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How I wrote a self-hosting C compiler in 40 days

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429 points rui314 | 2 comments | 14 Dec 15 14:07 UTC | HN request time: 0.001s | source
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peterkelly ◴[14 Dec 15 16:45 UTC] No.10732090[source]▶
For anyone interested in compiler writing and looking for a good resource to start, probably one of the best is the "Dragon Book":

http://www.amazon.com/Compilers-Principles-Techniques-Tools-...

I highly recommend it, but it's heavy stuff. There are probably simpler guides out there that just cover the basics.

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sklogic ◴[14 Dec 15 16:55 UTC] No.10732162[source]▶
Please stop recommending the Dragon Book already. It is not just heavy, it is mostly outdated and irrelevant.
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1. troydj ◴[14 Dec 15 19:41 UTC] No.10733258[source]▶
I wouldn't go so far to say that the Dragon Book is outdated and irrelevant. (I'm assuming you're referring to the 2nd edition from 2006.) Unless you're focusing on back-end optimization and code generation techniques (something a new compiler writer typically does NOT do), the bulk of the theory and material you'd cover in a first semester compiler course is fairly static.

But if a person is merely looking to bang out a compiler without getting overwhelmed with how to convert NFAs to DFAs for lexing, etc., some good alternative books are:

A Retargetable C Compiler: Design and Implementation, by Hanson and Fraser (http://www.amazon.com/Retargetable-Compiler-Design-Implement...). This book constructs and documents the explains the code for a full C compiler with a recursive descent approach (no flex/lex or bison/yacc). I have some experience augmenting this compiler, so I can vouch for the book's ability to clearly convey their design.

Compiler Design in C, by Allen Holub (http://www.holub.com/software/compiler.design.in.c.html). Downloadable PDF at that link as well. A book from 1990 in which Holub constructs his own version of lex and yacc, and then builds a subset-C compiler which generates intermediate code.

Practical Compiler Construction, by Nils Holm (http://www.lulu.com/shop/nils-m-holm/practical-compiler-cons...). A recent book which documents the construction of a SubC (subset of C) compiler and generates x86 code on the back end.

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2. sklogic ◴[14 Dec 15 22:10 UTC] No.10734348[source]▶
It is actually an outdated view, to split a compiler into dedicated monolithic front-end and back-end parts. The more modern approach is very much the opposite. It is a nearly continuous, very long sequence of very simple transforms, rewriting a code seamlessly, all the way down from a front-end (i.e., a parser) to a back-end or multiple back-ends. And this approach is very alien to anything you'd find in the Dragon Book.

As for parsing, as I already said elsewhere in this thread, all the techniques from Dragon Book are not practical any more and are not used in the modern compilers. There are far better ways, which are not covered in the book, and they're far simpler, not even deserving a dedicated book at all.