Introduction to Compiler
Construction
Lecture 1
Compiler
• A given source language is either compiled or
interpreted for execution
• compiler is a program that translates a source
program (HLL; C, Java) into target code;
machine re-locatable code or assembly code.
–The generated machine code can be later
executed many times against different data
each time.
–The code generated is not portable to other
systems.
Interpreter
 In an interpreted language, implementations
execute instructions directly and freely
without previously compiling a program into
machine code instructions.
 Translation occurs at the same time as the
program is being executed.
 An interpreter reads an executable source
program written in HLL as well as data for this
program, and it runs the program against the
data to produce some results.
–
Interpreter

 Common interpreters include Perl, Python, and
Ruby interpreters, which execute Perl, Python,
and Ruby code respectively.
 Others include Unix shell interpreter, which
runs operating system commands interactively.
 Source program is interpreted every time it is
executed (less efficient).
–
Interpreter

 Interpreted languages are portable since they
are not machine dependent. They can run on
different operating systems and platforms.
 They are translated on the spot and thus
optimized for the system on which they’re
being run.
–
Compilers and Interpreters
• “Compilation”
– Translation of a program written in a source
language into a semantically equivalent
program written in a target language
Compiler
Error messages
Source
Program
Target
Program
Input
Output
Compilers and Interpreters (cont’d)
Interpreter
Source
Program
Input
Output
Error messages
• “Interpretation”
– Performing the operations implied by the
source program
The Analysis-Synthesis Model of
Compilation
• There are two parts to compilation:
– Analysis Phase
This is also known as the front-end of the compiler. It
reads the source program, divides it into core parts and
then checks for lexical, grammar and syntax errors. The
analysis phase generates an intermediate representation
of the source program and symbol table, which should
be fed to the Synthesis phase as input
– Synthesis Phase
Its also known as the back-end of the compiler.
It generates the target program with the help of
intermediate source code representation and symbol
table.
Other Tools that Use the
Analysis-Synthesis Model
• Editors (syntax highlighting)
• Pretty printers (e.g. Doxygen)
• Static checkers (e.g. Lint and Splint)
• Interpreters
• Text formatters (e.g. TeX and LaTeX)
• Silicon compilers (e.g. VHDL)
• Query interpreters/compilers (Databases)
Preprocessors, Compilers, Assemblers and
Linkers
• A preprocessor considered as part of compiler, is a
tool that produces input for compilers. It deals with
macro-processing, file inclusion, language extension,
etc.
• 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.
Preprocessors, Compilers, Assemblers and
Linkers
• Linker
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. 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.
Compiler Design - Architecture of a
Compiler
• A compiler can have many phases and passes.
• Pass : A pass refers to the traversal of a compiler
through the entire program.
• Phase : A phase of a compiler is a distinguishable
stage, which takes input from the previous stage,
processes and yields output that can be used as input
for the next stage. A pass can have more than one
phase.
Phases of a Compiler
• The compilation process is a sequence of various
phases.
• Each phase takes input from its previous stage and
has its own representation of source program, and
feeds its output to the next phase of the compiler.
Traditional three pass compiler
Front end
Source
code
Machine
code
errors
IR
Back end
Middle
end
IR
Phases of a Compiler - Front end
 The front end analyzes the source code to
build an internal representation of the
program, called the intermediate
representation (IR).
 It also manages the symbol table, a data
structure mapping each symbol in the source
code to associated information such as
location, type and scope.
Phases of a Compiler - Front end cont’d
The front end includes all analysis phases and
the intermediate code generator.
• Lexical analysis is the first phase of compiler
which is also termed as scanning.
• During this phase, Source program is scanned to
read the stream of characters and those characters are
grouped to form a sequence called lexemes which
produces token as output. Tokens are defined by
regular expressions which are understood by the
lexical analyzer.
Lexical Analysis
 lexical analysis: The process of converting a sequence
of characters (such as in a computer program) into a
sequence of tokens (strings with an identified
"meaning")
 Lexical analysis takes the modified source code from
language preprocessors that are written in the form of
sentences.
 The lexical analyzer breaks these syntaxes into a
series of tokens, by removing any whitespace or
comments in the source code.
Lexical Analysis
 The lexical analyzer (either generated automatically
by a tool like lex, or hand-crafted) reads in a stream
