COMPILERS

BASIC COMPILER FUNCTIONS

A compiler accepts a program written in a high level language as input and
produces its machine language equivalent as output. For the purpose of compiler
construction, a high level programming language is described in terms of a grammar.
This grammar specifies the formal description of the syntax or legal statements in the
language.
Example: Assignment statement in Pascal is defined as:
< variable > : = < Expression >
The compiler has to match statement written by the programmer to the structure
defined by the grammars and generates appropriate object code for each statement. The
compilation process is so complex that it is not reasonable to implement it in one single
step. It is partitioned into a series of sub-process called phases. A phase is a logically
cohesive operation that takes as input one representation of the source program and
produces an output of another representation. The basic phases are - Lexical Analysis,
Syntax Analysis, and Code Generation.
Lexical Analysis: It is the first phase. It is also called scanner. It separates
characters of the source language into groups that logically belong together. These groups
are called tokens. The usual tokens are:
Keyword:
Identifiers:
Operator symbols:
Punctuation symbols:

such as DO or IF,
such as x or num,
such as <, =, or, +, and
such as parentheses or commas.

The output of the lexical analysis is a stream of tokens, which is passed to the
next phase; the syntax analyzer or parser.
Syntax Analyzer: It groups tokens together into syntactic structure. For
example, the three tokens representing A + B might be grouped into a syntactic structure
called as expression. Expressions might further be combined to form statements. Often
the syntactic structures can be regarded as a tree whose leaves are the tokens. The interior
nodes of the tree represent strings of token that logically belong together. Fig. 1 shows
the syntax tree for READ statement in PASCAL
(read)

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(id - list)
READ

id
{value}

Fig. 1 Syntax Tree

Code Generator: It produces the object code by deciding on the memory

locations for data, selecting code to access each datum and selecting the registers in
which each computation is to be done. Designing a code generator that produces truly
efficient object program is one of the most difficult parts of compiler design.
In the following sections we discuss the basic elements of a simple compilation
process, illustrating this application to the example program in fig. 2.
PROGRAM STATS
VAR
SUM, SUMSQ, I, VALUE, MEAN, VARIANCE : INTEGER
BEGIN
SUM
:=0;
SUMSQ : = 0 ;
FOR I : = 1 to 100 Do
BEGIN
READ (VALUE) ;
SUM
: = SUM + VALUE ;
SUMSQ : = SUMSQ + VALUE * VALUE
END;
MEAN
: = SUM DIV 100;
VARIANCE : = SUMSQ DIV 100 - MEAN * MEAN ;
WRITE (MEAN, VARIANCE)
END
Fig. 2 Pascal Program

GRAMMARS
A grammar for a programming language is a formal description of the syntax of
programs and individual statements written in the language. The grammar does not
describe the semantics or memory of the various statements. To differentiate between
syntax and semantics consider the following example:
VAR X, Y : REAL
I
: INTEGER
X:=I+Y;
Fig .3

VAR

I, J, K : INTEGER
I:= J+K ;

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These two programs statement have identical syntax. Each is an assignment

statement; the value to be assigned is given by an expression that consists of two variable
names separated by the operator '+'.
The semantics of the two statements are quite different. The first statement
specifies that the variables in the expressions are to be added using integer arithmetic
operations. The second statement specifies a floating-point addition, with the integer
operand 2 being connected to floating point before adding. The difference between the
statements would be recognized during code generation.
Grammar can be written using a number of different notations. Backus-Naur
Form (BNF) is one of the methods available. It is simple and widely used. It provides
capabilities that are different for most purposes.
A BNF grammar consists of a set of rules, each of which defines the syntax of
some construct in the programming language.
A grammar has four components. They are:
1. A set of tokens, known as terminal symbols non-enclosed in bracket.
Example:

READ, WRITE

2. A set of terminals. The character strings enclosed between the angle brackets
(<, >) are called terminal symbols. These are the names of the constructs
defined in the grammar.
3. A set of productions where each production consists of a non-terminal called
the left side of the production, as "is defined to be" (:: = ), and a sequence of
token and/or non-terminal, called the right side of the product.
Example: < reads > : : = READ <id - list >.
4. A designation of one of the non-terminals as the start symbol.
This rule offers two possibilities separated by the symbol, for the syntax of an
< id - list > may consist simply of a token id (the notation id denotes an identifier that is
recognized by the scanner). The second syntax.
Example:

ALPHA
ALPHA, BETA

ALPHA is an < id - list > that consist of another < id - list > ALPHA, followed
by a comma, followed by an id BETA.
Tree: It is also called parse tree or syntax tree. It is convenient to display the
analysis of a source statement in terms of a grammar as a tree.
Example:
READ (VALUE)
GRAMMAR: (read) : : = READ ( < id -list>)
Example: Assignment statement:
SUM : = 0 ;
SUM : = + VALUE ;
SUM : = - VALUE ;

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Grammar: < assign >

< exp >
< term >
< factor >

::
::
::
::

=
=
=
=

id : = < exp >

< term > | < exp > - < term >
< factor > | < term > * < factor > | < term > DIV < factor >
id | int | ( < exp > )

Assign consists of an id followed by the token : = , followed by an expression

<exp > Fig. 4(a). Show the syntax tree.
Expressions are sequence of <terms> connected by the operations + and - Fig.
4(b). Show the syntax tree.
Term is a sequence of < factor > S connected by * and DIV Fig. 4(c).
A factor may consists of an identifies id or an int (which is also recognized by the
scan) or an < exp > enclosed in parenthesis. Fig. 4(d).
< assign >

id
:=
{variance }

<exp >

< exp >

< term >

Fig. 4 (a)

Dir
X

< exp >

Fig. 4 (b)

< term >

|
< factor >

factor
|

< term >

id

< factor >

int
Id

Fig.4 (c)
(< exp > )

Fig. 4 (d)

Fig. 4 Parse Trees

For the statement Variance : = SUMSQ Div 100 - MEAN * MEAN ;

The list of simplified Pascal grammar is shown in fig.5.
1. < prog >
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

: : = PROGRAM < program > VAR <dec - list >

BEGIN < stmt > - list > END.
< prog - name >: : = id
< dec - list > : : = < dec > | < dec - list > ; < dec >
< dec >
: : = < id - list > : < type >
< type >
: : = integer
< id - list >
: : = id | < id - list > , id
<stmt - list > : : = < stmt > <stmt - list > ; < stmt >
< stmt >
: : = < assign > | <read > | < write > | < for >

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9. < assign >

10. < exp >
11. < term >
12. < factor >

::=
::=
::=
::=

id : = < exp >

< term > | < exp > + < term > | < exp > - < term >
< factor > | < term > <factor> | <term> DIV <factor>
id ; int | (< exp >)

13.
14.
15.
16.
17.

::=
::=
::=
::=
::=

READ ( < id - list >)

WRITE ( < id - list >)
FOR < idex - exp > Do < body >
id : = < exp > To ( exp >
< start > | BEGIN < start - list > END

< READ >

< write >
< for >
< index - exp>
< body >

Fig. 5 Simplified Pascal Grammar

( < prog >)
|
PROGRAM

< prog - name > VAR dec - list

Id
{STATS}

BEGIN

<Stmt - list >

< dec >

< stmt - list >
< id - list >

(id - list)

(id - list ) ;

: < type >

INTEGER

< stmt >

< write >

id
{VARIANCE} < stmt - list > ;

(id - list ) ,

END

id
(MEAN)

< stmt - list >

id
<VALUE > < stmt - list >

; <stmt >

<stmt > WRITE

( <id - list > )

<stmt > < assign > (id - list ) .

id
{VARIANCE}

id
id
:=
<MEAN>
{VARIANCE} < exp >
< assign >

(id - list ) ,

<id -list > ,

id
{SUM}
{SUMSQ}

id
{I}

<stmt >

id
{SMSQ} < stmt >

< start >

id : =
<exp>
{mean} <exp>
|
|
<term> <term>

< assign >

<term>

<term> * <factor>
|
|
< assign > id
:=
<exp> |
|
<factor>
id
|
|
<term> Div <factor>
|
[MEAN]
|
|
|
term
|
>term> Div <factor > id
id
: < exp >
|
factor
{MEAN}
|
factor
< term >
|
|
int
< factor > { 0}
|
int {0}

|
id
{SUM}
Next
Page

int
{100} <factor>
|
id
{SUMSQ}

int
{100}

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|

< for >

FOR

Id
{I}

<index - exp >

Do

< body >

: = <exp> To <exp>
BEGIN <stm - list>
END
|
|
< term > <term>
|
|
<factor> <factor>
<stmt - list > ;
< stmt >
|
|
|
int
int
{I}
{100}
<symt - list> ;
<stmt>
<assign >
|
|
< stmy >
<assign >
|
id
:=
<emp>
< read >
(SUMSQ
id
: = <exp>
{SUM}
READ
( < id - list > )
< exp >
+ < term >
< exp >
+ < term >
id
|
|
|
{VALUE?
<term >
< factor > < term > <term> * <factor>
|
|
|
|
|
< factor >.
id
<factor > <factor > id
|
{ value}
|
|
{value}
id
id
id
{SUM}
{SUMSQ} {value}

Fig. 6 Parse tree for the Program 1

Parse tree for Pascal program in fig.1 is shown in fig. 6

1 (a) Draw parse trees, according to the grammar in fig. 5 for the following <id-list> S:
(a) ALPHA

< id - list >

|
id
{ ALPHA }

(b) ALPHA, BETA, GAMMA

< id - list >

< id - list >

< id - list >

id
[ ALPHA ]

id
{BETA}

id
{GAMMA}

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2 (a) Draw Parse tree, according to the grammar in fig. 5 for the following < exp > S :
(a) ALPHA + BETA

< exp >

|
< term >
< term >
|
< factor > +
|
id
{ALPHA}

< factor >

|
id
{BETA}

(b) ALPHA - BETA + GAMMA

< exp

< exp >

term

< term >

< term >

*
factor
|
|
< factor >
< factor >
id
|
{GAMMA}
id
id
{ALPHA}

{BETA}

(c) ALPHA DIV (BETA + GAMMA) = DELTA

< exp >

< exp >

< term >

< term >

|
< term >

< factor >

Div

< factor >

{DELTA}

< factor >

(

< exp >

< exp >

id
{ALPHA}

< term >

id
{BETA}

< term >

factor
id
{GAMMA}

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191

Suppose the rules of the grammar for < exp > and < term > is as follows:
< exp > :: = < term > | < exp > * < term> | < exp> Div < term >
< term > :: = <factor> | < term > + < factor > | < term > - < factor >
Draw the parse trees for the following:
(a) A1 + B1 (b) A1 - B1 * G1 (c) A1 + DIV (B1 + G1) - D1
< exp >
|
term

