A compiler is a computer program (or set of programs) that transforms source code written in a programming language (the source language) into another computer language (the target language, often having a binary form known as object code).
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How come compilers are so reliable?
We use compilers on a daily basis as if their correctness is a given, but compilers are programs too, and can potentially contain bugs. I always wondered about this infallible robustness. Have you ...
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8answers
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Are Intel compilers really better than the Microsoft ones?
Years ago, I was surprised when I discovered that Intel sells Visual Studio compatible compilers. I tried it in particular for C/C++ as well as fantastic diagnostic tools. But the code was simply not ...
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9answers
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What is the difference between “Syntax” and “Syntactic Sugar”
Background
The Wikipedia page on Syntactic Sugar states:
In computer science, syntactic sugar is syntax within a programming language that is designed to make things easier to read or to express. ...
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Should I use a parser generator or should I roll my own custom lexer and parser code?
What specific advantages and disadvantages of each way to working on a programming language grammar?
Why/When should I roll my own? Why/When should I use a generator?
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5answers
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Is Google Closure a true compiler?
This question is inspired by the debate in the comments on this Stack Overflow question. The Google Closure Compiler documentation states the following (emphasis added):
The Closure Compiler is a ...
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4answers
735 views
Detecting misusage of delete[] vs. delete at compile time
I'd like to know if it's possible to detect the delete error commented below at compile time? Especially, I'd like to hear about g++ compiler.
ClassTypeA *abc_ptr = new ClassTypeA[100];
...
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3answers
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How could the first C++ compiler be written in C++?
Stroustrup claims that Cfront, the first C++ compiler, was written in C++ (Stroustrup FAQ).
However, how is it even possible that the first C++ compiler be written in C++?
The code that makes up the ...
15
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1answer
674 views
Are there any podcasts (not lectures) about compiler development?
There are several podcasts with lectures from universities. I am looking for "other" podcasts.
So are there any non-lecture podcasts about compiler development?
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10answers
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Career advice: PhD in theory of programming languages
I'm very interested in the theories of programming languages and going to apply a PhD in this topic, but I want to know more about the career after the graduate education. besides being a professor, ...
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11answers
714 views
Are there any compilers that attempt to fix syntax errors on their own?
I heard a while back that there used to be a compiler that attempted to fix syntax errors by analyzing context and inferring what was intended.
Does such a compiler really exist? Obviously it has ...
13
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5answers
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Are C++ templates just a kind of glorified macros?
From different comparisons among C++ templates and C#/Java generics like this one-
...
13
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1answer
8k views
Which compilers support what C++11 features?
If one wanted to start using C++11 features, where would one find detailed information on the features supported by the major compilers? Like "In version X we support move semantics now, but haven't ...
13
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2answers
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What is ASM.js and what does it mean for everyone?
I'm starting to hear rumblings about this project called ASM.js. Currently their web site is terrible and confusing. Here's what I know from my research on the web.
It is a subset of JavaScript that ...
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6answers
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What came first, the compiler, or the source?
I'm curious about the birth of the compiler. How did programming begin? Did people first build hardware that recognized a certain set of commands, or did people define a language and then build ...
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25answers
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What do you wish your compiler could do for you (that it currently doesn't)? [closed]
What feature do you wish that your compiler possessed that it currently doesn't? And why would it make your job easier? Are there any negative impacts to your new feature?
Just keep it a bit ...
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14answers
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Is it true that first versions of C compilers ran for dozens of minutes and required swapping floppy disks between stages?
Inspired by this question.
I heard that some very very early versions of C compilers for personal computers (I guess it's around 1980) resided on two or three floppy disks and so in order to compile ...
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1answer
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What are the main advantages and disadvantages of LL and LR parsing?
When building a parser to a programming language what I earn and what I lost choosing one or the other?
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5answers
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JIT compiler for C, C++, and the likes
Is there any just-in-time compiler out there for compiled languages, such as C and C++? (The first names that come to mind are Clang and LLVM! But I don't think they currently support it.)
...
11
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3answers
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How to implement lazy evaluation of if()
I am currently implementing an expression evaluator (single line expressions, like formulas) based on the following:
the entered expression is tokenized to separate literal booleans, integers, ...
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3answers
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How does a static type system affect the design of a prototype-based language?
The Wikipedia article on prototype-based languages contains the following paragraph:
Almost all prototype-based systems are based on interpreted and dynamically typed languages. Systems based on ...
11
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4answers
401 views
Is it possible to use the Intel C/C++ compiler on Linux to create object files to be linked on Windows?
Why?
Depending on your source the Intel compiler is likely or most definitely the compiler generating the fastest executables for the x86 architecture (5 to 100 % execution time improvement).
Intel ...
10
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6answers
2k views
Why C++ to write a compiler?
I was wondering why C++ is a good choice to write a compiler. Of course C is good for this purpose too, because many compilers are written either in C or C++ but I am more interested in C++ this time. ...
10
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2answers
522 views
Why can't a compiler avoid importing a header file twice by its own?
New to C++! So I was reading this: http://www.learncpp.com/cpp-tutorial/110-a-first-look-at-the-preprocessor/
Header guards
Because header files can include other header files, it is possible ...
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7answers
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Which computer science subjects are required to follow introductory course in compilers?
I am non computer science undergraduate and work as a web-developer(java, python, AS3 etc.) as a professional. I take 1 course per semester at my local university. I had taken Artificial ...
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3answers
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Why would more CPU cores on virtual machine slow compile times?
