Re:Engineering a Compiler, 2nd Edition is out
by kenjackson on Wednesday February 09, 2011 @11:09PM
(#2200725)
This is a pretty good book (from v1) and v2 looks more complete. I do like the writing in the Dragon Book, but the latest edition missed some things. Like the fact that SSA isn't used extensively is a mistake.
One thing that does appear missing from both books are some topics that should be of more interest... like compiling closures (and while it may only take a second of reflection to think of how to do it... its nice to have a textbook that also details it and any tricky corners that aren't obvious).
Re:Engineering a Compiler, 2nd Edition is out
by kanak on Thursday February 10, 2011 @10:14AM
(#2202135)
Could you please suggest a list of books to read in sequence to learn about building compilers? Thanks.
Re:Engineering a Compiler, 2nd Edition is out
by pbiggar on Thursday February 10, 2011 @03:53PM
(#2203666)
I'm not sure about reading the books in sequence (I haven't tried it), and after a short period you'll probably find yourself referring to the papers they reference. I've heard good things about this as a first step:
http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1408241
Otherwise, I'd recommend Engineering a Compiler, or Modern Compiler Design in X by Appel (where X is one of the languages in which the book is offered).
For beginners, this book rocks. It's readable, very well written, and very easy to follow. For intermediates, it has tons of interesting asides and anecdotes.
(All this applies to the first edition - I haven't read the second).
Finally, many people recommend the Dragon Book; I really really could not recommend it less. Buy Engineering a Compiler instead - there is really no comparison.