Compiler Design Roadmap
A phase-by-phase path from lexical analysis and parsing to syntax-directed translation, intermediate code, optimization, symbol tables and error handling. The structure connects grammar theory with the concrete transformations performed by a compiler and keeps parser construction and data-flow analysis exam-ready.
Learning outline
Expand a stage, choose a topic and start its Gate Smashers lectures.
01Compiler Foundations1 topics · 2 lectures0 / 2
▶Compiler Structure & Language Processors0 / 2 lectures
02Lexical Analysis2 topics · 3 lectures0 / 3
▶Lexical Analyzer & Tokens0 / 2 lectures
▶Token Recognition & Counting0 / 1 lectures
03Syntax Analysis & Parsing9 topics · 16 lectures0 / 16
▶CFG Preparation for Parsing0 / 3 lectures
▶FIRST & FOLLOW Sets0 / 2 lectures
▶Parsing Strategies0 / 1 lectures
▶LL(1) Grammar & Parsing Table0 / 2 lectures
▶LR(0) Items & Parsing0 / 1 lectures
▶Predictive Parser Execution0 / 1 lectures
▶SLR(1) Parsing0 / 1 lectures
▶CLR(1) & LALR(1) Parsing0 / 3 lectures
▶Parser Comparison & Selection0 / 2 lectures
04Semantic Analysis & SDT2 topics · 5 lectures0 / 5
▶Syntax-Directed Definitions & Translation0 / 2 lectures
▶S-Attributed & L-Attributed Definitions0 / 3 lectures
05Intermediate Code & Runtime3 topics · 4 lectures0 / 4
▶Intermediate Representations0 / 1 lectures
▶Three-Address Code & Representations0 / 1 lectures
▶Basic Blocks & Control-Flow Graphs0 / 2 lectures
06Optimization & Data Flow3 topics · 6 lectures0 / 6
▶Optimization Scope & Safety0 / 2 lectures
▶Local & Peephole Optimization0 / 1 lectures
▶Loop Optimization & Data-Flow Analysis0 / 3 lectures
07Support Structures & Revision2 topics · 3 lectures0 / 3
▶Symbol Table Design0 / 2 lectures
▶Error Detection & Recovery0 / 1 lectures
Topics covered in this roadmap
Use this stage-by-stage outline to understand the complete learning path before opening the interactive roadmap.
Compiler Foundations
Compiler Structure & Language Processors
Understand why source programs pass through multiple analysis and synthesis stages. Compare compilers with interpreters, assemblers, linkers and loaders while identifying the output of every phase.
Phase Interfaces & Compiler Tools
Trace tokens, syntax trees, annotated trees, intermediate code and target code through the compiler. See how symbol-table and error-handling services support multiple phases.
Lexical Analysis
Lexical Analyzer & Tokens
Convert a character stream into a token stream for the parser. Distinguish token, pattern and lexeme while accounting for whitespace, comments and lexical errors.
Token Recognition & Counting
Apply lexical rules to real source fragments and count the exact tokens produced. Pay special attention to literals, operators, separators and multi-character constructs.
Regular Expressions, NFA & DFA for Lexers
Model token patterns with regular expressions and implement them through finite automata. Follow the conversion and minimization pipeline used by lexical-analyzer generators.
Syntax Analysis & Parsing
CFG Preparation for Parsing
Prepare a context-free grammar so a chosen parser can process it predictably. Separate ambiguity, left recursion and common prefixes because each demands a different treatment.
FIRST & FOLLOW Sets
Compute the terminals that can begin a derivation and the terminals that may follow a nonterminal. Handle nullable symbols carefully because these sets drive predictive parsing decisions.
Parsing Strategies
Understand the parser’s role in validating token order and building syntax structure. Compare top-down leftmost derivation with bottom-up reverse-rightmost derivation.
LL(1) Grammar & Parsing Table
Determine whether one lookahead symbol is sufficient for predictive parsing. Construct the LL(1) table from FIRST and FOLLOW sets and detect multiple-entry conflicts.
LR(0) Items & Parsing
Build the canonical collection of LR(0) items using closure and goto. Fill ACTION and GOTO tables and identify shift–reduce or reduce–reduce conflicts.
Predictive Parser Execution
Execute a table-driven LL(1) parser using a stack, input buffer and end marker. Trace production expansion and terminal matching until acceptance or error.
SLR(1) Parsing
Refine LR(0) reductions by placing them only under FOLLOW symbols of the production’s left side. Understand why SLR resolves some conflicts but still merges contexts.
CLR(1) & LALR(1) Parsing
Attach lookahead symbols to LR items for full LR(1) context, then merge compatible cores for LALR. Compare table size, construction effort and language-recognition power.
Parser Comparison & Selection
Place LL(1), LR(0), SLR(1), LALR(1) and CLR(1) on one consistent comparison map. Decide which conflicts, grammar restrictions and implementation costs distinguish them.
Semantic Analysis & SDT
Syntax-Directed Definitions & Translation
Associate attributes and semantic rules with grammar productions. Distinguish declarative SDDs from embedded translation schemes and schedule attribute evaluation safely.
S-Attributed & L-Attributed Definitions
Classify attribute dependencies by whether information flows only upward or may also flow left-to-right. Relate each class to bottom-up or depth-first evaluation strategies.
Semantic Analysis & Type Checking
Check meaning after syntax has been accepted. Use declarations and types to validate expressions, assignments, function calls, conversions and scope rules.
Intermediate Code & Runtime
Intermediate Representations
Translate the annotated syntax structure into a machine-independent form. Compare syntax trees, DAGs and linear representations by the transformations they support.
Three-Address Code & Representations
Break complex expressions and control constructs into simple statements with at most three addresses. Represent the same TAC using quadruples, triples and indirect triples.
Runtime Storage & Activation Records
Organize data needed while the generated program executes. Relate static, stack and heap allocation to procedure calls, recursion, access links and parameter passing.
Basic Blocks & Control-Flow Graphs
Partition three-address code into maximal straight-line basic blocks. Connect blocks through possible transfers of control to create the graph used by later analyses.
Optimization & Data Flow
Optimization Scope & Safety
Improve code while preserving observable program behavior. Distinguish machine-independent from machine-dependent and local from global transformations.
Local & Peephole Optimization
Inspect a small instruction window or basic block for inefficient patterns. Apply algebraic simplification, constant folding, strength reduction and dead-code removal carefully.
Loop Optimization & Data-Flow Analysis
Use control-flow information to reason about facts that hold across basic blocks. Apply liveness and loop transformations only after accounting for definitions, uses and dependencies.
Target Code Generation
Map intermediate operations to target instructions and storage locations. Balance instruction selection, register allocation and scheduling against target-machine constraints.
Support Structures & Revision
Symbol Table Design
Store and retrieve information about names across compiler phases. Choose data structures that support scope entry, lookup, update and deletion efficiently.
Error Detection & Recovery
Report useful diagnostics while allowing compilation to continue when possible. Match lexical, syntactic and semantic errors with recovery strategies that avoid cascades.
Compiler Design Final Revision
Trace one program from characters to target code and identify the representation produced at every boundary. Finish with parser tables, translations, optimizations and support structures on a single connected map.