of characters, identifies the lexemes in the stream, and
categorizes them into tokens.
 This is called "tokenizing". If the lexer finds an
invalid token, it will report an error.
Front end: Terminologies
• Token: Token is a sequence of characters that
represent lexical unit, which matches with
the pattern, such as keywords, operators,
identifiers etc.
• Lexeme: Lexeme is instance of a token i.e.,
group of characters forming a token.
• Pattern: Pattern describes the rule that the
lexemes of a token takes. It is the structure
that must be matched by strings.
Token and Lexeme
 Once a token is generated the corresponding
entry is made in the symbol table.
At lexical analysis phase,
Input: stream of characters
Output: Token
Token Template:
<token-name, attribute-value>
 For example, for c=a+b*5;
Hence,
<id, 1><=>< id, 2>< +><id, 3 >< * >< 5>
Token and Lexeme Cont’d
Syntax Analysis
 Syntax Analyze is sometimes called as
parser. It constructs the parse tree. It takes all
the tokens one by one and uses Context Free
Grammar to construct the parse tree.
Why Grammar ?
 The rules of programming can be entirely
represented in some few productions. Using
these productions we can represent what the
program actually is. The input has to be
checked whether it is in the desired format or
not.
Syntax Analysis cont’d
 Syntax error can be detected at this level if
the input is not in accordance with the
grammar.
Syntactic Analysis
 Parsing or syntactic analysis is the process of
analyzing a string of symbols, either in natural
language or in computer languages,
conforming to the rules of a formal grammar
 Parse: analyze (a string or text) into logical
syntactic components, typically in order to test
conformability to a logical grammar.
Syntactic Analysis cont’d
 If the lexical analyzer finds a token invalid, it
generates an error.
 The lexical analyzer works closely with the
syntax analyzer. It reads character streams
from the source code, checks for legal tokens,
and passes the data to the syntax analyzer
when it demands.
Semantic Analysis
 Semantic analyzer takes the output of syntax
analyzer and produces another tree.
 Similarly, intermediate code generator takes a
tree as an input produced by semantic
analyzer and produces intermediate code.
Semantic Analyzer
Semantic Analysis cont’d
Syntax tree is a compressed representation of
the parse tree (a hierarchical structure that
represents the derivation of the grammar to
obtain input strings) in which the operators
appear as interior nodes and the operands of the
operator are the children of the node for that
operator.
 Example of syntax tree
Semantic Analyzer
Semantic analysis is the third phase of compiler.
 It checks for the semantic consistency.
 Type information is gathered and stored in
symbol table or in syntax tree.
 Performs type checking.
 It verifies the parse tree, whether it’s
meaningful or not. It furthermore produces a
verified parse tree.
Semantic Analyzer
Front-end, Back-end division
• Front end maps legal code into IR
• Back end maps IR onto target machine
• Allows multiple front ends
• Multiple passes -> better code
Front end
Source
code
Machine
code
errors
IR
Back end
Front end
• Recognize legal code
• Report errors
• Produce IR
• Preliminary storage maps
Scanner
Source
code
IR
errors
tokens
Parser
Front end
• Scanner:
– Maps characters into tokens – the basic unit of syntax
• x = x + y becomes <id, x> = <id, x> + <id, y>
– Typical tokens: number, id, +, -, *, /, do, end
– Eliminate white space (tabs, blanks, comments)
• A key issue is speed so instead of using a tool like
LEX it sometimes needed to write your own
scanner
Scanner
Source
code
IR
errors
tokens
Parser
Front end
• Parser:
– Recognize context-free syntax
– Guide context-sensitive analysis
– Construct IR
– Produce meaningful error messages
– Attempt error correction
• There are parser generators like YACC which
automates much of the work
Scanner
Source
code
IR
errors
tokens
Parser
Phases of a Compiler cont’d
Middle End – The Optimizer
 The middle end performs optimizations on the
intermediate representation in order to improve the
performance and the quality of the produced
machine code.
 The middle end contains those optimizations that
are independent of the CPU architecture being
targeted.
– Effort to realize efficiency
– Can be very computationally intensive
Middle end (optimizer)
• Modern optimizers are usually built as a set
of passes
• Typical passes
– Constant propagation
– Common sub-expression elimination
– Redundant store elimination
– Dead code elimination
Back end
• Translate IR into target machine code
• Choose instructions for each IR operation
• Decide what to keep in registers at each
point
• Ensure conformance with system interfaces
Instruction
selection
IR
Machine code
errors
Register
Allocation
Phases of a Compiler
 Back End – This is responsible for the CPU
architecture specific optimizations and for code
generation.
 Machine dependent optimizations: optimizations that
depend on the details of the CPU architecture that the
compiler targets
 Code generation. The transformed intermediate
language is translated into the output language, usually
the native machine language of the system.

