C++Talk.NET C++ language newsgroups   Archives   FAQ   Search   Memberlist   Usergroups   Register   Profile   Log in to check your private messages   Log in  How to write a C++ compiler Goto page 1, 2  Next          C++Talk.NET Forum Index -> C++ language (comp.lang.c++) View previous topic :: View next topic   Author Message Simon Kwong Guest Posted: Wed Mar 03, 2004 8:25 pm    Post subject: How to write a C++ compiler Hi, I am learning c++ and would like to write a simple C++ compiler. How should I start? Please help. Simon Back to top Leor Zolman Guest Posted: Wed Mar 03, 2004 8:50 pm    Post subject: Re: How to write a C++ compiler On Thu, 4 Mar 2004 04:25:27 +0800, "Simon Kwong" <sktw (AT) hotmail (DOT) com> wrote: Quote: Hi, I am learning c++ and would like to write a simple C++ compiler. How should I start? Please help. Start by writing a simple <something simpler than C++> compiler. The first compiler I wrote (back in 1978) was for a subset of BASIC that generated intermediate code and then interpreted it. I was able to cannibalize a few pieces of that when I tackled writing a small C compiler the next year. After that I swore off writing compilers for the rest of my life -leor Quote: Simon Leor Zolman BD Software [email]leor (AT) bdsoft (DOT) com[/email] www.bdsoft.com -- On-Site Training in C/C++, Java, Perl & Unix C++ users: Download BD Software's free STL Error Message Decryptor at www.bdsoft.com/tools/stlfilt.html Back to top Mike Wahler Guest Posted: Wed Mar 03, 2004 8:51 pm    Post subject: Re: How to write a C++ compiler "Simon Kwong" <sktw (AT) hotmail (DOT) com> wrote Quote: Hi, I am learning c++ and would like to write a simple C++ compiler. No such thing. Quote: How should I start? With extensive research. Look up terms 'lexical' 'analysis', 'parsing', 'grammar', etc. BTW why do you feel you'll be capable of writing a C++ compiler before you've actually learned (very well) how to *use* the language? Also note that there's no requirement to *use* C++ (or any other particular language) to write a C++ compiler. (Although you'll almost certainly need to learn assembly language for the platform(s) you intend to target.) -Mike Back to top Alf P. Steinbach Guest Posted: Wed Mar 03, 2004 8:55 pm    Post subject: Re: How to write a C++ compiler * "Simon Kwong" <sktw (AT) hotmail (DOT) com> schriebt: Quote: I am learning c++ and would like to write a simple C++ compiler. A C++ compiler is definitely a non-trivial piece of software. If you're learning C++ then you have no chance of creating a C++ compiler in C++. It's like: "I'm learning science and would like to make a moon rocket". Quote: How should I start? Many universities offer courses where you get to create a compiler. The "Dragon book", <url: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0201100886/002-2510887-2360043?v=glance> is a good place to start for learning about writing compilers. For learning C++, on the other hand, it very much depends on what you already know. If you are proficient in some other programming language then the recommended book is "Accelerated C++" by Koenig and, darn, memory failure. Moi? Otherwise take a look at e.g. "You can do it!" by Francis Glassborow. Not that I've read the book but Francis is a very competent person who writes very clearly and honestly. See <url: http://www.spellen.org/youcandoit/>. Back to top Dave Guest Posted: Wed Mar 03, 2004 9:09 pm    Post subject: Re: How to write a C++ compiler "Simon Kwong" <sktw (AT) hotmail (DOT) com> wrote Quote: Hi, I am learning c++ and would like to write a simple C++ compiler. How should I start? Please help. Simon Compilers in general, and C++ compilers in particular, are among the most complex pieces of software out there. If what you implement is truly C++ in its entirety, you will have created a *very* non-trivial piece of software. A small subset of C++ would be much more manageable. Specifically, I would leave out inheritance, templates, namespaces and exceptions for sure and would pick-and-choose other stuff to leave out. I suggest starting by taking a university course in compiler construction. Make sure it's a course that involves a project (any decent course will). After such a course, you will