(a) A1 + B1
< term >
factor
id
{A1}
(b) A1 - B1 * G1

< factor >

|
id
{B1}

< exp >

|
teerm

teerm

< factor >

factor
term

factor
|
id
{G1}

id
factor
{A1}
id {B1}
(c) A1 DIV (B1 + A1) - D1
< exp >

< exp >

DIV

< term >

< term >

< term >

< factor >

|

< factor >

id
{A1}

< exp >

id
{D1}

< term >

< term >

< factor >

< factor >

< factor >

id

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{G1}
id
{B1}

LEXICAL ANALYSIS
Lexical Analysis involves scanning the program to be compiled. Scanners are
designed to recognize keywords, operations, identifiers, integer, floating point numbers,
character strings and other items that are written as part of the source program. Items are
recognized directly as single tokens. These tokens could be defined as a part of the
grammar.
Example: <ident> : : = <letter> | <ident> <letter> | <ident> <digit>
<letter> : : = A | B | C | . . . | Z
<digit> : : = 0 | 1 | 2 | . . . | 9
In a such a case the scanner world recognize as tokens the single characters A, B,
. . . Z,, 0, 1, . . . 9. The parser could interpret a sequence of such characters as the
language construct < ident >. Scanners can perform this function more efficiently. There
can be significant saving in compilation time since large part of the source program
consists of multiple-character identifiers. It is also possible to restrict the length of
identifiers in a scanner than in a passing notion. The scanner generally recognizes both
single and multiple character tokens directly.
The scanner output consists of sequence of tokens. This token can be considered
to have a fixed length code. The fig. 7 gives a list of integer code for each token for the
program in fig. 5 in such a type of coding scheme, the PROGRAM is represented by
the integer value 1, VAR has the integer value 2 and so on.
Token
Code

Program
1

VAR
2

BEGIN
3

END
4

END
5

INTEGER
6

FOR
7

Token
Token

READ
:=

WRITE
+

To
-

Do
K

;
DIV

:
(

,
)

Token
Code

:=
15

+
16

17

K
18

DIV
17

(
20

)
21

Token
Code

Id
22

Int
23
Fig. 7 Token Coding Scheme

For a keyword or an operator the token loading scheme gives sufficient

information. In the case of an identifier, it is also necessary to supply particular identifier
name that was scanned. It is true for the integer, floating point values, character-string
constant etc. A token specifier can be associated with the type of code for such tokens.
This specifier gives the identifier name, integer value, etc., that was found by the scanner.
Some scanners enter the identifiers directly into a symbol table. The token
specifier for the identifiers may be a pointer to the symbol table entry for that identifier.
The functions of a scanner are:

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The entire program is not scanned at one time.

Scanner is a operator as a procedure that is called by the processor when it needs
another token.
Scanner is responsible for reading the lines of the source program and possible
for printing the source listing.
The scanner, except for printing as the output listing, ignores comments.
Scanner must look into the language characteristics.
Example: FOTRAN :
:
:
PASCAL :
:
:

Columns 1 - 5 Statement number

Column 6
Continuation of line
Column 7 . 22 Program statement
Blanks function as delimiters for tokens
Statement can be continued freely
End of statement is indicated by ; (semi column)

Scanners should look into the rules for the formation of tokens.

Example: 'READ': Should not be considered as keyword as it is within quotes.

i.e., all string within quotes should not be considered as token.

Blanks are significant within the quoted string.

Blanks has important factor to play in different language

Example 1: FORTRAN Statement:

Do 10 I = 1, 100 ; Do is a key word, I is identifier, 10 is the statement number
Statement: Do 10 I = 1 ;It is an identifier
Do 10 I = 1
Note: Blanks are ignored in FORTRAN statement and hence it is a assignment
statement. In this case the scanner must look ahead to see if there is a
comma (,) before it can decide in the proper identification of the characters
Do.
Example 2: In FORTRAN keywords may also be used as an identifier. Words
such as IF, THEN, and ELSE might represent either keywords or
variable names.
IF (THEN .EQ ELSE) THEN
IF = THEN
ELSE
THEN = IF
ENDIF

Modeling Scanners as Finite Automata

Finite automatic provides an easy way to visualize the operation of a scanner.
Mathematically, a finite automation consists of a finite set of states and a set of transition
from one state to another. Finite automatic is graphically represented. It is shown in fig,
State is represented by circle. Arrow indicates the transition from one state to another.

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Each arrow is labeled with a character or set of characters that can be specified for
transition to occur. The starting state has an arrow entering it that is not connected to
anything else.
1
State

Final State
Fig. 8

Transition

Example: Finite automata to recognize tokens is gives in fig. 9. The

corresponding algorithm is given in fig. 10
0-9
A-Z
B
1

A-Z
3

2
2
1
Fig. 9

Get first Input-character

If Input-character in [ 'A' . . ' Z' ] then
begin
while Input - character in [ 'A' . . 'Z', ' 0'. . ' 9' ] do
begin
get next input - character
End {while}
end {if first is [ 'A' .. ' Z' ] }
else
return (token-error)
Fig. 10

SYNTACTIC ANALYSIS
During syntactic analysis, the source programs are recognized as language
constructs described by the grammar being used. Parse tree uses the above process for
translation of statements, Parsing techniques are divided into two general classes:
-- Bottom up and -- Top down.
Top down methods begin with the rule of the grammar that specifies the goal of
the analysis ( i.e., the root of the tree), and attempt to construct the tree so that the
terminal nodes match the statement being analyzed.
Bottom up methods begin with the terminal nodes of the tree and attempt to
combine these into successively high - level nodes until the root is reached.
OPERATOR PRECEDENCE PARSING
The bottom up parsing technique considered is called the operator precedence
method. This method is loaded on examining pairs of consecutive operators in the source
program and making decisions about which operation should be performed first.

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Example: A + B * C - D

(1)

The usual procedure of operation multiplication and division has higher

precedence over addition and subtraction.
Now considering equation (1) the two operators (+ and *), we find that + has
lower precedence than *. This is written as + * [+ has lower precedence *]

Similarly ( * and - ), we find that * - [* has greater precedence -].

The operation precedence method uses such observations to guide the parsing

process.

PROGRAM
VAR
BEGIN
END
INTEGER
FOR
READ
WRITE
TO
DO
;
:

DIV
)

Id
Int

*
DIV
)
(

<

,
:=
+
-

TO
DO
:
:

,
:=
+
-

(
id
Int

(2)

INTEGER
FOR
REAS
WRITE

VAR
BEGIN
END
END

A+B*C -D

Fig 11 Precedence Matrix for the Grammar for fig 5

Equation (2) implies that the sub expression B * C is to be computed before

either of the other operations in the expression is performed. In times of the parse tree
this means that the * operation appears at a lower level than does either + or -. Thus a
bottom up parses should recognize B * C by interpreting it in terms of the grammar,

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before considering the surrounding terms. The first step in constructing an operatorprecedence parser is to determine the precedence relations between the operators of the
grammar. Operator is taken to mean any terminal symbol (i.e., any token). We also have
precedence relations involving tokens such as BEGIN, READ, id and ( . For the
grammar in fig. 5, the precedence relations is given in the fig. 11.
Example: PROGRAM

VAR ; These two tokens have equal precedence

Begin FOR ; BEGIN has lower precedence over FOR. There are some values
which do not follows precedence relations for comparisons.
; END

Example:

END ;

and

i.e., when ; is followed by END, the ' ; ' has higher precedence and when END
is followed by ; the END has higher precedence.
In all the statements where precedence relation does not exist in the table, two
tokens cannot appear together in any legal statement. If such combination occurs during
parsing it should be recognized as error.
Let us consider some operator precedence for the grammar in fig. 5.
Example:

Pascal Statement:

BEGIN
READ (VALUE);

These Pascal statements scanned from left to right, one token at a time. For each
pair of operators, the precedence relation between them is determined. Fig. 12(a) shows
the parser that has identified the portion of the statement delimited by the precedence
relations and to be interpreted in terms of the grammar.
(a) . . . BEGIN READ ( id )

(b) . . . BEGIN READ

( < N1 > ) ;

(c) . . . BEGIN < N2 > ;

(d) ...

READ

< N2 >

<N1 >

id
(VALUE)
Fig. 12

According to the grammar id may be considered as < factor > . (rule 12),
<program > (rule 9) or a < id-list > (rule 6). In operator precedence phase, it is not
necessary to indicate which non-terminal symbol is being recognized. It is interpreted as
non-terminal < N1 >. Hence the new version is shown in fig. 12(b).

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An operator-precedence parser generally uses a stack to save token that have

been scanned but not yet parsed, so it can reexamine them in this way. Precedence
relations hold only between terminal symbols, so < N1 > is not involved in this process
and a relationship is determined between (and).
READ (<N1>) corresponds to rule 13 of the grammar. This rule is the only one
that could be applied in recognizing this portion of the program. The sequence is simply
interpreted as a sequence of some interpretation < N2 >. Fig. 12(c) shows this
interpretation. The parser tree is given in fig. 12(d).
Note: (1) The parse tree in fig. 1 and fig. 12 (d) are same except for the name of
the non-terminal symbols involved.
(2) The name of the non-terminals is arbitrarily chosen.
Example: VARIANCE ; = SUMSQ DIV 100 - MEAN * MEAN
(i) . . id 1 : = id 2 Div . .

