Learning Compiler Construction by Examples

Abstract: In traditional compiler construction courses, each compiler phase is studied in detail before moving on to the next one. This not only places a great distance between theory and practice but also makes the students lose the big picture of the subject. We have been employing a different course format in which the subject is incrementally introduced through ten compilers of increasingly complexity. The first compiler is in fact just a syntax analyzer of a very simple language. The last one is a complete compiler of a Pascal-like language. Students of this course learn how to build compilers faster than the usual