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Compiler Construction by Niklaus Wirth Recommended

ISBN: 0 201 40353 6       Publisher: Addison-Wesley       Pages: 176pp+disk       Price: £24-60

Categories:   compilers

Reviewed by Francis Glassborow in C Vu 10-6 (Sep 1998)

The author's primary premise is that those studying software development should have an understanding of how executables are created. Not only is a compiler an excellent example of a program but in order to write one you need to understand source code, machine architecture and how the later works to produce desired results.

Studying (just reading would be a waste of your time) will not turn you into a compiler implementer; that is not the author's intention. It will not turn you into an Oberon user though the author may hope that you may find the subset of the language the compiler is for interesting enough that you wish to learn more about it. It won't even turn you into an excellent programmer. However the author believes that it will lay foundations on which you will be able to build skills based on insight and understanding. I think he has a view worth considering.