realize that you are still a long way from being able to write a C++ compiler. As a point of interest and curiosity, can anybody think of problem domains more complex than full-fledged optimizing compilers for extremely robust languages such as C++? Of course, "complex" is subjective, but I suppose a reasonable interpretation would be that in addition to being large (i.e. a large number of lines of code are necessary) an in-depth knowledge of several areas of Computer Science is required (formal languages, parsing, classic algorithms / data structures, architecture, etc...). Back to top Alf P. Steinbach Guest Posted: Wed Mar 03, 2004 9:24 pm    Post subject: Re: How to write a C++ compiler * "Dave" <better_cs_now (AT) yahoo (DOT) com> schriebt: Quote: As a point of interest and curiosity, can anybody think of problem domains more complex than full-fledged optimizing compilers It's difficult, but yes, I'd say a real-time operating system would qualify. In the other direction, perhaps the OP is interested in something _easier_ than a full-fledged optimizing compiler. The first useful language I made was a hierarchical thing for defining function keys on Hewlett Packard text terminals. It was part of a generalized help system. A "program" consisted of a simple text file with nested definitions, which were interpreted once and "compiled" into internal data structures. Of course, today we'd just use someone else's XML parser or such. But I think for someone learning C++ even using someone else's XML parses might be challenge enough, and it might actually be easier to just write the interpreter directly. Back to top E. Robert Tisdale Guest Posted: Wed Mar 03, 2004 9:32 pm    Post subject: Re: How to write a C++ compiler Simon Kwong wrote: Quote: I am learning c++ and would like to write a simple C++ compiler. How should I start? Excellent idea! Send email to Bjarne Stroustrup. Ask him for any good leads on text books for compiler design and implementation that feature a simple C++ compiler design. Back to top Mike Wahler Guest Posted: Wed Mar 03, 2004 9:36 pm    Post subject: Re: How to write a C++ compiler "Alf P. Steinbach" <alfps (AT) start (DOT) no> wrote Quote: * "Simon Kwong" <sktw (AT) hotmail (DOT) com> schriebt: For learning C++, on the other hand, it very much depends on what you already know. If you are proficient in some other programming language then the recommended book is "Accelerated C++" by Koenig and, darn, memory failure. Moi? Andrew Koenig & Barbara Moo. www.acceleratedcpp.com I'll second Alf's recommedation of this great book. -Mike Back to top Claudio Puviani Guest Posted: Wed Mar 03, 2004 11:45 pm    Post subject: Re: How to write a C++ compiler "Alf P. Steinbach" <alfps (AT) start (DOT) no> wrote Quote: * "Dave" <better_cs_now (AT) yahoo (DOT) com> schriebt: As a point of interest and curiosity, can anybody think of problem domains more complex than full-fledged optimizing compilers It's difficult, but yes, I'd say a real-time operating system would qualify. Having worked on both, I can tell you without hesitation that writing a real-time operating system is far less complex than writing a compiler for a non-trivial language. Once you get the scheduler and IPC right, the rest falls in place, though what's left is time consuming. I don't see any small subset of C++ that would allow all the other features to become trivial to implement. Claudio Puviani Back to top Makhno Guest Posted: Wed Mar 03, 2004 11:59 pm    Post subject: Re: How to write a C++ compiler Quote: Also note that there's no requirement to *use* C++ ... to write a C++ compiler. That's a relief. Would've been tricky writing the first one otherwise. Back to top Julie Guest Posted: Thu Mar 04, 2004 12:02 am    Post subject: Re: How to write a C++ compiler Simon Kwong wrote: Quote: Hi, I am learning c++ and would like to write a simple C++ compiler. How should I start? Please help. Simon If you are set on writing a C++ compiler, you might want to look at an open source compiler, and slowly modify it until you get the hang of the language and the compiler, then start on your own. Conversely, something that may prove as much (if not more) of a learning experience is to write a C++ front-end