Compiler construction

Compiler Construction is the process of creating a compiler, a program that translates source code written in a programming language into machine code that can be executed by a computer. The field of compiler construction involves several sub-disciplines, including lexical analysis, syntax analysis, semantic analysis, code generation, and code optimization.

Overview

A compiler is a complex piece of software that performs several tasks to transform source code into executable machine code. The process of compiler construction is a key aspect of computer science, particularly in the subfield of programming language theory.

Lexical Analysis

The first stage of compiler construction is lexical analysis, also known as scanning. The lexical analyzer breaks the source code down into a series of tokens, which are the smallest meaningful units of the program. These tokens are then passed to the next stage of the compiler.

Syntax Analysis

The second stage of compiler construction is syntax analysis, also known as parsing. The syntax analyzer takes the tokens produced by the lexical analyzer and arranges them into a parse tree, which represents the grammatical structure of the program.

Semantic Analysis

The third stage of compiler construction is semantic analysis. The semantic analyzer checks the parse tree for semantic errors, such as type mismatches or undeclared variables. It also builds a symbol table, which maps identifiers to their attributes.

Code Generation

The fourth stage of compiler construction is code generation. The code generator takes the parse tree and the symbol table and produces an intermediate representation of the code, which is then optimized and translated into machine code.

Code Optimization

The final stage of compiler construction is code optimization. The code optimizer improves the efficiency of the intermediate code by eliminating redundant instructions, reordering instructions to improve execution speed, and performing other optimizations.

See Also

• Interpreter
• Just-in-time compilation
• Ahead-of-time compilation