pl0c VS the-super-tiny-compiler

> Some compilers tokenize while parsing, but for a different reason: it's faster and uses less memory to generate the AST

And some don't even generate an AST. :) Just read in and emit or interpret.

https://briancallahan.net/blog/20210814.html

Single-pass compiler tutorial

Let's Write a Compiler

I don’t think there will be an AST. https://briancallahan.net/blog/20210814.html: “We will be writing a single-pass compiler for a simple language and immediately output our final output code as soon as our compiler has enough information to do so”

That “as soon as” implies code will be generated before the entire program has been parsed.

Also, for me single-pass implies “no AST”, as you would need at least one pass to construct one, and iterating over an AST counts as another pass for me.

Now, those concepts are a whole entire world to explore, and this is out of the scope of this article. I suggest the reading of the Chapters 4, 5 and 6 of the book Crafting Interpreters by Robert Nystrom for a wider (but still practical) understanding of those subjects. Another practical great resource to look at is The SuperTiny Compiler. To explore them from a theorical point of view, you can find A LOT of resources from books or courses online.

The super tiny compiler by Jamie

I am currently writing a much more intricate version of the Super Tiny Compiler (https://github.com/jamiebuilds/the-super-tiny-compiler) in Rust, only I plan on handling many basic operations, essentially a compiler for a MUCH simpler version of Go. Great project idea btw, for anyone who wants to explore compilers. But in doing so, have really found a new respect for just what is going on when you gcc -o garbageprogram mytrashcode.c

Here, at least take this floatie: https://github.com/jamiebuilds/the-super-tiny-compiler

Outside of this, I recently learned about The Super Tiny Compiler which was a project written to be read. Mind you, it has a vast amount of comments, which may be more of a leg-up than you're asking for.

You could start here:

https://github.com/jamiebuilds/the-super-tiny-compiler

That converts from lisp-like to javascript. Really though this is a big field, and there are lots of resources out there.

To get started look at your input language; you'll need to lex and parse that. Then massage the parsed structure into the appropriate output.

You can see me convert brainfuck to C, or x86 assembly language here:

https://github.com/skx/bfcc