How Difficult is it to Write a Compiler?

Re:How Difficult is it to Write a Compiler? by stcredzero on Monday December 15, 2008 @04:45PM (#398872)

If you use something like Lisp's syntax, then writing a parser is pretty simple:

http://blog.fogus.me/2008/07/22/broccoli-v022-bellwitch/

Smalltalk has only about 8 terminals and nonterminals in its grammar. You can hand code a top-down parser for it in an afternoon.

Then there's always Forth.

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Re:How Difficult is it to Write a Compiler? by nostrademons on Wednesday December 17, 2008 @12:12AM (#400585)

Lexing/parsing is one of the easiest parts of writing a compiler these days. With a parser generator, it shouldn't take you more than a couple days to write the lexer and parser for a moderately-complex language.

I second the comments up-thread about error-reporting being the hardest part of a real compiler.

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