<id 2>

(ii) . . . id 1 : = <N1> Div int

<N1>

{SUMSQ}

(iii) . . . id 1 : = <N1> Div <N2>

(iv) . . . . id 1 : = <N3> - id 3 *

<N1>
DIV
id2
{SUMSQ}

int
{100}

<N4>

id 3
{MEAN}
<N5>

id 4
{MEAN}

(vii) . . . id 1 : = <N3> - <N6>

<id 2>
{SUMSQ}

<N2>
int
{100}

(vi) . . . id 1 : = <N3> - <N4> * <N5>

<N2>

<N3>

v) . . . . id 1 : = <N3> - <N4> * id 4

<N1>

<N6>
<N4>
id 3
{MEAN}

<N5>
id 4
{MEAN}

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(viii) . . . id : = <N7>

(ix)

<N7>

<N3>

<N6>

. . . <N8>
<N8>
<N7>
<N3>

id 1
{VARIANCE}

:=

<N1>

<N6>

<N2>

<N4>

DIV
id 2
{SUMSQ}

<N5>
*

int id 3
id 4
{100}
{MEAN} {MEAN}

SHIFT REDUCE PARSING

The operation procedure parsing was developed to shift reduce parsing. This
method makes use of a stack to store tokens that have not yet been recognized in terms of
the grammar. The actions of the parser are controlled by entries in a table, which is
somewhat similar to the precedence matrix. The two main actions of shift reducing
parsing are
Shift: Push the current token into the stack.
Reduce: Recognize symbols on top of the stack according to a rule of a grammar
Example:

BEGIN

READ ( id ) . . .

Steps Token Stream

1. . . . BEGIN
READ ( id ) . . .

Stack

Shift

2. . . . BEGIN

READ ( id )

Shift
BEGIN

3. . . . BEGIN

READ ( id ) . . .
Shift

READ
BEGIN

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4. . . BEGIN

READ ( id ) . . .
(
READ

Shift

BEGIN

5. . . . BEGIN

READ ( id ) . . .
id
(
READ
BEGIN

Shift
6. . . . BEGIN

READ ( id ) . . .
Shift

.
< id-list >
(
READ
BEGIN

Explanation
1. The parser shift (pushing the current token onto the stack) when it encounters
BEGIN
2 to 4. The shift pushes the next three tokens onto the stack.
5. The reduce action is invoked. The reduce converts the token on the top of the
stack to a non-terminal symbol from the grammar.
6. The shift pushes onto the stack, to be reduced later as part of the READ
statement.
Note: Shift roughly corresponds to the action taken by an operator precedence
parses when it encounters the relation and . Reduce roughly corresponds to

the action taken when an operator precedence parser encounters the relation .
RECURSIVE DESCENT PARSING

Recursive-Descent is a top-down parsing technique. A recursive-descent parser is

made up of a precedence for each non-terminal symbol in the grammar. When a
precedence is called it attempts to find a sub-string of the input, beginning with the
current token, that can be interpreted as the non-terminal with which the procedure is
associated. During this process it may call other procedures, or call itself recursively to
search for other non-terminals. If the procedure finds the non-terminal that is its goal, it
returns an indication of success to its caller. It also advances the current-token pointer
past the sub-string it has just recognized. If the precedence is unable to find a sub-string
that can be interpreted as to the desired non-terminal, it returns an indication of failure.
Example: < read > : : = READ ( < id - list > )
The procedure for < read > in a recursive descent parser first examiner the next
two input, looking for READ and (. If these are found, the procedures for < read > then
call the procedure for < id - list >. If that procedure succeeds, the < read > procedure
examines the next input token, looking for). If all these tests are successful, the < read >
procedure returns an indication of success. Otherwise the procedure returns a failure.
There are problems to write a complete set of procedures for the grammar of fig. 15.

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Example: The procedure for < id - list >, corresponding to rule 6 would be unable
to decide between its alternatives since id and < id-list > can begin with id. <id-list > : : =
id | < id-list >, id
If the procedure somehow decided to try the second alternative <id-list>, it would
immediately call itself recursively to find an <id-list>. This causes unending chain. Topdown parsers cannot be directly used with a grammar that contains this kind of immediate
left recursion.
Similarly the problem occurs for rules 3, 7, 10 and 11. Hence the fig. 13 shows
the rules 3, 6, 7, 10 and 11 modification.
3
6
7
10
11

< dec - list > : :

< id - list > : :
< stmt - list > : :
< exp >
:: =
< term > : : =

= < dec > { ; <dec > }

= id {; id }
= < stmt > { ; < stmt > }
< term > { + < term . | -- < term > }
< factor > { + < factor > | Div < factor >.}

Fig. 13
Fig. 14 illustrates a recursive-descent parse of the READ statement: READ (VALUE);
The modified grammar is considered in the procedure for the non-terminal <read > and < id-list >.
It is assumed that TOKEN contains the type of the next input token.

PROCEDURE READ
BEGIN
ROUND : = FALSE
If TOKEN + 8 { read } THEN
BEGIN
advance to next token
IF TOKEN + 20 { ( } THEN
BEGIN
advance to next token
IF IDLIST returns success THEN
IF token = 21 { ) } THEN
BEGIN
FOUND : = TRUE
advance to next token
END { if ) }
END { if READ }
IF FOUND = TRUE THEN
return success
else failure
end (READ)
Fig. 14

Procedure IDLIST
begin
FOUND = FALSE

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if TOKEN = 22 {id} then

begin
FOUND : = TRUE advance to Next token
while (TOKEN = 14 {,}) and (FOUND = TRUE) do
begin
advance to next token
if TOKEN = 22 {id} then
advance to next token
else
FOUND = FALSE
End {while}
End {if id}
if FOUND : = TRUE then
return success
else
return failure
end {IDLIST}
Fig. 15
The fig. 15 IDLIST procedure shows an error message if ( , ) is not followed by
a id. It indicates the failure in the return statement. If the sequence of tokens such as " id,
id " could be a legal construct according to the grammar, this recursive-descent
technique would not work properly.
Fig. 16 shows a graphic representation of the recursive parsing process for the
statement being analyzed.
(i)

In this part, the READ procedure has been invoked and has examined the
tokens READ and ' ( " from the input stream (indicated by the dashed
lines).
(ii)
In this part, the READ has called IDLIST (indicated by the solid line),
which has examined the token id.
(iii)
In this part, the IDLIST has returned to READ indicating success; READ
has then examined the input token.
Note that the sequence of procedure calls and token examinations has completely
defined the structures of the READ statement. The parser tree was constructed beginning
at the root, hence the term top-down parsing.
(i)

READ

READ

(II)

IDLIST

READ
(

(iii)

READ

READ
IDLIST

READ
(

id
{ Value }

id
{ Value

Fig. 16

Fig. 17 illustrates a recursive discard parse of the assignment statement.

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Variance: = SUNSQ DIVISION - MEAN * MEAN

The fig. 17 shows the procedures for the non-terminal symbols that are
involved in parsing this statement.
Procedure ASSIGN
begin
FOUND = FALSE
if TOKEN = 22 {id} then
begin
advance to Next token
if TOKEN = 15 {: =} then
begin
advance to next token
if EXP returns success then
FOUND : = TRUE
end {if : =}
if FOUND : = TRUE then
return success
else
return failure
end {ASSIGN}
Procedure EXP
begin
FOUND = FALSE
If TERM returns success then
begin
FOUND: = TRUE
while ((TOKEN = 16 {+ } ) or (TOKEN = 17 { - } ) )
and (FOUND = TRUE) do
begin
advance to next token
if TERM returns success then
FOUND = FALSE
end {while}
end {if TERM}
if FOUND : = TRUE then
return success
else
return failure
end {EXP}
Procedure TERM
begin
FOUND : = FALSE
If FACTOR returns success then
begin

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FOUND : = TRUE
while ((TOKEN = 18 { * }) or (TOKEN = 19 {DIV })
and (FOUND = TRUE) do
begin
advance to next token
if TERM returns failure then
FOUND : = FALSE
end {while}
end {if FACTOR}
if FOUND : = TRUE then
return success
else
return failure
end {TERM}
Procedure FACTOR
begin
FOUND : = FALSE
if (TOKEN = 22 { id } ) or (TOKEN = 23 {int } ) then
begin
FOUND : = TRUE
advance to next token
end { if id or int }
else
if TOKEN = 20 { ( } then
begin
advance to next token
if EXP returns success then
if TOKEN = 21 { ) } then
begin
(FOUND = TRUE)
advance to next token
end { if ) }
end {if ( }
if FOUND : = TRUE then
return success
else
return failure
end {FACTOR}
Fig. 17 Recursive-Descent Parse of an Assignment Statement
A step-by-step representation of the procedure calls and token examination is
shown in fig. 1

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(i)

(ii)

ASSIGN

id 1
{ VARIANCE }

:=

(iii) ASSIGN

ASSIGN

id 1 : =
{ VARIANCE }

EXP

id 1
:=
{VARIANCE}

EXP
TERM

(iv)

(v)

id 1
:=
{VARIANCE}

(vi)

ASSIGN

id 1
:=
{VARIANCE}

EXP

TERM

FACTOR

id 2

FACTOR

DIV

(vii)

FACTOR

int

{SUMSQ}

EXP

TERM

id 2

{SUMSQ}

id 1
:=
{VARIANCE}

EXP

TERM

FACTOR

ASSIGN

TERM

DIV

FACTOR

id 2

{100}

{SUMSQ}

int
{100}

ASSIGN

id 1
:=
{VARIANCE}

EXP
-

TERM

FACTOR

DIV

id 2

TERM

FACTOR

FACTOR

int

{SUMSQ}

id 3

{100}

(viii)

{MEANS}

ASSIGN
EXP

id 1
:=
(VARIANCE}
TERM

FACTOR

TERM

FACTOR

FACTOR

DIV

id 2
{SUMSQ}

FACTOR

DIV

int
{100}

id 3
{MEANS}

id 4
{MEANS}

Fig. 18 Step by step Representation for Variance : = SUMSQ Div 100 - MEAN * Mean

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GENERATION OF OBJECT CODE

After the analysis of system, the object code is to be generated. The code
generation technique used in a set of routine, one for each rule or alternative rule in the
grammar. The routines that are related to the meaning of he compounding construct in the
language is called the semantic routines.
When the parser recognizes a portion of the source program according to some
rule of the grammar, the corresponding semantic routines are executed. These semantic
routines generate object code directly and hence they are referred as code generation
routines. The code generation routines that is discussed are designed for the use with the
grammar in fig. .5. This grammar is used for code generations to emphasize the point that
code generation techniques need not be associated with any particular parsing method.
The parsing technique discussed in 1.3 does not follow the constructs specified
by this grammar. The operator precedence method ignores certain non-terminal and the
recursive-descent method must use slightly modified grammar.
The code generation is for the SIC/XE machine. The technique use two data
structure:
(1) A List
(2) A Stack
List Count: A variable List count is used to keep a count of the number of items
currently in the list. The token specifiers are denoted by ST (token)
Example:

id
int

ST (id) ; name of the identifier

ST (int) ; value of the integer, # 100

The code generation routines create segments of object code for the compiled
program. A symbolic representation is given to these codes using SIC assembler
language.
LC (Location Counter): It is a counter which is updated to reflect the next
variable address in the compiled program (exactly as it is in an assembler).
Application Process to READ Statement:
(read)
+ JSUB
WORD
WORD

< id - list >

READ

XREAD
1
VALUE

)
{VALUE}

Fig. 19(a) Parse Tree for Read

Using the rule of the grammar the parser recognizes at each step the left most
sub-string of the input that can be interpreted. In an operator precedence parse, the
recognition occurs when a sub-string of the input is reduced to some non-terminal <N i>.
In a recursive-descent parse, the recognition occurs when a procedure returns to
its caller, indicating success. Thus the parser first recognizes the id VALUE as an < id list >, and then recognizes the complete statement as a < read >.

