Chapter one

1 Introduction to Compiler Design

 Compilers are computer programs or software that used to translates
high-level programming language(HLPL) or source program to
Computer understandable language or machine language.
 source program is written in a high-level language, such as
C, C++, Java, C#, PHP, Perl, Android etc..
Cont.…

Types of compilers
 Cross-Compiler: that runs on a machine 'A' and produces a
code for another machine 'B'.
 Source to Source Compiler: is a compiler that translates
the source program (code) written in one programming
language into the source code for another programming
language.
 Native Compiler: a compiler that translates source
program to object code on the same platform.
 Virtual Machine: A virtual machine is a software
implementation of a machine (for example, a computer)
that executes programs like a physical machine.
2. Language Processing System

 any computer system is made of hardware and software.

 The hardware understands a language, which humans
cannot understand. So we write programs in high-level
language, which is easier for us to understand and
remember.
 These programs are then fed into a series of tools and OS
components to get the desired code that can be used by the
machine. This is known as Language Processing System.
Cont.

 Language processing diagram

Cont.

 Language processing diagram

Cont.

 The high-level language is converted into binary language in various phases

 A compiler is a program that converts high-level language to assembly
language.
 an assembler is a program that converts the assembly language to machine-
level language.
 Let us first understand how a program, using C compiler, is executed on
a host machine
 User writes a program in C language (high-level language).
 The C compiler compiles the program and translates it to assembly
program (low-level language).
 An assembler then translates the assembly program into machine code
(object).
 A linker tool is used to link all the parts of the program together for
execution (executable machine code).
 A loader loads all of them into memory and then the program is executed.
2.1 Pre-Processor


A preprocessor is a tool that produces input for compilers.

Its purpose is to process directives.

Directives are specific instructions that start with # symbol
and end with a newline (NOT semicolon).

A preprocessor may allow a user to define macros that are
short hands for longer constructs.

A macro is a rule that defines how an input sequence (e.g.
an identifier) is converted into a replacement output
sequence (e.g. some text).
Example: #define DTU “Debre Tabor University”
.
2.2. COMPILER

 Compiler is a translator program that translates a program

written in (HLL) the source program and translates it into
an equivalent program in (ML) the target program .
 As an important part of a compiler is error showing to the
programmer.
Cont.…

 Executing a program written n HLL programming language

is basically of two parts.
 The source program must first be compiled translated into
a object program.
 Then the results object program is loaded into a memory
executed .
2.3. Assembler

 An assembler translates assembly language programs

into machine code.
 The output of an assembler is called an object file, which
contains a combination of machine instructions as well
as the data required to place these instructions in
memory.

2.4. Linker
 Linker is a computer program that links and merges
various object files together in order to make an
executable file.
 All these files might have been compiled by separate
assemblers.
Con…
The major task of a linker is to search and
locate referenced module/routines in a
program and to determine the memory
location where these codes will be loaded,
making the program instruction to have
absolute references.
Linking is performed at the last step in
compiling a program.
Source code  compiler  Assembler  Object code  Linker  Exécutable file 
Loader
2.5. Loader

 Loader is a part of an operating system and is

responsible for loading executable files
into memory and executes them.
 It calculates the size of a program
(instructions and data) and creates memory
space for it.
 It initializes various registers to initiate
execution.
Compiler vs. Interpreter
 3. Phases of a compiler

 The compilation process is a sequence of various phases

 Let us understand the phases of a compiler
 3. 1 Lexical Analysis (Scanning )


The first phase of compiler also called scanner works as a text scanner.

This phase scans the source code as a stream of characters and converts it into
meaningful lexemes called tokens.

The scanner begins the analysis of the source program by reading the input
text—character by character—and grouping individual characters into tokens
(identifiers, integers, reserved words, delimiters, and so on).

The scanner does the following.
It puts the program into a compact and uniform format (a stream of tokens).
It eliminates unneeded information (such as comments).
It processes compiler control directives (for example include source text from a
file).
It sometimes enters preliminary information into symbol tables (for example, to
register the presence of a particular label or identifier).
 Cont.…

Examples of Tokens:
a. Key words: while, if, void, int, float, for, …
b. Identifiers: declared by the programmer
c. Operators: +, -, *, /, =, ==, <, >, <=, >=, …
d. Numeric Constants: numbers such as 124, 12.35, 0.09E-23, etc
e. Character constants: single character or strings of characters enclosed in
quotes.
f. Special characters: characters used as delimiters such as ( ) , ; :
Example: Show the token classes or types, put out by the lexical analysis phase
corresponding to this C++ source input:
a) position = initial + rate * 60 ;
b) sum = sum + unit * /* accumulate sum */ 1.2e-12 ;
 3.2. Syntax Analysis (The parser)

 The next phase is called the syntax analysis or parsing.