Phases of a Compiler
 It also involves resource and storage decisions, such
as; deciding which variables to fit into registers and
memory and the selection and scheduling of
appropriate machine instructions along with their
associated addressing modes
– Processor (target) Dependant optimization
•
Phases of a Compiler - Instruction selection
• Instruction selection is the stage of a compiler back-
end that transforms its middle-level intermediate
representation (IR) into a low-level IR where each
operation directly corresponds to an instruction
available on the target machine.
• In a typical compiler, instruction selection precedes
both instruction scheduling and register allocation;
hence its output IR has an infinite set of pseudo-
registers
Back end
• Have a value in a register when used
• Limited resources
• Optimal allocation is difficult
Instruction
selection
IR
Machine code
errors
Register
Allocation
Intermediate Code Generation
After semantic analysis the compiler generates an
intermediate code of the source code for the target
machine.
– It represents a program for some abstract
machine.
– It is in between the high-level language and the
machine language.
– This intermediate code should be generated in
such a way that it makes it easier to be
translated into the target machine code.
Code Optimization
 Optimization can be assumed as something that
removes unnecessary code lines, and arranges the
sequence of statements in order to speed up the
program execution without wasting resources
(CPU, memory).
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.
Symbol Table
 It is a data-structure maintained throughout all the
phases of a compiler.
 All the identifier's 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.
Compiler-Construction Tools
• Software development tools are available to
implement one or more compiler phases
– Scanner generators
– Parser generators
– Syntax-directed translation engines
– Automatic code generators
– Data-flow engines

More Related Content

PPTX
COMPILER CONSTRUCTION KU 1.pptx
PDF
Compiler_Lecture1.pdf
PDF
Lecture 01 introduction to compiler
PPT
Compiler Design in Computer Applications
PPTX
Unit 1.pptx
PPT
Compiler design computer science engineering.ppt
PDF
Chapter#01 cc
PDF
Compiler design Introduction
COMPILER CONSTRUCTION KU 1.pptx
Compiler_Lecture1.pdf
Lecture 01 introduction to compiler
Compiler Design in Computer Applications
Unit 1.pptx
Compiler design computer science engineering.ppt
Chapter#01 cc
Compiler design Introduction

Similar to 1._Introduction_.pptx (20)

PPTX
Ss ui lecture 2
PPTX
Introduction to Compilers
PPT
1 - Introduction to Compilers.ppt
PPTX
Compiler Design Introduction With Design
PPTX
COMPILER DESIGN PPTS.pptx
PPT
Compier Design_Unit I.ppt
PPT
Compier Design_Unit I.ppt
PDF
compiler.pdfljdvgepitju4io3elkhldhyreyio4uw
PPTX
A Lecture of Compiler Design Subject.pptx
PDF
Structure of a Compiler, Compiler and Interpreter, Lexical Analysis: Role of ...
PPTX
Chapter 1.pptx
PDF
An Introduction to the Compiler Designss
PPTX
Plc part 2
PPTX
Compiler Design
PPTX
ppt_cd.pptx ppt on phases of compiler of jntuk syllabus
PDF
Compilers Principles, Practice & Tools Compilers
PPTX
Chapter-1.pptx compiler Design Course Material
PPT
Unit1.ppt
PPTX
The Phases of a Compiler
PPTX
Compiler an overview
Ss ui lecture 2
Introduction to Compilers
1 - Introduction to Compilers.ppt
Compiler Design Introduction With Design
COMPILER DESIGN PPTS.pptx
Compier Design_Unit I.ppt
Compier Design_Unit I.ppt
compiler.pdfljdvgepitju4io3elkhldhyreyio4uw
A Lecture of Compiler Design Subject.pptx
Structure of a Compiler, Compiler and Interpreter, Lexical Analysis: Role of ...
Chapter 1.pptx
An Introduction to the Compiler Designss
Plc part 2
Compiler Design
ppt_cd.pptx ppt on phases of compiler of jntuk syllabus
Compilers Principles, Practice & Tools Compilers
Chapter-1.pptx compiler Design Course Material
Unit1.ppt
The Phases of a Compiler
Compiler an overview