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The symbolic representation of the object code to be generated for the READ
statement is as shown in fig. 19(b). This code consists of a call to a statement XREAD,
which world be a part of a standard library associated with the compiler. The subroutine
any program that wants to perform a READ operation can call XREAD. XREAD is
linked together with the generated object program by a linking loader or a linkage editor.
The technique is commonly used for the compilation of statements that perform
voluntarily complex functions. The use of a subroutine avoids the repetitive generation of
large amounts of in-line code, which makes the object program smaller.
The parameter list for XREAD is defined immediately after the JSUB that calls
it. The first word is the number of variable that will be assigned values by the READ.
The following word gives the addresses of three variables.
Fig. 19(c) shows the routines that might be used to accomplish the code
generation.
1. < id - list > : : = id
add ST (id) to list
add 1 to List_count
2. < id - list > : : = < id - list >, id
add ST (id) to list
add 1 to LC List_Current
3. < read > : : = READ (< id - list >)
generate [ + JSUB XREAD ]
record external reference to XREAD
generate [WORD List - count]
for each item on list of do
begin
remove ST (ITEM) from list
generate [WORD ST (ITEM)]
end
List _count : = 0
Fig. 19 (c) Routine for READ Code Generation

The first two statements (1) and (2) correspond to alternative structure for < id list >, that is < id - list > : : = id | < id - list >, id.
In each case the token specifies ST (id) for a new identifier being called to the <
id - list > is inserted into the list used by the code-generation routine, and list-count is
updated to reflect the insertion. After the entire < id-list > has been parsed, the list
contains the token specifiers for all the identifiers that are part of the < id- list >. When
the < read > statement is recognized, the token specifiers are removed from the list and
used to generate the object code for the READ.
Code-generation Process for the Assignment Statement
Example: VARIANCE: = SUMSQ DIV 100 - MEAN * MEAN
The parser tree for this statement is shown in fig. 20. Most of the work of parsing
involves the analysis of the < exp > on the right had side of the " : = " statement.:

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< assign >

< exp >

< exp >

< exp >

(term)

< term >

< term >

< term >

< factor >

< factor >

< factor >
id
{VARIANCE}

:=

id
{ SUMSQ }

< factor >

DIV

int
{100}

id
{MEAN}

id
{MEAN}

Fig. 20

The parser first recognizes the id SUMSQ as a < factor > and < term > ; then it
recognizes the int 100 as a < factor >; then it recognizes SUNSQ DIV 100 as a < term >,
and so forth. The order in which the parts of the statements are recognized is the same as
the order in which the calculations are to be performed. A code-generation routine is
called for each portion of the statement is recognized.
Example; For a rule < term >1: : = < term > 2 * < factor > a code is to be generated.

The subscripts are used to distinguish between the two occurrences of < term > .
The code-generation routines perform all arithmetic operations using register A.
Hence the multiple < term >2 * < factor > after multiplication is available in register A.
Before multiplication one of the operand < term >2 must be located in A-register. The
results after multiplication will be left in register A. So we need to keep track of the
result left in register A by each segment of code that is generated. This is accomplished
by extending the token-specifier idea to non-terminal nodes of the parse tree.
The node specifier ST (< term1>) would be set to rA, indicating that the result of
the completion is in register A. the variable REGA is used to indicate the highest level
node of the parse tree when value is left in register A by the code generated so far.
Clearly there can be only one such node at any point in the code-generation process. If
the value corresponding to a node is not in register A, the specifier for the node is similar
to a token specifier: either a pointer to a symbol table entry for the variable that contains
the value or an integer constant.
Fig. 21 shows the code-generation routine considering the A-register of the
machine.
1.

< assign > : : = id := < exp >

GETA (< exp >)
generate [ STA ST (id)]
REGA : = null

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2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

<exp> :: =< term >

ST < exp > : = ST (< term >)
if ST < exp > = rA then
REGA : = < exp >
< exp >1 : : = < exp >2 + < term >
if SR (< exp >2) = rA then
generate [ADD ST (< term >)]
else if ST (< term >) = rA then
generate [ADD ST (< exp >2)]
else
begin
GETA (< EXP >2)
generate [ADD ST(< term >)]
end
ST (< exp >1) : = rA
REGA : = < exp >1
< exp >1 : : = < exp >2 - < term >
if ST (< exp >2) = rA then
generate [SUB ST (< term >)]
else
begin
GETA (< EXP >2)
generate [ SUB ST (< term >)]
end
SR (< exp >1) : = rA
REGA : = < exp >1
< term > : : = < factor >
ST (< term >) : = ST (< factor >)
if ST (<term >) = rA then
REGA : = < term >
< term >1 : : = < term >2 * < factor >
if ST (< term >2) = rA then
generate [ MUL ST (< factor >)]
else if S (< factor >) = rA then
generate [ MUL ST (< term >2)]
else
begin
GETA (< term >2)
generate [ MUL SrT(< factor >)]
end
ST (< term >1) : = rA
REGA : = < term >1
< term > : : = < term >2 DIV < factor >
if SR (< term >2) = rA then
generate [DIV ST(< factor >)]

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else
begin
GETA (< term >2)
generate [ DIV ST (< factor >)]

9.
10.

end
SR (< term >1) : = rA
REGA : = < term >1
< factor > : : = id
ST (< factor >) : = ST (id)
< factor > : : = int
ST (< factor >) : = ST (int)
< factor > : : = < exp >
ST (< factor >) : = ST (< exp >)
if ST (< factor >) = rA then
REGA : = < factor >
Fig. 21 Code Generation Routines

If the node specifies for either operand is rA, the corresponding value is already
in register A, the routine simply generates a MUL instruction. The node specifier for the
other operand gives the operand address for this MUL. Otherwise, the procedure GETA
is called. The GETA procedure is shown in fig. 22.
Procedure - GETA (NODE)
begin
if REGA = null then
generate [LDA ST (NODE) ]
else if ST (NODE) rA then
begin
creates a new looking variable Tempi
generate [STA Tempi]
record forward reference to Tempi
ST (REGA) : = Tempi
Generate [LDA ST (NODE)]
end (if rA)
ST(NODE) : = rA
REGA : = NODE
end {GETA }
Fig. 22

The procedure GETA generates a LDA instruction to load the values associated
to <term> 2 into register A. Before loading the value into A-register, it confirms whether
A is null. If it is not null it generates STA instruction to save the contents of register-A
into Temp-variable. There can be number of Temp variable like Temp1, Temp2 . . . etc.
The temporary variables used during a completion will be assigned storage location at the
end of the object program. The node specifies for the node associated with the value

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previously in register A, indicated by REGA is reset to indicate the temporary variable

used.
After the necessary instructions are generated, the code-generation routine sets
ST (< term >1) and REGA to indicate that the value corresponding to < terms >1 is now in
register A. This completes the code-generation action for the * operation.
The code-generation routine for ' + ' operation is the same as the ' * ' operation.
The routine ' DIV ' and ' - ' are similar except that for these operations it is necessary for
the first operand to be in register A. The code generation for < assign > consists of
bringing the value to be assigned into register A (using GETA) and then generating a
STA instruction.
The remaining rules in fig. 21 do not require the generation of any instruction
since no computation and data movement is involved.
The object code generated for the assignment statement is shown in fig. 22.
LDA
DIV
STA
LDA
MUL
STA
LDA
SUB
STA

SUMSQ
* 100
TMP1
MEAN
MEAN
TMP2
TMP1
TMP2
VARIABLE

Fig. 22

For the grammar < prog > the code-generation routine is shown in fig. 23. When
<prog> is recognized, storage locations are assigned to any temporary (Temp) variables
that have been used. Any references to these variables are then fixed in the object code
using the same process performed for forward references by a one-pass assembler. The
compiler also generates any modification records required to describe external references
to library subroutine.
< prog > : : = PROGRAM < prog-name > VAR < dec list >
BEGIN < stmp -- list > END.
generate [LDL RETADR]
generate [RSUB]
for each Temp variable used do
generate [ Temp RESW 1]
insert [ J EXADDR ] {jump to first executable instruction}
in bytes 3 - 5 of object program. fix up forward reference to
Temp variables generate modification records for external
references generates [END].
The < prog-name > generates header information in the object program that is
similar to that created from the START and EXTREF as assembler directives. It also

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generates instructions to save the return address and jump to the first executable
instruction in the compiled program. Fig. 24 shows the code generation routine for the
grammar < prog-name >.
< Program > : : = id
generate [START 0]
generate [EXTREF XREAD, XWRITE]
generate [STL RETADR]
add 3 to LC {leave room for jump to first executable instruction}
generate [RETADR RESW 1]
Fig. 24

Similar to the previous code-generation routine fig. 25 shows the codegeneration for < dec - list >, < dec > , < write >, < for > , < index - exp > and body.
< dec - list > : : = { alternatives }
save LC as EXADDR {tentative address of first executable
instruction}
< dec > : : = > id - list > : < type >
for each item on list do
begin
remove ST (NAME) from list
enter LC symbol table as address for NAME
generate [ST (NAME) RESW 1]
end
LIST COUNT : = 0
< write > : : = WRITE ( < id - list > )
generate [ + JSUB XWRITE]
record external reference to XWRITE
generate [WORD LISTCOUNT]
for each item on list do
begin
remove ST (ITEM) from list
generate [WORD ST (ITEM)]
end
LIST COUNT : = 0
< for > : : = FOR < id ex -- exp > Do < body >
POP JUMPADDR from stack {address of jump out of
loop}
POP ST (INDEX) from stack {index variable}
POP LOOPADDR from stack {beginning address of loop}
generate
[LDA ST (INDEX)]
generate
[ADD #1]

