If you want to give something like that a go, then a good place to start is by modifying or adding to an existing compiler. It will give you some exposure to ot

If you want to give something like that a go, then a good place to start is by modifying or adding to an existing compiler. It will give you some exposure to other peoples code too and a good place to start - you'll always have something with tangible results. Either that or read op on writing interpreters. They can be amazingly simple... Interestingly, the report mentions that none of the authors knew Javascript before they started.