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If you would like a heartwarming tale of an engineers first compiler, this is the article for you. There is either nothing to learn here, or a spectacular insi
by jfoutz 7y ago
If you would like a heartwarming tale of an engineers first compiler, this is the article for you.
There is either nothing to learn here, or a spectacular insight into compilation, depending on where you are in your career.
Compilers are fun. It’s an invaluable experience having written one. There is no magic left in a computer once you’ve written a compiler.
If you have written a compiler, this article is amusing. You get to see a programmers eyes open.
If you have not written a compiler, you get some insight about how they work- but perhaps you get more insight about how you work.
Also, the author should constant fold his arithmetic example. It slows down compile time, but makes the program faster.
- bluedino 7y agoI love these articles as they are a big 'magical' to me. They make me wish I had gotten a CS degree.
- eatonphil 7y agoYou don't need a CS degree to enjoy this stuff or learn more! I do not have a CS degree, or any degree at all. It took me a few years before I built up the courage to write an interpreter or compiler but I was compelled by peers who had built their own (and didn't attend college either). There are numerous bloggers who dig deeper into the implementation of things and explain them. You just have to start asking "how do I build X from scratch".
- felixangell 7y agoThis is very much the case! I started tinkering with compilers around 4 years ago when I was 16. If it was possible for me to do then, I'm sure it's possible for anyone else to learn too. When I write articles like these, I think of what I would have liked to have read when I was first getting into the topic at hand.