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generate
insert

[ J LOOPADDR]
[ JGT LC ] at location JUMPADDR

< index - exp > : : = id : = < exp > | TO < exp >2
GETA (< exp >;)
Push LC onto stack {beginning addressing loop}
Push ST (id) onto stack {index variable}
Generate [STA ST (id)]
Generate [ COMP ST (< exp > 2)]
Push LC onto stack {address of jump out of loop}
and 3 to LC [ leave room for jump instruction]
REGA : = null
Fig. 25

There are no code-generation for the statements

< type > : : = INTEGER
< stmt - list > : : = {either alternative}
< stmt > : : = {any alternative}
< body > : : = {either alternative}
For the Pascal program in fig. 1 the complete code-generation process is shown in
fig. 26.
1 STATS

START
EXTREF
STL
J
2 RETADDR RESW
3 SUM
RESW
SUMSQ
RESW
I
RESW
VALUE
RESW
MEAN
RESW
VARIANCE RESW
5 {EXADDR} LDA
STA
6
LDA
STA
7
LDA
{L1}STA
I
COMP
JGT
9
+ JSUB
WORD
WORD
10
LDA
ADD
STA
11
LDA

0
XREAD, XREAD, XWRITE
TETADR
{EXADDR}
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
#0
SUM
#0
SUMSQ
#1
# 100
{L2}
X READ
1
VALUE
SUM
VALUE
SUM
VALUE

{Program Header}
{Save return address}

{SUM = 0}
{SUMSQ : = 0}
{FOR I : = 1 TO 100}

{READ (VALUE) }

{SUM : = SUM + VALUE}

{SUMSQ : = SUMSQ * VALUE * VALUE}

Compilers

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13 {L2}

14

15

TEMP 1`
TEMP 2

MUL
ADD
STA
LDA
ADD
J
LDA
DIV
STA
LDA
DIV
STA
LDA
MUL
STA
LDA
SUB
STA
+JSUB
WORD
WORD
WORD
LDL
RSUB
RESW
RESW
END

VALUE
SUMSQ
SUMSQ
I
#1
{L1}
SUM
# 100
MEAN
SUM
# 100
TEMP1
MEAN
MEAN
TEMP2
TEMP1
TEMP2
VARIANCE
XWRITE
2
MEAN
VARIABLE
RETADR
1
1

{END OF FOR LOOP}

{MEAN : = SUM DIVISION}

{VARIABLE : = SUMSQ DIV

100 - MEAN * MEAN}

{WRITE (MEAN, VARIANCE) }

{WORKING VARIABLE USED}

Fig. 25 Object Code Generated for Pascal Program

8.1 MACHINE DEPENDENT COMPILER FEATURES

At an elementary level, all the code generation is machine dependent. This is
because, we must know the instruction set of a computer to generate code for it. There are
many more complex issues involved. They are:

Allocation of register
Rearrangement of machine instruction to improve efficiency of execution

Considering an intermediate form of the program being compiled normally does

such types of code optimization. In this intermediate form, the syntax and semantics of
the source statements have been completely analyzed, but the actual translation into
machine code has not yet been performed. It is easier to analyze and manipulate this
intermediate code than to perform the operations on either the source program or the
machine code. The intermediate form made in a compiler, is not strictly dependent on the
machine for which the compiler is designed.
8.1.1

INTERMEDIATE FORM OF THE PROGRAM

The intermediate form that is discussed here represents the executable instruction
of the program with a sequence of quadruples. Each quadruples of the form

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214

Operation, OP1, OP2, result.

Where
Operation - is some function to be performed by the object code
OP 1 & OP2 - are the operands for the operation and
Result - designation when the resulting value is to be placed.
Example 1:

SUM : = SUM + VALUE could be represented as

+ , SUM, Value, i, i1
: = i1
,
, SUM

The entry i1, designates an intermediate result (SUM + VALUE); the second
quadruple assigns the value of this intermediate result to SUM. Assignment is treated as a
separate operation ( : =).
Example 2 : VARIANCE : = SUMSQ, DIV 100 -- MEAN * MEAN
DIV,
SUMSQ, #100,
i1
*,
MEAN, MEAN, i2
-,
i 1,
i 2,
i3
::=

i3

VARIABLE

Note: Quadruples appears in the order in which the corresponding object code
instructions are to be executed. This greatly simplifies the task of
analyzing the code for purposes of optimization. It is also easy to translate
into machine instructions.
For the source program in Pascal shown in fig. 1. The corresponding quadruples
are shown in fig. 27. The READ and WRITE statements are represented with a CALL
operation, followed by PARM quadruples that specify the parameters of the READ or
WRITE. The JGT operation in quadruples 4 in fig. 27 compares the values of its two
operands and jumps to quadruple 15 if the first operand is greater than the second. The J
operation in quadruples 14 jumps unconditionally to quadruple 4.
Line Operation OP 1

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
9.

:=
:=
:=
JGT
CALL
PARAM
+
;=
*

#0
#0
#1
I
XREAD

SUMSQ

:=

i3

OP 2

#100

Result

SUM
SUMSQ
I
(15)

SUM : = 0
SUMSQ : = 0
FOR I : = 1 to 100
READ (VALUE)

VALUE
SUM
VALUE i1
i1
SUM
VALUE VALUE i2

VALUE
10.
* VALUE
11.

Pascal Statement

i2

i3
SUMSQ

SUM : = SUM + VALUE

SUMSQ : = SUMSQ +

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12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
1
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.

+
:=
J
DIV
:=
DIV
*
:=
CALL
PARAM
PARAM

I
i4
SUM
i5
SUMSQ
MEAN
i6
i8
XWRITE

#1

i4
I
(4)
#100 i5
MEAN
#100 i6
MEAN i7
i7
i8

End of FOR loop

MEAN : = SUM DIV 100

VARIANCE : =
SUMSQ DIV 100
- MEAN * MEAN
VARIANCE
WRITE (MEAN, VALIANCE

MEAN
VARIANCE

Fig. .27 Intermediate Code for the Pascal Program

8.1.2

MACHINE - DEPENDENT CODE OPTIMIZATION

There are several different possibilities for performing machine-dependent code

optimization .
-- Assignment and use of registers: Here we concentrate the use of registers as
instruction operand. The bottleneck in all computers to perform with high speed is the
access of data from memory. If machine instructions use registers as operands the speed
of operation is much faster. Therefore, we would prefer to keep in registers all variables
and intermediate result that will be used later in the program.
There are rarely as many registers available as we would like to use. The problem
then becomes which register value to replace when it is necessary to assign a register for
some other purpose. On reasonable approach is to scan the program for the next point at
which each register value would be used. The value that will not be needed for the
longest time is the one that should be replaced. If the register that is being reassigned
contains the value of some variable already stored in memory, the value can simply be
discarded. Otherwise, this value must be saved using a temporary variable. This is one of
the functions performed by the GETA procedure. In using register assignment, a compiler
must also consider control flow of the program. If they are jump operations in the
program, the register content may not have the value that is intended. The contents may
be changed. Usually the existence of jump instructions creates difficulty in keeping track
of registers contents. One way to deal with the problem is to divide the problem into
basic blocks.
A basic block is a sequence of quadruples with one entry point, which is at the
beginning of the block, one exit point, which is at the end of the block, and no jumps
within the blocks. Since procedure calls can have unpredictable effects as register
contents, a CALL operation is usually considered to begin a new basic block. The
assignment and use of registers within a basic block can follow as described previously.
When control passes from one block to another, all values currently held in registers are
saved in temporary variables.
For the problem is fig. .27, the quadruples can be divided into five blocks. They are:

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Block -- A

Quadruples 1 - 3

Block -- B

Quadruples 4

Block -- C

Quadruples 5 - 14

C : 5 - 14

Block -- D

Quadruples 15 - 20

D : 15 - 20

Block -- E

Quadruples 21 - 23

E : 21 - 23

A : 1-3
B:4

Fig. 28

Fig. 28 shows the basic blocks of the flow group for the quadruples in fig. 27. An
arrow from one block to another indicates that control can pass directly from one
quadruple to another. This kind of representation is called a flow group.
-- Rearranging quadruples before machine code generation:
Example :

1)
2)
3)
4)

DIV
*
:=

LDA
DIV
STA
LDA
MUL
STA

SUMSQ
# 100
MEAN
MEAN i2
i1
i2
i3
i3
VARIANCE

SUMSQ
# 100
T1
MEAN
MEAN
T2

SUB
STA

i1

LDA T1
T2
VARIANCE

Fig. 29

Fig. 29 shows a typical generation of machine code from the quadruples using
only a single register.
Note that the value of the intermediate result, is calculated first and stored in
temporary variable T1. Then the value of i2 is calculated subtracting i2 from ii.
Even though i2 value is in the register, it is not possible to perform the subtraction
operation. It is necessary to store the value of i2 in another temporary variable T2 and then
load the value of i1 from T1 into register A before performing the subtraction.
The optimizing compiler could rearrange the quadruples so that the second
operand of the subtraction is computed first. This results in reducing two memory
accesses. Fig. 29 shows the rearrangements.
*
DIV

MEAN
SUMSQ

MEAN i2
# 100 i1

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217

:=

i1
i3
LDA
MUL
STA
LDA
DIV
SUB
STA

i2

i3
VARIANCE

MEAN
MEAN
T1
SUMSQ
# 100
T1
VARIANCE

Fig. 29 Rearrangement of Quadruples for Code Optimization

-- Characteristics and Instructions of Target Machine: These may be special loop

- control instructions or addressing modes that can be used to create more efficient object
code. On some computers there are high-level machine instructions that can perform
complicated functions such as calling procedure and manipulating data structures in a
single operation.
Some computers have multiple functional blocks. The source code must be
rearranged to use all the blocks or most of the blocks concurrently. This is possible if the
result of one block does not depend on the result of the other. There are some systems
where the data flow can be arranged between blocks without storing the intermediate data
in any register. An optimizing compiler for such a machine could rearrange object code
instructions to take advantage of these properties.
Machine Independent Compiler Features
Machine independent compilers describe the method for handling structured
variables such as arrays. Problems involved in compiling a block-structured language
indicate some possible solution.
3.1 STRUCTURED VARIABLES
Structured variables discussed here are arrays, records, strings and sets. The
primarily consideration is the allocation of storage for such variable and then the
generation of code to reference then.
Arrays: In Pascal array declaration (i) Single dimension array:

A: ARRAY [ 1 . . 10] OF INTEGER

If each integer variable occupies one word of memory, then we require 10 words
of memory to store this array. In general an array declaration is ARRAY [ l .. u ] OF
INTEGER
Memory word allocated = ( u - l + 1) words.
(ii)

Two dimension array :

B : ARRAY [ 0 .. 3, 1 . . 3 ] OF INTEGER

In this type of declaration total word memory required is 0 to 3 = 4 ; 1 - 3 = 3 ;

4 x 3 = 12 word memory locations.

