• Download and save this zip file somewhere
• Open eclipse, preferably creating a new workspace
• Choose File..Import...Existing Projects into Workspace...
• Choose the archive file and browse to find the place you saved the above zip file

Studio sessions (active learning)

There is evidence to suggest that active learning sessions can enhance a student's interest in a subject and improve retention of subject material. Such sessions are typically collaborative in nature, fostering team work and encouraging sharing of ideas and approaches.

This web site contains studio sessions for most of the text's chapters. The pattern for such sessions is as follows:

• Students organize themselves into groups of 2–3 students.
• Some software is typically distributed and installed at the beginning of the session.
• The students work as a team to solve the problems posed in the session. Each session contains a sequence of problems, and students are encouraged to explore topics within and between the stated problems.
• Students submit some artifact of their work during studio, which is typically made available for their use after studio in the laboratory sessions.

Laboratory exercises

This site contains laboratory assignments in which students develop and demonstrate proficiency with the course material. Such assignments could be performed indivdually or collaboratively at the discretion of the instructor.

The laboratory exercises culminate in a working compiler for a subset of Java.

While much has changed, students and faculty alike continue to study and teach the subject of compiler construction. Research in the area of compilers and programing language translation continues at a brisk pace, as compilers are tasked with accommodating an increasing diversity of architectures and programming languages. Software development environments depend on compilers interacting successfully with a variety of software toolchain components such as syntax-informed editors, performance profilers, and debuggers. All modern software efforts rely on their compilers to check vigorously for errors and to translate programs faithfully.

This book reflects a substantive revision of the material from 1988 and 1991. While the focus of this text remains on teaching the fundamentals of compiler construction, the algorithms and approaches have been brought into modern practice:

• Algorithms are presented in a pseudocode style that should be familiar to students who have studied the fundamental algorithms of our discipline. Pseudocode enables a concise formulation of an algorithm and a rational discussion of the algorithm's purpose and construction.

• The details of implementation in a particular language have been relegated to this web site.

• Parsing theory and practice are organized to facilitate a variety of pedagogical approaches. Some may study the material at a high level to gain a broad view of top-down and bottom-up parsing. Others may study a particular approach in greater detail.

• The front- and back-end phases of a compiler are connected by the Abstract Syntax Tree (AST), which is created as the primary artifact of parsing. Most compilers build an AST, but relatively few texts articulate its construction and use. The visitor pattern is introduced for traversing the AST during semantic analysis and code generation.

• Laboratory and studio exercises are available to instructors via this web site. Instructors can assign some components as exercises for the students while other components are supplied from our course-support Web site.