Writing a C Compiler

INTRODUCTION

When we talk about how programming languages work, we tend to borrow metaphors from fantasy novels: compilers are magic, and the people who work on them are wizards. Dragons may be involved somehow. But in the day-to-day lives of most programmers, compilers behave less like magical artifacts and more like those universal translator earpieces from science fiction. They aren’t flashy or dramatic; they don’t demand a lot of attention. They just hum along in the background, translating a language you speak (or type) fluently into the alien language of machines.

For some reason, sci-fi characters rarely seem to wonder how their translators ...