Module Code - Title:

CE4717 - LANGUAGE PROCESSORS

Year Last Offered:

2025/6

Hours Per Week:

Lecture

2

Lab

0

Tutorial

1

Other

0

Private

6

Credits

6

Grading Type:

N

Prerequisite Modules:

CE4703

Rationale and Purpose of the Module:

To introduce the theory of compiler design and show its application in a simple compiler. An important part of the module is the implementation of a compiler for a simple, Pascal-like, language.

Syllabus:

Compiler structure: Definition of terms. Source, object and executable files. Symbols, definition and resolution. Phases of a compiler and their functions. Single and multi-pass compilation. Cross-compilation, interpreters and pseudo-machines. Grammars: Mathematical grammars for language definition. BNF and EBNF notations. Parse trees. Properties of grammars. The Chomsky hierarchy. Syntax diagrams. Restrictions on grammars. Parsing: Top-down parsing. Lookahead. Recursive descent. LL(l) grammars. First, follow and predict sets. Syntactic error detection and recovery for recursive descent parsers. Semantic processing: The symbol table. Handling semantic errors. Code generation for a simple stack machine: Translation of expressions to reverse-Polish form. Procedure calls and block structure. Static and dynamic scope. Storage management for modern languages. Scanning: Regular expressions. State machine implementation. Nondeterministic automata and translation to deterministic automata. The use of a scanner generator such as LEX. Table-driven parsing techniques: LL(l) table-driven parsers. Shift-reduce parsers. LR parsing. The LR(0) Characteristic Finite State Machine. LR(l). SLR. LALR(l). The use of a parser generator such as yacc. Code generation for register architectures. Introduction to code optimisation techniques.

Learning Outcomes:

Cognitive (Knowledge, Understanding, Application, Analysis, Evaluation, Synthesis)

1. Describe the structure, phases, major data structures and algorithms of a compiler. 2. Given a formal EBNF grammar for a computer language, construct a parser program for that language. 3. Given examples of syntactic structures, design appropriate formal grammar constructs describing them. 4. Analyse a grammar in terms of the LL(1), LR(0), SLR &LALR(1) criteria. 5. Create (by hand) scanning and parsing automata for simple grammars. 6. Use scanner and parser synthesis tools such as lex and yacc. 7. Construct a compiler for a simple computer language.

Affective (Attitudes and Values)

None

Psychomotor (Physical Skills)

None

How the Module will be Taught and what will be the Learning Experiences of the Students:

Lectures/Labs

Research Findings Incorporated in to the Syllabus (If Relevant):

Prime Texts:

Terry, P. (2005) Compiling with C# and Java , Pearson

Appel, A.W. (2002) Modern Compiler Implementation in Java , Cambridge

Other Relevant Texts:

Aho, A.V., Lam, M.S., Sethi, R. & Ullman, J.D. (2007) Compilers: Principles, Techniques, & Tools, 2nd ed. , Pearson

Parr, T. (2007) The Definitive ANTLR Reference , Pragmatic Bookshelf

Cooper, K.D. & L. Torczon (2004) Engineering a Compiler , Morgan Kaufmann

Grune, D., H.E. Bal, C.J.H. Jacobs & K.G. Langendoen (2001) Modern Compiler Design , Wiley

Waite, W.M. & L.R. Carter (1993) An Introduction to Compiler Construction , Harper Collins

Holub, A.I. (1990) Compiler Design in C , Prentice Hall

Programme(s) in which this Module is Offered:

Semester(s) Module is Offered:

Module Leader:

Colin.Flanagan@ul.ie