uibk_703602-Compiler-Construction/slides/intro_slides.md

% Compiler Construction % Alex Hirsch % 3 March 2020

This ProSeminar

Curriculum

[…] development of a compiler for a simple procedural programming language

As stated by the curriculum, your task is to build a simple compiler for a small procedural programming language. It's quite hard to fit this goal into the 5 ECTS budget of this module (lecture included), nevertheless I think I found the right trade-offs with the given specification.

Still, it is highly recommended to work in teams and that you start early - always trying to be ahead of schedule.

Prerequisites

• This is a master's course!
• Brain

If you struggle too much, do this course at a later time. You can unregister until the end of April.

By now, this course is notorious for requiring a lot of effort. The legends are true; I am indeed expecting a decent level of skill from all of you. This is a master's course after all.

While I don't care whether you have officially finished your bachelor, you should only take this course if you are certain that you meet the prerequisites. Otherwise, skip it for now and come back to it when you have acquired the necessary knowledge.

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• Fluent in C (or C++, or Go, or Rust, or Haskell)

  • General programmer mindset
  • Knowing your tools

• Algorithms and data structures

  • Graphs + traversal

• Operating systems

  • Utilising your software stack

• Assembly (preferably x86)

Since this course is very programming intensive, you need to be fluent in one of these languages. If choose C and think strings are compared using `==` you'll have a very hard time.

For OS, if you think calling exec without fork while implementing a library is a good idea, maybe revisit the corresponding lecture would be a good idea.

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• Software development

  • Version control system
  • Build systems
  • Testing

• Project management

  • Organisation
  • Team communication

As already mentioned, the schedule is quite tight, hence good organisation and software development skills are paramount.

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• Formal languages and automata theory
  • Grammars + transformations
  • Lexer / parser

I also recommend doing this course only after having completed FLAT. The lecture and proseminar assumes that you are familiar with the basics of grammars (plus related transformations), lexers, and parsers.

Ultimate Goal

• Building a compiler
  • Specification provided
  • Evaluation scheme provided

In the Lab

• QA sessions
• I'll be present for questions
• You can work on your compiler

Requirements

• Working compiler
• More positive than negative QA sessions

Recommended Schedule

• March: lexer / parser
• April: semantic checks, start IR generation
• May: finish IR generation, start ASM generation
• June: finish ASM generation, CFG generation, polish

You are free to deviate from this schedule.

Submissions

• End of June: build test submission (optional)
• Mid of July: final submission (no extensions)

Teams

• 1–3 people
• May span across PS groups
• Send me your team composition via mail within March

Further Details

• See course material

https://git.uibk.ac.at/c7031162/703602-Compiler-Construction