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Knowing how compilers work is very useful foundational knowledge, but that's different than knowing, off the top of your head, the underpinning algorithms neede
by acgourley 13y ago
Knowing how compilers work is very useful foundational knowledge, but that's different than knowing, off the top of your head, the underpinning algorithms needed to implement a compiler!
- kragen 13y agoReally? They sound exactly the same to me. What, in your mind, does "knowing how compilers work" consist of, other than "the underpinning algorithms needed to implement a compiler"?
- acgourley 13y agoThe exhaustive list is longer than I have patience for, here's one example: understanding how the parse and lex steps work, and what is accomplished is useful without knowing how to pseudocode a recursive decent parser. It's worthwhile to write said parsing algorithm once in your life, it's not necessary to keep that knowledge warm in your head throughout your career.
- kragen 13y agoHmm, I guess I don't know what "understanding how the parse and lex steps work" would consist of that didn't involve being able to pseudocode at least some kind of parser, of which the recursive-descent type is the simplest. But maybe I'm blinded by having spent too much time writing parsers. Or maybe you mean "knowing how" in some kind of total back-of-the-hand mastery sense, as opposed to "you could eventually get it to work"?