Advanced compiler construction

Summary

Students learn several implementation techniques for modern functional and object-oriented programming languages. They put some of them into practice by developing key parts of a compiler and run time system for a simple functional programming language.

Content

Keywords

compilation, programming languages, functional programming languages, object-oriented programming languages, code optimization, register allocation, garbage collection, virtual machines, interpreters, Scala.

Learning Prerequisites

Recommended courses

CS-320 Computer language processing

Important concepts to start the course

Excellent knowledge of Scala and C programming languages

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course, the student must be able to:

• Assess / Evaluate the quality of a compiler intermediate representation
• Design compilers and run time systems for object-oriented and functional programming languages
• Implement rewriting-based compiler optimizations
• Implement efficient virtual machines and interpreters
• Implement mark and sweep or copying garbage collectors

Teaching methods

Ex Cathedra, mini-project

Assessment methods

Continuous control (mini-project 80%, final exam 20%)

Supervision

Resources

Virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI)

No

Bibliography

The Garbage Collection Handbook - The Art of Automatic Memory Management, second edition, Richard Jones, Antony Hosking, Eliot Moss (ISBN 9781032218038).

Websites

• https://cs420.epfl.ch/