 It takes the token produced by lexical analysis as input and generates a parse
tree (or syntax tree).
 the parser checks if the expression made by the tokens is syntactically correct
and verifies correct syntax
 If a syntax error is found, it issues a suitable error message .
 As syntactic structure is recognized, the parser usually builds an abstract syntax
tree (AST)
Example: Show a syntax tree for the C/C++ statement
a. position = initial + rate * 60
 3.3. Semantic Analysis

 Semantic analysis checks whether the parse tree constructed follows the rules of
language.
 the semantic analyzer keeps track of identifiers, their types and expressions; whether
identifiers are declared before use or not, etc.
 The semantic analyzer produces an annotated syntax tree as an output.
 The type checker checks the static semantics of each AST node.
 Example: Draw an Attributed AST for position = initial + rate * 60
 Cont.…

 Semantic errors:
Undeclared identifier
Multiple declared identifier
Index out of bounds
Wrong number or types of args to call
Incompatible types for operation
Break statement outside switch/loop
Goto with no label
 Etc…..
 3.4. Intermediate Code Generation

After semantic analysis, the compiler generates an intermediate code of the

source code for the target machine.
This intermediate code should be generated in such a way that it makes it
easier to be translated into the target machine code.
One popular type of intermediate-language representation is “Three Address
Code (TAC)”.
Three-address code statement is: A := B op C where A, B and C are operands
and op is a binary operator.
Example: The parse tree for position = initial + rate * 60 might be converted
into the three-address sequence:
Solution: Three Address Code
temp1:= int to real (60)
temp2:= id3 * temp1
temp3:= id2 + temp2
id1:= temp3.
 3.5. Code Optimization

 This is optional phase described to improve the intermediate code

so that the output runs faster and takes less space.
 Optimization removes unnecessary code lines, and arranges the
sequence of statements in order to speed up the program execution
without wasting resources (CPU,memory).
 The optimizer can produce an optimized three address code for
position = initial + rate * 60 as follows:
 3.6. Code Generation

 The last phase of translation is code generation.

 In this phase, the code generator takes the optimized representation of the
intermediate code and maps it to the target machine language.
 The code generator translates the intermediate code into a sequence of
(generally) re-locatable machine code.
 Sequence of instructions of machine code performs the task as the
intermediate code would do.
 Cont…

 The code generator may produce either:

• Machine code for a specific machine, or
• Assembly code for a specific machine and assembler.
 If it produces assembly code, then an assembler is used to produce the machine
code.
 Example: The intermediate code position = initial + rate * 60; may be translated into
the assembly code as follows:
 3.7. Symbol Table


It is a data-structure maintained throughout all the phases of a compiler .

All the identifiers’ names along with their types are stored here.

The symbol table makes it easier for the compiler to quickly search the identifier record and
retrieve it.

The symbol table is also used for scope management.

A symbol table is a mechanism that allows information to be associated with identifiers and
shared among compiler phases.

3.8. Error Recovery and Handling


One of the most important functions of a compiler is the detection and reporting of errors in
the source program.

The error message should allow the programmer to determine exactly where the errors have
occurred. Errors may occur in all or the phases of a compiler.
 Cont..

3.8. Error Recovery and Handling

 A program may have the following kinds of errors at
various stages:
Lexical : name of some identifier typed incorrectly
Syntactical : missing semicolon or unbalanced
parenthesis
Semantically : incompatible value assignment
Logical : code not reachable, infinite loop
 Summary on Phases of Compiler, Show what will expect at each phase of for the
S umme ry

expression position:=initial + rate*60?

 individual Assignment from 30%

Discuss on Compiler Construction Tools

Parser Generator
Scanner Generator
Syntax-Directed Translation Engines
Automatic Code Generators
Data-Flow analysis Engines
Compile Construction Toolkits
Thank you!