CSCI 5161: Introduction to Compilers
Spring 2008, University of Minnesota

Modern Compiler Implementation in ML, Andrew Appel, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0521607647.

You will need to have significant familiarity with programming and with programming languages as such. This course will require you to think flexibly about programming language constructs---you need this before you can understand how to translate them---and you will also have to write and debug a reasonably large SML program. The background in programming languages can be obtained at the University of Minnesota by taking CSCI 5106, the programming languages course, and a number of undergraduate courses could help you develop the skills needed for writing big programs. Prior familiarity with SML could be a plus, but you should be fine if you have programmed a fair amount in some other language, especially one that supports functional programming. However, you should be interested in, and not overwhelmed by, the prospect of building a big and reasonably complicated program in order to fully enjoy this course. Most of the grade will be oriented around constructing a compiler that is significantly more complex as a program than anything you would have seen in CSci 1901, CSci 1902 or CSci 3081W.

You will have to do a fair amount of reading outside of class. Specifically, you will have to look at manuals for tools for constructing parsers and lexers that will only be discussed cursorily in class. The TA and I will be happy and available to help you at designated times outside of class and we have also set up Phorum bulletin boards that are very effective for discussions. In short, reasonable forms of help will be available throughout the term. However, there is a basic theshhold that is needed to benefit from all this: If you like to have everything explained in detail in lectures before you undertake the assignments, then you will have a lot of difficulty with this course. Please make this determination at the very outset, using the first couple of homeworks as a guide, so as to save agony or trauma in the middle of the semester.

There will be a mid term in the course that will count for 15% of the grade. This exam will be an open book one. You may be permitted to use my class notes; this will be determined closer to the date of the exam. The date for the mid term is March 11, 2008. There will be no final exam in this course.

The last 5% of the grade is reserved for class participation. This participation may occur through Phorum discussions, questions posed or responses provided in class and other similar forms. The message here is that we would like to see all of you being enthusiastic about the material we study---I am hoping that everyone will get the full 5 points in this category!

Certain topics, such as those related to parsing and programming tools for constructing parsers, will be covered somewhat cursorily in lectures. In this case, the onus will be on you to fill in the missing parts. The relevant sources will usually be mentioned in class and you can also ask for these through Phorun. The knowledge you obtain from such readings will usually be relevant to the programming assignments but some of it may also be needed for the exams.

Homeworks must be turned in at the beginning of class on the due date indicated for each. Late homeworks will generally not be accepted unless there is a substantial reason, such as illness, for the lateness. A broad requirement for passing the course is that you have over 50% of the score on pretty much every homework and that your final program works on a significant number of the test cases.

Grades for programming assignments will be usually be determined by a combination of the completeness of coverage as determined by (published and secret) test cases and the clarity and elegance of the code and how well you have structured the presentation of the material. The last is not a whimsical matter; an important component of any large piece of software (such as a compiler) is structuring that facilitates modifiability and documentation that supports understanding. Note that there will be partial credit for homeworks but this is dependent on your turning in something indicative of your work. Usually, a prerequisite for a non-zero grade on a programming assignment is that your program can be compiled and run successfully on some of the test cases.