Recently uploaded (20)

PPT
Wheezing1.ppt powerpoint presentation for
PDF
How Animation is Used by Sports Teams and Leagues
PPTX
22CDO02-IMGD-UNIT-I-MOBILE GAME DESIGN PROCESS
PDF
321 LIBRARY DESIGN.pdf43354445t6556t5656
PDF
Timeless Interiors by PEE VEE INTERIORS
PDF
Control and coordination isdorjdmdndjke
PPTX
SOBALAJE WORK.pptxe4544556y8878998yy6555y5
PPTX
Project_Presentation Bitcoin Price Prediction
PDF
1 Introduction to Networking (06).pdfbsbsbsb
PPTX
ENG4-Q2-W5-PPT (1).pptx nhdedhhehejjedheh
PPTX
lecture-8-entropy-and-the-second-law-of-thermodynamics.pptx
PDF
jyg7ur7rtb7ur57vr65r7t7b7i6t7r65rb57t76bt
PDF
Instagram Marketing in 2025 Reels, Stories, and Strategy (14) (2).pdf
PPTX
Presentation.pptx anemia in pregnancy in
PPT
EthicsNotesSTUDENTCOPYfghhnmncssssx sjsjsj
PDF
This presentation is made for a design foundation class at Avantika Universit...
PPTX
WHY UPLOADING IS IMPORTANT TO DOWNLOAD SLIDES.pptx
PPTX
UNIT II - UID FOR MOBILE GAMES[INTRODUCTION TO MOBILE GAME DESIGN]
PPTX
UNITy8 human computer interac5ion-1.pptx
PPTX
Introduction to Building Information Modeling
Wheezing1.ppt powerpoint presentation for
How Animation is Used by Sports Teams and Leagues
22CDO02-IMGD-UNIT-I-MOBILE GAME DESIGN PROCESS
321 LIBRARY DESIGN.pdf43354445t6556t5656
Timeless Interiors by PEE VEE INTERIORS
Control and coordination isdorjdmdndjke
SOBALAJE WORK.pptxe4544556y8878998yy6555y5
Project_Presentation Bitcoin Price Prediction
1 Introduction to Networking (06).pdfbsbsbsb
ENG4-Q2-W5-PPT (1).pptx nhdedhhehejjedheh
lecture-8-entropy-and-the-second-law-of-thermodynamics.pptx
jyg7ur7rtb7ur57vr65r7t7b7i6t7r65rb57t76bt
Instagram Marketing in 2025 Reels, Stories, and Strategy (14) (2).pdf
Presentation.pptx anemia in pregnancy in
EthicsNotesSTUDENTCOPYfghhnmncssssx sjsjsj
This presentation is made for a design foundation class at Avantika Universit...
WHY UPLOADING IS IMPORTANT TO DOWNLOAD SLIDES.pptx
UNIT II - UID FOR MOBILE GAMES[INTRODUCTION TO MOBILE GAME DESIGN]
UNITy8 human computer interac5ion-1.pptx
Introduction to Building Information Modeling