that takes (simple) C++ code as input, and outputs C code. This is how C++ was originally implemented. This would give you a pretty good immersion into C++, you would be able to understand the implementation details of the language, and you wouldn't have to get tied to a particular architecture or worry about machine code generation, linking, and similar that have little to do w/ the language. Back to top Dan Cernat Guest Posted: Thu Mar 04, 2004 2:14 am    Post subject: Re: How to write a C++ compiler "Makhno" <root (AT) 127 (DOT) 0.0.1> wrote Quote: Also note that there's no requirement to *use* C++ ... to write a C++ compiler. That's a relief. Would've been tricky writing the first one otherwise. AFAIK the first Pascal compiler was written in Pascal. They compiled it by hand. I guess it wasn't very complicated. Could be a urban legend, though. Back to top Julie Guest Posted: Thu Mar 04, 2004 2:31 am    Post subject: Re: How to write a C++ compiler Dan Cernat wrote: Quote: "Makhno" <root (AT) 127 (DOT) 0.0.1> wrote in message news:c25rlj$3gi$1 (AT) newsg4 (DOT) svr.pol.co.uk... Also note that there's no requirement to *use* C++ ... to write a C++ compiler. That's a relief. Would've been tricky writing the first one otherwise. AFAIK the first Pascal compiler was written in Pascal. They compiled it by hand. I guess it wasn't very complicated. Could be a urban legend, though. Bootstrapping. Not the quickest way to work on a compiler I presume, but arguably a good way to test your code and compiler at the same time. From what I recall, a few of the one-man-compiler-teams back in the 80's used this method -- Walter Bright and Zortech C/C++ iirc, et al. Back to top Claudio Puviani Guest Posted: Thu Mar 04, 2004 5:05 pm    Post subject: Re: How to write a C++ compiler "Julie" <julie (AT) aol (DOT) com> wrote Quote: Dan Cernat wrote: "Makhno" <root (AT) 127 (DOT) 0.0.1> wrote in message news:c25rlj$3gi$1 (AT) newsg4 (DOT) svr.pol.co.uk... Also note that there's no requirement to *use* C++ ... to write a C++ compiler. That's a relief. Would've been tricky writing the first one otherwise. AFAIK the first Pascal compiler was written in Pascal. They compiled it by hand. I guess it wasn't very complicated. Could be a urban legend, though. Bootstrapping. Not the quickest way to work on a compiler I presume, but arguably a good way to test your code and compiler at the same time. From what I recall, a few of the one-man-compiler-teams back in the 80's used this method -- Walter Bright and Zortech C/C++ iirc, et al. In the late 1970s, Drs Yuen and Chung bootstrapped their Tiny Pascal by writing a limited version in Microsoft BASIC and then rewriting the compiler in Tiny Pascal. They also had a BASIC p-code to Z80 translator and a native Z80 p-code interpreter. The whole adventure is chronicled in the excellent, but no longer published, "The Byte Book of Pascal". A few copies still seem to be in circulation in various used book stores: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/OopBooks/oopResultsIsbn.asp?wid=48775220&origean=9780070378230&wbflg=N&page=%2Fbooksearch%2FisbnInquiry%2Easp. Claudio Puviani Back to top KTC Guest Posted: Thu Mar 04, 2004 11:36 pm    Post subject: Re: How to write a C++ compiler "Makhno" <root (AT) 127 (DOT) 0.0.1> for some reason wrote: Quote: Also note that there's no requirement to *use* C++ ... to write a C++ compiler. That's a relief. Would've been tricky writing the first one otherwise. The first C++ compiler was written using C++ ! http://www.research.att.com/~bs/bs_faq2.html#bootstrapping -- Experience is a good school but the fees are high. - Heinrich Heine Back to top Display posts from previous: All Posts1 Day7 Days2 Weeks1 Month3 Months6 Months1 Year Oldest FirstNewest First         C++Talk.NET Forum Index -> C++ language (comp.lang.c++) All times are GMT Goto page 1, 2  Next Page 1 of 2   Jump to: Select a forum C/C++----------------C LanguageC Language (Moderated)C++ Language (Moderated)C++ language (comp.lang.c++)C++ language, library and standards Non-English C/C++ Newsgroups----------------C++ (German)C++ (French)  You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2006 phpBB Group SEO toolkit © 2004-2006 webmedic.