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In general: ARRAY [ l1 .. u1, l2 . . u2.] OF INTEGER Requires ( u1 - l1 + 1) * (

u2 - l2 + 1) Memory words
The data is stored in memory in two different ways. They are row-major and
column major. All array elements that have the same value of the first subscript are stored
in contiguous locations. This is called row-major order. It is shown in fig. 30(a). Another
way of looking at this is to scan the words of the array in sequence and observe the
subscript values. In row-major order, the right most subscript varies most rapidly.
0,1

0,2

0,3

0,4

0,5

0,1

Row 0

1,2

1,3

1,4

1,5

Row 1

2,1

2,2

2,3

2,4

2,5

...

Row 2

Fig. 30 (a)

Fig. 30(b) shows the column major way of storing the data in memory. All
elements that have the same value of the second subscript are stored together; this is
called column major order. In other words, the column major order, the left most
subscript varies most rapidly.
To refer to an element, we must calculate the address of the referenced element
relative to the base address of the array. Compiler would generate code to place the
relative address in an index register. Index addressing mode is made easier to access the
desired array element.
(1) One Dimensional Array: On a SIC machine to access A [6], the address is
calculated by starting address of data + size of each data * number of preceding data.
i.e. Assuming the starting address is 1000H
Size of each data is 3 bytes on SIC machine
Number of preceding data is 5
Therefore the address for A [ 6 ] is = 1000 + 3 * 5 = 1015. In general for A:
ARRAY [ l . . u ] of integer, if each array element occupies W bytes of storage and if the
value of the subscript is S, then the relative address of the referred element A[ S ] is given
by W * ( S - l ).
The code generation to perform such a calculation is shown in fig. 31.
The notation A[ i2 ] in quadruple 3 specifies that the generated machine code
should refer to A using index addressing after having placed the value
A: ARRAY [ 1 . . 10 ] OF INTEGER
.
.
.
A[ I ] : = S
(1)

+
:=

I
i1
#5

#1
#3

i1
i2
A [ i1 ]

Fig. 31 Code Generation for Single Dimension Array of i2 in the Index Register

Compilers

219

(2) Multi-Dimensional Array: In multi-dimensional array we assume row

major order. To access element B[ 2,3 ] of the matrix B[ 6, 4 ], we must skip over two
complete rows before arriving at the beginning of row 2. Each row contains 6 elements so
we have to skip 6 x 2 = 12 array elements before we come to the beginning of row 2 to
arrive at B[ 2, 3 ]. To skip over the first two elements of row 2 to arrive at B[ 2, 3 ]. This
makes a total of 12 + 2 = 14 elements between the beginning of the array and element
B[2, 3 ]. If each element occurs 3 byte as in SIC, the B[2, 3] is located relating at 14 x 3 =
42 address within the array.
Generally the two dimensional array can be written as
B ; ARRAY [ l1 . . . u1, l1 . . . u1, ] OF INTEGER
The code to perform such an array reference is shown in fig. 32.
B : ARRAY [ 0 . . 3, 1 . . 6 ] OF INTEGER
.
.
B[I, J] : = 5

1)

*
-+
*
:=

I
j
i1
i3
#5

#6
#1
i2
#3

i1
i2
i3
i4
A [ i1 ]

Fig. 32 Code Generation for Two Dimensional Array

The symbol - table entry for an array usually specifies the following:

The type of the elements in the array

The number of dimensions declared
The lower and upper limit for each subscript.

This information is sufficient for the compiler to generate the code required for
array reference. Some of the languages line FORTRAN 90, the values of ROWS and
COLUMNS are not known at completion time. The compiler cannot directly generate
code. Then, the compiler create a descriptor called dope vector for the array. The
descriptor includes space for storing the lower and upper bounds for each array subscript.
When storage is allocated for the array, the values of these bounds are computed and
stored in the descriptor. The generated code for one array reference uses the values from
the descriptor to calculate relative addresses as required. The descriptor may also include
the number of dimension for the array, the type of the array elements and a pointer to the
beginning of the array. This information can be useful if the allocated array is passed as a
parameter to another procedure.
In the compilation of other structured variables like recode, string and sets the
same type of storage allocations are required. The compiler must store information
concerning the structure of the variable and use the information to generate code to
access components of the structure and it must construct a description for situation in
which the required conformation is not known at compilation time.

System Software

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8.3.1

MACHINE - INDEPENDENT CODE OPTIMIZATION

One important source of code optimization is the elimination of common subexpressions. These are sub-expressions that appear at more than one port in the program
and that compute the same value. Let us consider the example in fig. 33.
x, y : ARRAY [ 0 . . 10, 1 . . 10 ] OF INTEGER
.
.
.
FOR I : = 1 TO 10 DO
X [ I, 2 * J - 1 ] : = [ I, 2 * J }
Fig. 33(a)

The sub-expression 2 * J is calculated twice. An optimizing compiler should

generate code so that the multiplication is performed only once and the result is used in
both places. Common sub-expressions are usually detected through the analysis of an
intermediate form of the program. This intermediate form is shown in fig. 33(b).
Line Operation

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
1
19.
20.

:=
JGT
*
*
--+
*
-*
*
-+
*
:=
+
:=
J

OP 1

#1
I
I
i1
#2
i3
i4
i2
i6
I
i8
#2
i10
i9
i12
y [ i13 }
#1
i14

OP 2

#10
#1
#10
J
#1
#1
i5
#3
#1
#10
J
31

i11
#3
I

Result

Pascal Statement

I
(20)
i1
i2
i3
i4
i5
i6
i7
i8
i9
i10
i11
i12
i13
x [ i17 ]
i17
I
(2)

[Loop initialization]
[Subscript calculation for x]

[Subscript Calculation for y]

[Assignment Operation]
[End of Loop]

[Next Statement]
Fig. 33(b)

Examining fig. 33(b), the sequence of quadruples, we observe that quadruples 5

and 12 are the same except for the name of the intermediate result produced. The operand

Compilers

221

J is not changed in value between quadruples 5 and 12. It is not possible to reach
quadruple 12 without passing through quadruple 5 first because the quadruples are part of
the same basic block. Therefore, quadruples 5 and 12 compute the same value. This
means we can delete quadruple 12 and replace any reference to its result ( i10 ), with the
reference to i3, the result of quadruple 5. this information eliminates the duplicate
calculation of 2 * J which we identified previously as a common expression in the source
statement.
After the substitution of i3 for i10 , quadruples 6 and 13 are the same except for
the name of the result. Hence the quadruple 13 can be removed and substitute i4 for i11
wherever it is used. Similarly quadruple 10 and 11 can be removed because they are
equivalent to quadruples 3 and 4.
Line Operation

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.

OP 1

:=
JGT
*
*
+
*
+

#1
I
I
i1
#2
i3
i4
i2
i6
i2

*
:=
+
:=
J

i12
y [ i13 ]
#1
i14

OP 2

Result

#10
#1
#10
J
#1
#1
i5
#3
i4

I
(16)
i1
i2
i3
i4
i5
i6
i7
i12

#3
I

i13
x [i7 ]
i14
I
(2)

Pascal Statement

[Loop initialization]
[Subscript calculation for x]

[Subscript Calculation for y]

[assignment Operation]
[End of Loop]

[Next Statement]
Fig. 34

Names i1 have been left unchanged, except for the substitutions first described, to
make the compromise with fig. 33(b) easier. This optimized code has only 15 quadruples
and hence the time taken is reduced.
Another method of code optimization is the removal of loop invariants. There
are sub-expressions within the loop whose values do not change from one iteration of the
loop to the next. Thus the values can be calculated once, before the loop is entered, rather
than being recalculated for each iteration. In the example shows in fig. 33(a), the loopinvariant computation is the term 2 * J [quadruple 5 fig. 34]. The result of this
computation depends only on the operand J, which does not change the value during the
execution of the loop. Thus we can move quadruple 5 in fig. 34 to a point immediately
before the loop is entered. A similar arrangement can be applied to quadruples 6 and 7.
Fig. 35 shows the sequence of quadruples that result from these modification.

System Software

222

The total number of quadruples remains the same as fig. 34, however, the number
of quadruples within the body of the loop has been reduced from 14 to 11. Our
modification have reduced the total number of quadruples for one execution of the FOR
from 181 [Fig. 23 (b) ], to 114 [Fig 25], which saves a substantial amount of time.
Line Operation

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.

*
:=
JGT
*
+
*
+
*
:=
+
:=
J

OP 1

#2
i3
i4
#1
I
I
i1
i2
i6
i2
i12
y [ i13 ]
#1
i14

OP 2

Result

Pascal Statement

J
#1
#1

i3
i4
i5
I
(16)
i1
i2
i6
i7
i12
i13
x [i7 ]
i14
I
(5)

{Commutation of invariants}

#10
#1
#10
i5
#3
i4
#3
I

{Loop Initialization}

{Subscript calculation for x}

{Subscript Calculation for y}

{assignment Operation}
{End of Loop}

{Next Statement}
Fig. 35

-- The optimization can be obtained by rewriting the source program.

