Where I Have To Start Building A Compiler?

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where i have to start building a compiler for C++ programming language?
what language i should use for building a compiler?

thanks

Posted 30-Jan-15 6:03am

rudy-peto

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CHill60 30-Jan-15 12:21pm

Why on earth would you want to build a compiler? Unless this is a school or college assignment - in which case refer to your course notes

rudy-peto 30-Jan-15 12:36pm

just for fun and practicing more than what i get on college.. :)
yeah, i just heard about compiler but just dunno where to start (dunno using what language build a C++ compiler)

Sergey Alexandrovich Kryukov 30-Jan-15 15:52pm

I guess you already created few compilers for some simple languages. If not, don't start with C++.
Besides, "where to start" is a bad question. There are many different ways to start, this is not critical.
—SA

rudy-peto 31-Jan-15 2:21am

i start with C++ just because i like C++ so much.
because i know there are many ways to start, i got a big big confusion. am starting reading a few and hope will be a way for me to understand

Sergey Alexandrovich Kryukov 31-Jan-15 3:05am

Sure.
I'm telling you: first, get experience doing prototype work starting from extremely simple languages. Traditionally, some old "hard" programming courses, as far as I know from books, involved some virtual toy computer modeled on a real computer, and students developed assembly programs for its instruction set and then code generation, and so on...

Good luck.
—SA

rudy-peto 31-Jan-15 3:23am

may i ask something?
so, after i build a C++ compiler using C++ itself, and do all the step such as Lexical, Parsing, Semantic, etc.., finally, the result --dunno what i really talk about-- have to convert to assembly code, right? like MOV,ADD,SUB,etc..? after that?

sorry, a bit pushing because i just obsessed with the topic. i have find any source but just make me more confusing. all i need is a point.
thanks

--Rudy

Sergey Alexandrovich Kryukov 31-Jan-15 3:36am

There can be different approaches. Actually, an assembler does not help much, because generation of assembly language text contain a lot of things which are easier to do in binary form. Don't forget that you need to generated not executable file, but object file. This is what a compiler does. And then the linker makes the executable from several object/library files, resolving the names and shifting the addresses.

The final generation if CPU instruction is done only by another component called loader.

The problem is that this might be not enough, by two reasons: 1) you may need multi-targeted output, 2) assembly language output is traditional requirements; most developers don't use it, but such option exists.

You can read about LLVM approach.

—SA

rudy-peto 23-Feb-15 23:01pm

Anyway thanks for explanation, it was more than what i hope. I had discussed with an expert and i think i got the answer.
Sorry for reply lately, it just needs a long time to figure this out for me..
Thanks,

-Rudy

Sergey Alexandrovich Kryukov 23-Feb-15 23:34pm

No problems with late replies at all, just don't worry about it. You are very welcome.
Good luck, call again.
—SA

Mahdi Nejadsahebi 30-Jan-15 13:32pm

look dear friend
designing and building the compiler for a language programming is to difficult.
that needs the compiler writing science at first, then needs high skill to code that, even convert the codes to machine language.you have to work with strings and it's category: tokens and several concepts.
the DFA and NFA language and ... theories...

but you can design the interpreter for your language.
it's easy.
interpreter is like the compiler,but in the interpreter the codes will not convert and translate to the machine language. it's like the run time code like javascript.
it means you make the program that read every code and does it's action for each statement.
to design it you just should use "if" condition for each code.

3 solutions

Solution 3

Writing a compiler is a complex task, writing a C++ compiler is a daunting task.
I would suggest you to choose a much more simple target language for starting. You probably need some background on the argument (you might start with the already suggested Creenshaw series, or check out the oldie goldie Wirth's book: "Compiler Contruction"[^], or the famous 'Dragon Book'[^]).
You may also consider using one of the many available tools for writing a compiler, e.g. flex[^] and bison[^], ANTLR[^], etc...

Posted 30-Jan-15 9:32am

CPallini

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Sergey Alexandrovich Kryukov 30-Jan-15 15:55pm

5ed. Also, my advice was: implement some compilers for some extremely simple languages first.
—SA

CPallini 30-Jan-15 15:57pm

Yes, I fully agrre.
By the way, thank you.

Sergey Alexandrovich Kryukov 30-Jan-15 16:01pm

Oh, I don't know how I failed to see your statement "I would suggest you to choose a much more simple target language for starting." :-)
—SA

Solution 1

There are different open source compilers in the internet, but I would favour the LLVM, because it is a fresh and modern start, which is now productive in the XCode IDE of the Apple- world. And it rocks ;-)

Consider working on some open source project instead of starting some.

Posted 30-Jan-15 6:40am

KarstenK

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rudy-peto 30-Jan-15 13:09pm

thanks! anyway i would like to know how to build that compilers and even LLVM itself.

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CHill60 · Accepted Answer · 2015-01-30T06:44:00

Solution 2

As you asked where to start I can recommend this series of articles from Crenshaw[^]

As to language - anything you like really ... back in the day the 'C' compiler was written in 'C' !

This SO Post[^] was closed as "not constructive" but does have some suggestions that would be appropriate for your question

Edit - the above SO post has now been removed - here is a similar one[^]

Posted 30-Jan-15 6:44am

CHill60

Updated 1-Apr-15 5:11am

v2

Comments

rudy-peto 30-Jan-15 13:05pm

thanks a lot! its helpful!

so, u mean C++ compiler written in C++? cause i just think its a bit weird

CHill60 30-Jan-15 20:57pm

Yep .. I found it a bit weird back in the day when I found out that the 'C' compiler on our midi computer at Uni was ...er...written in 'C'. It was about then that I decided I wasn't interested in writing compilers ;-p