-level programming language that is suitable for human programmers into the low-level machine language that is required by computers. A good compiler should, however, be able to get quite close to the speed of hand-written code, when translating well-structured programmes. Since, writing a compiler is a nontrivial task, it is a good idea to structure the work. This book is meant to support a practically oriented course in compiler designing for teachers and students in Computer Science.”(jacket)