[edit#2] If anyone from VMWare can hit me up with a copy of VMWare Fusion, I'd be more than happy to do the same as a VirtualBox vs VMWare comparison. Somehow I suspect the VMWare hypervisor will be ...
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2answers
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Compiler optimization examples
I'd like to see (good) examples of optimizations performed by compilers (static and JIT). Why?
To learn what we don't have to optimize ourselves (often leading to better code)
To be amazed
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2answers
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What is the relationship between the Dynamic Language Runtime and C# 4.0?
Let's say I wanted to create a dynamic language compiler/interpreter, a Scheme interpreter perhaps, on the .NET platform as it exists today. Would I be better off using the Dynamic Language Runtime ...
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3answers
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Writing a Compiler Compiler - Insight on Use and Features
This is part of a series of questions which focuses on the sister project to the Abstraction Project, which aims to abstract the concepts used in language design in the form of a framework. The ...
10
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2answers
585 views
Anyone know of any parallelizing compilers following the approach of the Dragon Book?
In Compilers: Principles, Techniques, & Tools, Aho et al describe an approach for optimizing for parallelism (chapter 11 in the second edition). Is anyone aware of any existing compilers which ...
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7answers
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Are compilers used outside of development?
As far as my understanding goes, compilers are meant for developers compiling their code into executable (machine-code) files. Compilers don't extend to a client's machine or end-user system.
...
9
votes
4answers
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Is Python Interpreted or Compiled?
This is just a wondering I had while reading about interpreted and compiled languages.
Ruby is no doubt an interpreted language, since source code is compiled by an interpreter at the point of ...
9
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4answers
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Compiler Jobs - How Much Education Is Needed
I was motivated by the Compiler Construction As A Subject question and thought I would ask this one. I have heard from a few people that they have a good "compiler team" (don't ask where I heard it, I ...
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5answers
525 views
Basic features for a basic language? DSL suggestions?
I've finally begun to understand the complexity behind creating an interpreter and a compiler. I've built several versions of TinyBasic, 1964 (Dartmouth) Basic, and my own expansions on those ...
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5answers
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Do Fortran compilers really generate faster code than C compilers?
When I was studying in the university I often heard the idea that Fortran compilers produced faster code than C compilers for an equivalent program.
The key reasoning went like this: a Fortran ...
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5answers
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Interpreted vs Compiled: A useful distinction?
A lot of questions get asked here about interpreted vs compiled language implements. I'm wondering whether the distinction actually makes any sense. (Actually the questions are usually about ...
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2answers
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How should compilers report errors and warnings?
I don't plan on writing a compiler in the near future; still, I'm quite interested with compiler technologies, and how this stuff could be made better.
Starting with compiled languages, most ...
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8answers
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Compiler Warnings
Many compilers have warning messages to warn the programmers about potential runtime, logic and performance errors, most times, you quickly fix them, but what about unfixable warnings?
How do you ...
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9answers
991 views
Why are virtual machines required?
Instead of compiling the source code for the respective OS (on which it is targeted), you compile once and run everywhere.
For the sake of this question, I would call it VM (for example, both for ...
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3answers
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Why doesn't Python need a compiler?
Just wondering (now that I've started with C++ which needs a compiler) why Python doesn't need a compiler?
I just enter the code, save it as an exec, and run it. In C++ I have to make builds and all ...
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5answers
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When to pay for C++ compilers
Recently I have began to wonder when developers should pay for compilers. Compilers come for free with most platforms or there is a free version easily obtainable.
Example:
OS X - GCC and Clang/LLVM ...
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8answers
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Are there any concrete examples of where a paralellizing compiler would provide a value-adding benefit?
Paul Graham argues that:
It would be great if a startup could give us something of the old
Moore's Law back, by writing software that could make a large number
of CPUs look to the developer ...
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votes
3answers
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Is Clang/LLVM ready for prime time?
Clang is able to be used instead of gcc? What your experience on that? What disadvantages there are yet?
Performance of compilation is very better than gcc but about performance of code generated ...
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votes
6answers
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What is the industry definition of an interpreter (as opposed to a compiler)?
In my compiler design courses, I have learned about and worked with a clear academic definition of an interpreter and a compiler, with an interpreter being
a program Pi from a language M capable ...
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3answers
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1answer
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What is the current state of SECD and SKI machine use and research?
I'm doing some independent research/study with a professor who's a very functional guy. The goal is to examine more of what's happening behind the scenes with functional languages than we normally ...
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6answers
675 views
What is the advantage of learning about and understanding compiler construction?
I'm a undergraduate in my 3rd year of a Software Engineering degree. From this year on, my university has introduced a new course called 'Compiler Constructions', which teaches you the basics of the ...
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votes
4answers
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Will all compilers start supporting C++0x as soon as it is officially out?
It's sometimes frustrating to know that one particular feature is working in one compiler and not in another. Even after downloading latest gcc4.6 few weeks back some C++0x features are not working.
...
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votes
7answers
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How can variables be created at runtime?
Is it possible to define variables dynamically?
Last night I was writing some code (C and VB2010) and I ran into a problem related to defining variables in my program. The variables needed depend on ...
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votes
8answers
562 views
How useful are compile-time functions?
How useful are compile time functions? Personally I haven't worked in any language that supports them but they seem nifty in some cases.
For those who don't what I mean, a compile-time function is ...
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3answers
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Compiler Linking: How to handle circular references?
I'm currently writing a compiler for a new language and I'm struggling with the linking aspect of new Types when there exists a circular reference.
I've created a dependency tree so that I can ...