Example; The statement in fig. 36(a) could be written as shown in fig. 36 (b).
FOR I : = 1 To 10 Do
x [ I, 2 * J - 1 ] : = y [ I, 2 * J ]
Fig. 36(a)

T1 : = 2 * J ;
T2 : = T1 -- 1 ;
FOR : = 1 To 10 Do
x [ I, T2 ] : = y[ I, T1]
Fig. 36(b)

This would achieve only a part of the benefits realized by the optimization
process described. Some time the statement in fig. 36(a) is preferable because it is clearer
than the modified version involving T1 and T2. An optimizing compiler should allow the
programmer to write source code that is clearer and easy to read and it should
compile such a program into machine code that is efficient to execute.
-- Code optimization of another source is the substitution of a more efficient
operation for a less efficient one.

Compilers

223

Example: The FORTRAN statement:

Do 10 I = 1, 20
; To calculate the first 20 power of 2 and store it in
TABLE ( I ) = 2 * * I ; TABLE
In each iteration of the loop, the constant 2 is raised to the power I. The
quadruples are shown in fig. 37(a). Exponentiation is represented with the operation
EXP.
This computation can be performed more efficiently. Here, in each iteration of
the loop, the value of I is incremented by 1. The value of 2 * * I for the current iteration
can be found by multiplying the value for the previous iteration by 2. This method of
computing 2 * * I is much more efficient than performing series of multiplication or
using a logarithms technique.
This technique is shown in fig. 37(b).
Line Operation

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

:=
EXP
-*
:=
+
:=
JLE

OP 1

#1
#2
I
i2
i1
I
i4
I

OP 2

I
#1
#3
#1
#20

Result

Pascal Statement

I
{Loop Initialization}
i1
{ Calculation of 2 *
i5
{Subscript calculation }
i3
TABLE [ i2] {Assignment Operation}
i4
{End of the Loop}
I
i3

Fig. 37(a)
Line Operation

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
9.

:=
:: =
:=
*
+
:=
+
:=
JLE

OP 1

#1
# (-3)
#1
i1
i3
i1
I
i4
I

OP 2

#2
#3
#1
#20

Result

Pascal Statement

i1
i3
I
i1
i3
TABLE [ i3]
i4
I
(4)

{Initialize temporaries}
{Loop Initialization}
{ Calculation of 2 * * I }
{Subscript calculation }
{Assignment Operation}
{End of the Loop}

Fig. 37(b)

STORAGE ALLOCATION
All the program defined variable, temporary variable, including the location used
to save the return address use simple type of storage assignment called static allocation.
When recursively procedures are called, static allocation cannot be used. This is
explained with an example. Fig. 38(a) shows the operating system calling the program

System Software

224

MAIN. The return address from register 'L' is stored as a static memory location
RETADR within MAIN.
SYSTEM
(1)

MAIN

SYSTEM
(1)

MAIN

SYSTEM
(1)

CALL SUB

RETADR

RETADR

(2)

(a)

MAIN

CALL SUB

RETADR

(2)

SUB

(b)

(3)
RETADR

(c)

CALL SUB

RETADR(c)

Fig. 38

In fig. 38(b) MAIN has called the procedure SUB. The return address for the call
has been stored at a fixed location within SUB (invocation 2). If SUB now calls itself
recursively as shown in fig. 38(c), a problem occurs. SUB stores the return address for
invocation 3 into RETADR from register L. This destroys the return address for
invocation 2. As a result, there is no possibility of ever making a correct return to MAIN.
There is no provision of saving the register contents. When the recursive call is
made, variable within SUB may set few variables. These variables may be destroyed.
However, these previous values may be needed by invocation 2 or SUB after the return
from the recursive call. Hence it is necessary to preserve the previous values of any
variables used by SUB, including parameters, temporaries, return addresses, register save
areas etc., when a recursive call is made. This is accomplished with a dynamic storage
allocation technique. In this technique, each procedure call creates an activation record
that contains storage for all the variables used by the procedure. If the procedure is called
recursively, another activation record is created. Each activation record is associated
with a particular invocation of the procedure, not with the itself. An activation record is
not deleted until a return has been made from the corresponding invocation.
Activation records are typically allocated on a stack, with the correct record at
the tip of the stack. It is shown in fig. 39(a). Fig. 39(a) corresponds to fig. 39(b). The
procedure MAIN has been called; its activation record appears on the stack. The base
register B has been set to indicate the starting address of this correct activation record.
The first word in an activation record would normally contain a pointer PREV to the
previous record on the stack. Since the record is the first, the pointer value is null. The
second word of the activation record contain a portion NEXT to the first unused word of
the stack, which will be the starting address for the next activation record created. The

Compilers

225

third word contain the return address for this invocation of the procedure, and the
necessary words contain the values of variables used by the procedure.
SYSTEMS
MAIN

RETADR
NEXT
0

Stack
Fig. 39 (a)
SYSTEM
(1)

Variables
For SUB

MAIN

CALL SUB
B
SUB
Stack

RETADR
NEXT
PREV
Variable
For MAIN
RETADR
NE XT
0
stacl

Fig. 39(b)

In fig. 39 (b), MAIN has called the procedure SUB. A new activation record has
been created on the top of the stack, with register B set to indicate this new current
record. The pointers PREV and NEXT in the time records have been set as shown.
SYSTEM
(1)

Variables
For SUB

MAIN

RETADR
NEXT

CALL SUB
B

PREV
Variable
For MAIN
RETADR
NEXT

CALL SUB

Fig. 39 (c)

PREV
Variable
For MAIN
RETADR
NEXT
0

Stack

System Software

226

In fig. 39(c), SUB has called itself recursively another activation record has been
created for this current invocation for SUB. Note that the return address and variable
values for the two invocations of SUB are kept separate by this process.
When a procedure returns to its caller, the current activation record (which
corresponds to the most recent invocation) is deleted. The pointer PREV in the deleted
record is used to reestablish the previous activation record as the current one, and
execution continues.
SYSTEM
(1)

Variables
For SUB

MAIN

CALL SUB
B
SUB

Fig. 39(d)

RETADR
NEXT
PREV
Variable
For MAIN
RETADR
NEXT
0

Stack

Fig. 39(d) shows the stack as it would appear after SUB returns from the
recursive call. Register B has been reset to point to the instruction record for the previous
invocation of SUB. The return address and all the variable values in this activation record
are exactly the same as they were before the recursive call.
This technique is called automatic allocation of storage. When the technique is
used the compiler must generate code for the reference to variables using some sort of
relative addressing. In our example the compiler assigns to each variable an address that
is relative to the beginning of the activation record, instead of an actual location within
the object program. The address of the current activation record is, by convention
contained in register B, so a reference to a variable is translated as an instruction that uses
base relative addressing. The displacement in this instruction is the relative address of the
variable within the activation record.
The compiler must also generate additional code to manage the activation records
themselves. At the beginning of each procedure there must be code to create a new
activation record, linking it to the previous one and setting the appropriate pointers as
shown in fig. 39. This code is often called a prologue for the procedure. At the end of the
procedure, there must be code to delete the current activation record, resulting
pointers as needed. This code is called an epilogue.
Example: IN FOTRAN 90 :ALLOCATE (MATRIX (ROWS, COLUMNS) )
allocation storage for the dynamic array MATRIX with the specified dimensions.
DE-ALLOCATE MATRIX
releases the storage assigned to MATRIX by a previous ALLOCATE.
IN PASCAL: NEW (P)
allocates storage for a variable and sets the pointer P to indicate the variable just
created.

Compilers

227

DISPOSE (P)
releases the storage that was previously assigned to the variable pointed to by P.

In C : MALLCO (SIZE) ; allocate a block of specified size

.
.
.
FREE (P)
; frees the storage indicated by pointer P.
A variable that is dynamically allocated in this way does not occupy a fixed
location in an activation record, so it cannot be referenced directly using base relative
addressing. Such a variable is usually accessed using indirect addressing through a
pointer variable P. Since P does occupy a fixed location in the activation record, it can be
addressed in the usual way.
The mechanism to allocate a storage memory to a variable can be done in any of
the following ways:
A NEW or MALLOC statement would be translated into a request by
the operating system for an area of storage of the required size.
The required allocation is handled through a run-time support procedure
associated with the compiler. With this method, a large block of free
storage called a heap is obtained from the operating system at the
beginning of the program. Allocations of the storage from the heap are
managed by the run-time procedure.
In some systems, the program need not free memory for storage. A runtime garbage collection procedure scans the pointer in the program and
reclaims areas from the heap that are no longer used.
8.3.3

BLOCK - STRUCTURED LANGUAGE

A block is a unit that can be divided in a language. It is a portion of a program

that has the ability to declare its own identifiers. This definition of a block is also meet
the units such as procedures and functions.
Let us consider a Pascal program with number of procedure blocks as shown in
fig. 40.
Each procedure corresponds to a block. Note that blocks are rested within other
blocks. Example: Procedures B and D are rested within procedure A and procedure C is
rested within procedure B. Each block may contain a declaration of variables. A block
may also refer to variables that are defined in any block that contains it, provided the
same names are not redefined in the inner block. Variables cannot be used outside the
block in which they are declared.
In compiling a program written in a blocks structured language, it is convenient
to number the blocks as shown in fig. 40. As the beginning of each new block is
recognized, it is assigned the next block number in sequence. The compiler can then
construct a table that describes the block structure. It is illustrated in fig. 41. The blocklevel entry gives the nesting depth for each block. The outer most block number
that is one greater than that of the surrounding block.

System Software

228
PROCEDURE A ;
VAR X, Y, Z : INTEGER ;
:
PROCEDURE B ;
VAR W, X, Y : REAL ;
:
PROCEDURE C ;
VAR W, V
: INTEGER ;
:
END { C };
:
END { B };
:
PROCEDURE D ;
VAR X, Z
: CHAR ;
.
2
.
END { D};
END { A};

1
3

Fig. 40 Nested Blocks in a Program

Name
A
B
C
D

Block
Number Level
1
1
2
2
3
3
4
2
Fig. 41

Surrounding
Block
-1
2
1

Since a name can be declared more than once in a program (by different blocks),
each symbol-table entry for an identifier must contain the number of the declaring block.
A declaration of an identifier is legal if there has been no previous declaration of that
identifier by the current block, so there can be several symbolic table entries for the same
name. The entries that represent declaration of the same name by different blocks can be
linked together in the symbol table with a chain of pointers.
When a reference to an identifier appears in the source program, the compiler
must first check the symbol table for a definition of that identifier by the current block. If
not such definition is found, the compiler looks for a definition by the block that
surrounds the current one, then by the block that surrounds that and so on. If the
outermost block is reached without finding a definition of the identifier, then the
reference is an error.
The search process just described can easily be implemented within a symbol
table that uses hashed addressing. The hashing function is used to locate one definition of
the identifier. The chain of definitions for that identifier is then searched for the
appropriate entry.
Most block-structured languages make use of automatic storage allocation. The
variables that are defined by a block are stored in an activation record that is created each

Compilers

229

time the block is entered. If a statement refers to a variable that is declared within the
current block, this variable is present in the current activation record, so it can be
accessed in the usual way. It is possible to refer to a variable that is declared in some
surrounding block. In that case, the most recent activation record for that block must be
located to access the variable.
Activation
Record for C

Activation
Record for C
Activation
Record for B
Activation
Stack
Record
(a) for A

Activation
Record for C
C
B
A

Activation
Record for B
(b)
Activation
Record for A

C
B
A

Fig. 42 Use of Display for Procedure

A data structure called display is used to access a variable in surrounding blocks.