1._Introduction_.pptx

  • 2. Compiler • A given source language is either compiled or interpreted for execution • compiler is a program that translates a source program (HLL; C, Java) into target code; machine re-locatable code or assembly code. –The generated machine code can be later executed many times against different data each time. –The code generated is not portable to other systems.
  • 3. Interpreter  In an interpreted language, implementations execute instructions directly and freely without previously compiling a program into machine code instructions.  Translation occurs at the same time as the program is being executed.  An interpreter reads an executable source program written in HLL as well as data for this program, and it runs the program against the data to produce some results. –
  • 4. Interpreter   Common interpreters include Perl, Python, and Ruby interpreters, which execute Perl, Python, and Ruby code respectively.  Others include Unix shell interpreter, which runs operating system commands interactively.  Source program is interpreted every time it is executed (less efficient). –
  • 5. Interpreter   Interpreted languages are portable since they are not machine dependent. They can run on different operating systems and platforms.  They are translated on the spot and thus optimized for the system on which they’re being run. –
  • 6. Compilers and Interpreters • “Compilation” – Translation of a program written in a source language into a semantically equivalent program written in a target language Compiler Error messages Source Program Target Program Input Output
  • 7. Compilers and Interpreters (cont’d) Interpreter Source Program Input Output Error messages • “Interpretation” – Performing the operations implied by the source program
  • 8. The Analysis-Synthesis Model of Compilation • There are two parts to compilation: – Analysis Phase This is also known as the front-end of the compiler. It reads the source program, divides it into core parts and then checks for lexical, grammar and syntax errors. The analysis phase generates an intermediate representation of the source program and symbol table, which should be fed to the Synthesis phase as input – Synthesis Phase Its also known as the back-end of the compiler. It generates the target program with the help of intermediate source code representation and symbol table.
  • 9. Other Tools that Use the Analysis-Synthesis Model • Editors (syntax highlighting) • Pretty printers (e.g. Doxygen) • Static checkers (e.g. Lint and Splint) • Interpreters • Text formatters (e.g. TeX and LaTeX) • Silicon compilers (e.g. VHDL) • Query interpreters/compilers (Databases)
  • 10. Preprocessors, Compilers, Assemblers and Linkers • A preprocessor considered as part of compiler, is a tool that produces input for compilers. It deals with macro-processing, file inclusion, language extension, etc. • 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.
  • 11. Preprocessors, Compilers, Assemblers and Linkers • Linker 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. 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.
  • 12. Compiler Design - Architecture of a Compiler • A compiler can have many phases and passes. • Pass : A pass refers to the traversal of a compiler through the entire program. • Phase : A phase of a compiler is a distinguishable stage, which takes input from the previous stage, processes and yields output that can be used as input for the next stage. A pass can have more than one phase.
  • 13. Phases of a Compiler • The compilation process is a sequence of various phases. • Each phase takes input from its previous stage and has its own representation of source program, and feeds its output to the next phase of the compiler.
  • 14. Traditional three pass compiler Front end Source code Machine code errors IR Back end Middle end IR
  • 15. Phases of a Compiler - Front end  The front end analyzes the source code to build an internal representation of the program, called the intermediate representation (IR).  It also manages the symbol table, a data structure mapping each symbol in the source code to associated information such as location, type and scope.
  • 16. Phases of a Compiler - Front end cont’d The front end includes all analysis phases and the intermediate code generator. • Lexical analysis is the first phase of compiler which is also termed as scanning. • During this phase, Source program is scanned to read the stream of characters and those characters are grouped to form a sequence called lexemes which produces token as output. Tokens are defined by regular expressions which are understood by the lexical analyzer.
  • 17. Lexical Analysis  lexical analysis: The process of converting a sequence of characters (such as in a computer program) into a sequence of tokens (strings with an identified "meaning")  Lexical analysis takes the modified source code from language preprocessors that are written in the form of sentences.  The lexical analyzer breaks these syntaxes into a series of tokens, by removing any whitespace or comments in the source code.
  • 18. Lexical Analysis  The lexical analyzer (either generated automatically by a tool like lex, or hand-crafted) reads in a stream of characters, identifies the lexemes in the stream, and categorizes them into tokens.  This is called "tokenizing". If the lexer finds an invalid token, it will report an error.
  • 19. Front end: Terminologies • Token: Token is a sequence of characters that represent lexical unit, which matches with the pattern, such as keywords, operators, identifiers etc. • Lexeme: Lexeme is instance of a token i.e., group of characters forming a token. • Pattern: Pattern describes the rule that the lexemes of a token takes. It is the structure that must be matched by strings.
  • 20. Token and Lexeme  Once a token is generated the corresponding entry is made in the symbol table. At lexical analysis phase, Input: stream of characters Output: Token Token Template: <token-name, attribute-value>  For example, for c=a+b*5; Hence, <id, 1><=>< id, 2>< +><id, 3 >< * >< 5>
  • 21. Token and Lexeme Cont’d
