Monday, 30 August 2010

Compilers

About to give away my book 'modern compiler implementation in Java'. Was skimming through it and thought I'd Blog some key words/definitions for future reference and as a reminder of some of what I learnt during my undergraduate days:

Compiler - used to translate a programming language into executable code.

Syntax - the way in which words are put together to form phrases, clauses, or sentences.

Abstract - disassociated from any specific instance.

Semantic - of or relating to meaning in language.

Stack - an orderly pile or heap.

Translate - to turn into one's own or another language.

Canonical - reduced to the simplest or clearest schema possible.

Instruction - a code that tells a computer to perform a particular action.

Register - a device for storing small amounts of data.

Debug - to eliminate errors in or malfunctions of.

Garbage - unwanted or useless material. (Heap-allocated records that are not reachable by any chain of pointers from program variables.)

Garbage Collection - process by which memory occupied by garbage is reclaimed for use in allocating new records. (Process performed not by the compiler but by the runtime system: support programs linked with the compiled code.)

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