The display contains pointers to the most recent activation records for the current block
and for all blocks that surround the current one in the source program. When a block
refers to a variable that is declared in some surroundingActivation
block, the generated object code
Record for B
uses the display to find the activation record that contains
this variable.
Activation
Record for A

Example:

When a procedure calls itself recursively thus an activation record is created on

the stack as a result of the call. Assume procedure C calls itself recursively. It is shown in
fig. 42(b) the record for C is created on the stack as a result of the call. Any reference to a
variable declared by C should use this most recent activation record ; the display pointer
for C is changed accordingly. Variables that correspond to the previous invocation of C
are not accessible for the movement, so there is no display pointer to this
activation record.
Activation
Record for C
Activation
Record for B
Activation
Record for A
Activation
Record for B
Activation
Record for B

D
A
A
Display

Stack
Fig 42(c)

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Now if procedure 'C' call procedure D the resulting stack and display are as
illustrated in fig. 42(c) . An activation record for D has been created in the usual way and
added to the stack. Note, that the display now contains only two pointers: one each to the
activation records for D and A. This is because procedure D cannot refer to variable in B
or C, except through parameters that are passed to it, even though it is called from C.
According to the rules for the scope of names in as block-structured language, procedure
D can refer only to variable that are declared by D or by some block that contains D in
the source program.
8.4 COMPILER DESIGN OPTIONS
The compiler design is briefly discussed in this section. The compiler is divided
into single pass and multi pass compilers.
4.1. COMPILER PASSES
One pass compiler for a subset of the Pascal language was discussed in section 1.
In this design the parsing process drove the compiler. The lexical scanner was called
when the parser needed another input token and a code-generation routine was invoked as
the parser recognized each language construct. The code optimization techniques
discussed cannot be applied in total to one-pass compiler without intermediate codegeneration. One pass compiler is efficient to generate the object code.
One pass compiler cannot be used for translation for all languages. FORTRAN
and PASCAL language programs have declaration of variable at the beginning of the
program. Any variable that is not declared is assigned characteristic by default.
One pass compiler may fix the formal reference jump instruction without
problem as in one pass assembler. But it is difficult to fix if the declaration of an
identifier appears after it has been used in the program as in some programming
languages.
Example:

X:=Y*Z

If all the variables x, y and z are of type INTEGER, the object code for this
statement might consist of a simple integer multiplication followed by storage of the
result. If the variable are a mixture of REAL and INTEGER types, one or more
conversion operations will need to be included in the object code, and floating point
arithmetic instructions may be used. Obviously the compiler cannot decide what machine
instructions to generate for this statement unless instruction about the operands is
available. The statement may even be illegal for certain combinations of operand types.
Thus a language that allows forward reference to data items cannot be compiled in one
pass.
Some programming language requires more than two passes. Example :
ALGOL-98 requires at least 3 passes.
There are a number of factors that should be considered in deciding between one
pass and multi pass compiler designs.
(1) One Pass Compiles: Speed of compilation is considered important.
Computer running students jobs tend to spend a large amount of time performing
compilations. The resulting object code is usually executed only once or twice for each

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compilation, these test runs are not normally very short. In such an environment,
improvement in the speed of compilation can lead to significant benefit in system
performance and job turn around time.
(2) Multi-Pass Compiles: If programs are executed many times for each
compilation or if they process large amount of data, then speed of executive becomes
more important than speed of compilation. In a case, we might prefer a multi-pass
compiler design that could incorporate sophisticated code-optimization technique.
Multi-pass compilers are also used when the amount of memory, or other
systems resources, is severely limited. The requirements of each pass can be kept smaller
if the work by compilation is divided into several passes.
Other factors may also influence the design of the compiler. If a compiler is
divided into several passes, each pass becomes simpler and therefore, easier to
understand, read and test. Different passes can be assigned to different programmers and
can be written and tested in parallel, which shortens the overall time require for compiler
construction.
INTERPRETERS
An interpreter processes a source program written in a high-level language. The
main difference between compiler and interpreter is that interpreters execute a version of
the source program directly, instead of translating it into machine code.
An interpreter performs lexical and syntactic analysis functions just like compiler
and then translates the source program into an internal form. The internal form may also
be a sequence of quadruples.
After translating the source program into an internal form, the interpreter
executes the operations specified by the program. During this phase, an interpreter can be
viewed as a set of subtractions. The internal form of the program drives the execution of
this subtraction.
The major differences b/w interpreter and compiler are:
Interpreters

Compilers

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1) The process of translating a source
program into some internal form is
simpler and faster
2) Execution of the translated program
is much slower.
3) Debugging facilities can be easily
provided.
4) During execution the interpreter
produce symbolic dumps of data
values, trace of program execution
related to the source statement.

The process of translating a source

program into some internal form is
slower than interpreter.
Executing machine code is much faster.

5) Program testing can be done

effectively using interpreter as the
operation on different data can be
traced.
6) Easy to handle dynamic scoping

It is difficult to test as the compiler

execution file gives the final result.

Provision of bugging facilities are

difficult and complicated.
The compiler does not produce
symbolic dumps of date value.
Debugging tools are required for
trace the program.

Difficult to handle dynamic scooping

Most programming languages can be either compiled or interpreted

successfully. However, some languages are particularly well suited to the use of
interpreter. Compilers usually generate calls to library routines to perform function such
as I/O and complex conversion operations. In such cases, an interpreter might be
performed because of its speed of translation. Most of the execution time for the standard
program would be consumed by the standard library routines. These routines would be
the same, regardless of whether a compiler or an interpreter is used.
In some languages the type of a variable can change during the execution of a
program. Dynamic scoping is used, in which the variable that are referred to by a
function or a subroutines are determined by the sequence of calls made during execution,
not by the nesting of blocks in the source program. It is difficult to compile such
language efficiently and allow for dynamic changes in the types of variables and the
scope of names. These features can be more easily handled by an interpreter that provides
delayed binding of symbolic variable names to data types and locations.
4.3 P-CODE COMPILERS
P-Code compilers also called byte of code compilers are very similar in concept
to interpreters. A P-code compiler, intermediate form is the machine language for a
hypothetical computers, often called pscudo-machine or P-machine. The process of using
such a P-code is shown in fig, 43.
The main advantage of this approach is portability of software. It is not necessary
for the compiler to generate different code for different computers, because the P-code
object program can be executed on any machine that has a P-code interpreter. Even the
compiler itself can be transported if it is written in the language that it compiles. To
accomplish this, the source version of the compiler is compiled into P-code; this P-code
can then be interpreted on another compiler. In this way P-code compiler can be used
without modification as a wide variety of system if a P-code interpreter is written for
each different machine.
Source Program

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P-Code
Compiler

Compiler

Object Program
P - Code
P - Code
Interpreter

Execute
Fig. 43

The design of a P-machine and the associated P-code is often related to the
requirements of the language being compiled. For example, the P-code for a Pascal
compiler might include single P-instructions that perform:
Array subscript calculation
Handle the details of procedure entry and exit and
Perform elementary operation on sets
This simplifies the code generation process, leading to a smaller and more
efficient compiler.
The P-code object program is often much smaller than a corresponding machine
code program. This is particularly useful on machines with severely limited memory size.
The interpretive execution of P-code program may be much slower than the
execution of the equivalent machine code. Many P-code compilers are designed for a
single user running on a dedicated micro-computer systems. In that case, the speed of
execution may be relatively insignificant because the limiting factor is system
performance may be the response time and " think time " of the user.
If execution speed is important, some P-code compilers support the use of
machine-language subtraction. By rewriting a small number of commonly used routines
in machine language, rather than P-code, it is often possible to improve the performance.
Of course, this approach sacrifices some of the portability associated with the use of Pcode compilers.
8.4.2

COMPILER-COMPILERS

Compiler-Compiler is software tool that can be used to help in the task of

compiler construction. Such tools are also called Compiler Generators or Translator writing system.
The process of using a typical compiler-compiler is shown in fig. 44. The
compiler writer provides a description of the language to be translated. This description
may consists of a set of lexical rules for defining tokens and a grammar for the source
language. Some compiler-compilers use this information to generate a scanner and a
parses directly. Others create tables for use by standard table-driven scanning and parsing
routines that are supplies by the compiler - compiler.

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Lexical Ruler

Grammar

Compiler-Compiler

Scanner

Parser

Semantic
Routines

Fig. 44

Code
Generator
Compiler

The compiler writer also provides a set of semantic or code-generation routines.

There is one such routine for each rule of the grammar. The parser each time it
recognizes the language construct described by the associated rule calls this routine.
Some compiler-compiler can parse a longer section of the program before calling a
semantic routine. In that case, an internal form of the statements that have been analyzed,
such as a portion of the parse tree, may be passed to the semantic routine. This approach
is often used when code optimization is to be performed. Compiler-compilers frequently
provide special languages, notations, data structures, and other similar facilities that can
be used in the writing of semantic routines.
The main advantage of using a compiler-compiler is case of compiler
construction and testing. The amount of work required from the user varies considerably
from one compiler to another depending upon the degree of flexibility provided.
Compilers that are generated in this way tend to require more memory and compile
programs more slowly than hand written compilers. However, the object code generated
by the compiler may actually be better when a compiler-compiler is used. Because of the
automatic construction of scanners and parsers and the special tools provided for writing
semantic routines, the compiler writer is freed from many of the mechanical details of
compiler construction. The write can therefore focus more attention on good code
generation and optimization.