  • 22. Syntax Analysis  Syntax Analyze is sometimes called as parser. It constructs the parse tree. It takes all the tokens one by one and uses Context Free Grammar to construct the parse tree. Why Grammar ?  The rules of programming can be entirely represented in some few productions. Using these productions we can represent what the program actually is. The input has to be checked whether it is in the desired format or not.
  • 23. Syntax Analysis cont’d  Syntax error can be detected at this level if the input is not in accordance with the grammar.
  • 24. Syntactic Analysis  Parsing or syntactic analysis is the process of analyzing a string of symbols, either in natural language or in computer languages, conforming to the rules of a formal grammar  Parse: analyze (a string or text) into logical syntactic components, typically in order to test conformability to a logical grammar.
  • 25. Syntactic Analysis cont’d  If the lexical analyzer finds a token invalid, it generates an error.  The lexical analyzer works closely with the syntax analyzer. It reads character streams from the source code, checks for legal tokens, and passes the data to the syntax analyzer when it demands.
  • 26. Semantic Analysis  Semantic analyzer takes the output of syntax analyzer and produces another tree.  Similarly, intermediate code generator takes a tree as an input produced by semantic analyzer and produces intermediate code.
  • 28. Semantic Analysis cont’d Syntax tree is a compressed representation of the parse tree (a hierarchical structure that represents the derivation of the grammar to obtain input strings) in which the operators appear as interior nodes and the operands of the operator are the children of the node for that operator.  Example of syntax tree
  • 29. Semantic Analyzer Semantic analysis is the third phase of compiler.  It checks for the semantic consistency.  Type information is gathered and stored in symbol table or in syntax tree.  Performs type checking.  It verifies the parse tree, whether it’s meaningful or not. It furthermore produces a verified parse tree.
  • 31. Front-end, Back-end division • Front end maps legal code into IR • Back end maps IR onto target machine • Allows multiple front ends • Multiple passes -> better code Front end Source code Machine code errors IR Back end
  • 32. Front end • Recognize legal code • Report errors • Produce IR • Preliminary storage maps Scanner Source code IR errors tokens Parser
  • 33. Front end • Scanner: – Maps characters into tokens – the basic unit of syntax • x = x + y becomes <id, x> = <id, x> + <id, y> – Typical tokens: number, id, +, -, *, /, do, end – Eliminate white space (tabs, blanks, comments) • A key issue is speed so instead of using a tool like LEX it sometimes needed to write your own scanner Scanner Source code IR errors tokens Parser
  • 34. Front end • Parser: – Recognize context-free syntax – Guide context-sensitive analysis – Construct IR – Produce meaningful error messages – Attempt error correction • There are parser generators like YACC which automates much of the work Scanner Source code IR errors tokens Parser
  • 35. Phases of a Compiler cont’d Middle End – The Optimizer  The middle end performs optimizations on the intermediate representation in order to improve the performance and the quality of the produced machine code.  The middle end contains those optimizations that are independent of the CPU architecture being targeted. – Effort to realize efficiency – Can be very computationally intensive
  • 36. Middle end (optimizer) • Modern optimizers are usually built as a set of passes • Typical passes – Constant propagation – Common sub-expression elimination – Redundant store elimination – Dead code elimination
  • 37. Back end • Translate IR into target machine code • Choose instructions for each IR operation • Decide what to keep in registers at each point • Ensure conformance with system interfaces Instruction selection IR Machine code errors Register Allocation
  • 38. Phases of a Compiler  Back End – This is responsible for the CPU architecture specific optimizations and for code generation.  Machine dependent optimizations: optimizations that depend on the details of the CPU architecture that the compiler targets  Code generation. The transformed intermediate language is translated into the output language, usually the native machine language of the system. 
  • 39. Phases of a Compiler  It also involves resource and storage decisions, such as; deciding which variables to fit into registers and memory and the selection and scheduling of appropriate machine instructions along with their associated addressing modes – Processor (target) Dependant optimization •
  • 40. Phases of a Compiler - Instruction selection • Instruction selection is the stage of a compiler back- end that transforms its middle-level intermediate representation (IR) into a low-level IR where each operation directly corresponds to an instruction available on the target machine. • In a typical compiler, instruction selection precedes both instruction scheduling and register allocation; hence its output IR has an infinite set of pseudo- registers
  • 41. Back end • Have a value in a register when used • Limited resources • Optimal allocation is difficult Instruction selection IR Machine code errors Register Allocation
  • 42. Intermediate Code Generation After semantic analysis the compiler generates an intermediate code of the source code for the target machine. – It represents a program for some abstract machine. – It is in between the high-level language and the machine language. – This intermediate code should be generated in such a way that it makes it easier to be translated into the target machine code.
  • 43. Code Optimization  Optimization can be assumed as something that removes unnecessary code lines, and arranges the sequence of statements in order to speed up the program execution without wasting resources (CPU, memory).
  • 44. 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.
  • 45. Symbol Table  It is a data-structure maintained throughout all the phases of a compiler.  All the identifier's 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.
  • 46. Compiler-Construction Tools • Software development tools are available to implement one or more compiler phases – Scanner generators – Parser generators – Syntax-directed translation engines – Automatic code generators – Data-flow engines