SAN 474

Compilers

Title: Languages, Interfaces, and Their Processors

Credit Hours: Three

Course Description:

Examination of the nature of programming languages and programs which implement them. Compiler and interpreter design and implementation techniques. Review of grammars and languages (context free, context sensitive, regular). Design of interactive interfaces. Parsing of context free languages. Lexical analysis. Semantic analysis and code optimization. Prerequisite:

Course Objectives: A. To examine the nature of programming languages. 1. to understand the important syntactic constructs in programming languages
2. to understand the advantages/disadvantages of languages from the various language categories: imperative, functional, logic, object-oriented, and concurrent.
3. to be able to evaluate programming languages in order to select the most appropriate one for the current need.
4. to appreciate the various formal methods of specifying syntax.
5. to differentiate between syntax, semantics, and pragmatics. B. To understand the operating and design principles behind language translators. 1. to understand the major components of a compiler: scanner, parser, code generator, code optimizer.
2. to have a working knowledge of at least one parsing technique and an acquaintance with other techniques. C. To experience a large computer system development in the area of systems programming rather than application programming.
D. To gain some experience in the use of tools in software development. Textbook:

Aho, Alfred V., Ravi Sethi, and Jeffrey D. Ullman, Compilers: Principles, Techniques, and Tools, Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Reading, Ma., 1988.

Reference Books: Fischer, Charles and Richard J. LeBlanc, Crafting a Compiler with C, Benjamin/ Cummings Publishing Company, Inc., Menlo Park, California, 1991.
Sethi, Ravi, Programming Languages Concepts and Constructs, Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Reading, Mass., 1989.
Pratt, Terrence W., Programming Languages: Design and Implementation, second edition, Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1984.
Ledgard, Henry and Michael Marcotty, The Programming Language Landscape, Science Research Associates, 1981. Methods of Evaluation: The reason for giving a grade is to accurately and fairly assess your knowledge and performance in the class. I attempt to create exams which accurately assess your understanding and I will not deliberately create "trick" questions--however the material in this class is difficult and the exams will reflect the degree of difficulty. You should critically evaluate the grading of all assignments and tests. If you feel any item was misgraded or the question was not clearly stated, state your argument on a separate piece of paper and I will consider your reasoning and give you a prompt reply. If you understand the material I would like to give you the points!

The final grade will be determined by computing a weighted average of scores in each of the following categories:

Midterm Test 25 %
Final Exam 25 %
Compiler Project 35 %
Homework 15 %
The letter grade assigned for the course will be based upon the following scale:
90-100 A, A-
80-90 B+, B, B-
70-80 C+, C, C-
60-70 D+, D, D-
below 60 F
Graduating seniors will not be required to take the final examination. For a graduating senior electing to skip the final, grades will be determined as a weighted average of scores in each of the following categories: However, if a senior has an unexcused absence during the last two weeks of the semester, he/she must then take the final.
Midterm Test 35 %
Compiler Project 45 %
Homework 20 % Tentative Course Schedule:

Week	Date	Topic	Text Chapter
1	January 14	Course introduction, Introduction to compiling	1
	January 16	Review of regular sets, grammars, Finite State Machines
2	January 21	Review of grammars and languages - CF, CS
	January 23	Overview of Compiling	2
3	January 28	Overview of Compiling
	January 30	Lex
4	February 4	Lex and Yacc
	February 6	Yacc
5	February 11	Lexical Analysis
	February 13	Lexical Analysis	3
6	February 18	Monday/Tuesday swap - No Class
	February 20	Syntax Analysis	4
7	February 25	Syntax Analysis
	February 27	Syntax Analysis
8	March 4	Syntax-Directed Translation	5
	March 6	Midterm Exam
9	March 10 - 15	Spring Break
10	March 18	Syntax-Directed Translation
	March 20	Syntax-Directed Translation
11	March 25	Type-Checking	6
	March 27	Type-Checking
12	April 1	Type-Checking
	April 3	Run-Time Environments	7
13	April 8	Run-Time Environments
	April 10	Run-Time Environments
14	April 15	Intermediate Code Generation	8
	April 17	Intermediate Code Generation
15	April 22	Code Generation	9
	April 24	Code Generation
16	April 29	Code Optimization	10
	May 1	Code Optimization

	May 7	Final Examination: 5:30 PM

Return to Jim Kiper Home Page