15-411 Compiler Design
Resources

This page always under construction. Links to useful resources are welcome.

Source Language: C0

The labs use increasingly more complete subsets of the C0 programming language that has been designed for 15-122 Principles of Imperative Computation, a freshman-level course at Carnegie Mellon University. C0 is a small safe subset of C with an unambiguous semantics. You are strongly encourage to learn C0, since you will be writing a compiler for this language.

Target Languages and Tools

x86-64 Machine-Level Programming

The following documents will help you fathom the depths of machine-level programming on the new x86-64 machines, a 64-bit extension of the Intel instruction set.

x86-64 Machine-Level Programming. This document supplements Chapter 3 the textbook for 15-213 Computer Systems: A Programmer's Perspective, 1st edition, by Randal E. Bryant and David R. O'Hallaron.
GNU Assembler User Guide. This is version (2.15) available on the lab machines. Contains i386-specific features with notes on the difference between x86 and x86-64.
x86-64 Application Binary Interface (ABI). Specifies the rules for compilers and linkers.
Official Intel Processor Manuals (not for the faint of heart) including the Combined Instruction Set Reference.

IA32 and Assembler Reference Material

The following are for the older Intel x86 architectures. See the newer references above for the x86-64 (also known as IA32-EM64T).

Intel opcode table for IA32, two-page reference
x86 asm in Intel format

GDB

Updated gdb reference for x86-64 architecture
Quick gdb reference for x86 architecture

LLVM

LLVM is a potential second target for the compiler for Lab 6

LLVM Home Page
On-line demo (for producing LLVM source from C)

Garbage Collection

Writing a garbage collector for C0 is one of the interesting options for Lab 6

Richard Jones' Garbage Collection Page
Paul R. Wilson: Uniprocessor Garbage Collection Techniques, 67pp, 1994
Hans Boehm's Conservative Garbage Collector

Implementation Languages

Standard ML

Standard ML of New Jersey (SML/NJ)
MLton, A highly optimizing, whole program compiler mostly compatible with SML/NJ
Poly/ML, Another high quality compiler
Standard ML Libraries and Documentation

Java

Java API
JLex: lexer generator
JFLex: lexer generator
CUP: LALR parser generator
ANTLR: lexer and LL parser generator
JavaCC: lexer and LL parser generator

Haskell

Scala

For Fall 2014, we strongly discourage the use of Scala due to efficiency issues explained in lecture.

Scala reference manuals and tutorials
Scala API
scala.util.parsing.combinator package
scala.util.parsing.combinator.PackratParsers packrat parsing by memoization
ScalaBison: recent LR parser generator

15-411 Compiler Design Resources