Book2021
Crafting Interpreters
Robert Nystrom
Builds a tree-walking interpreter and then a bytecode one for the same language, arguing that implementing a language teaches it faster than reading a spec.
link checked 17 Sept 2026Compilers & Interpreters
Turning source text into something a machine will execute.
11 topics · 17 curated works
Topics
- 01Foundations & Overviews2
- 02Lexical Analysis1
- 03Parsing2
- 04Abstract Syntax Trees2
- 05Semantic Analysis
- 06Intermediate Representations2
- 07Code Generation1
- 08Compiler Optimisation1
- 09Just-In-Time Compilation2
- 10Linkers & Loaders2
- 11Virtual Machines2
Reading in Compilers & Interpreters
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Start here
No prior grounding assumed.
Crafting Interpreters
Robert Nystrom · 2021
Builds a tree-walking interpreter and then a bytecode one for the same language, arguing that implementing a language teaches it faster than reading…
Then
Assumes you know the vocabulary.
Linkers and Loaders
John R. Levine · 1999
Treats linking and loading as a coherent subject in its own right, arguing the topic is under-taught precisely because it sits between compilers and…
+4 more at this level
Go deeper
Primary sources and full treatments.
On the Translation of Languages from Left to Right
Donald E. Knuth · 1965
Defines LR(k) grammars and proves they can be parsed deterministically in linear time, giving parser theory the class that most real-world parsing…
+10 more at this level
12 of 17 works
Book1999
Linkers and Loaders
John R. Levine
Treats linking and loading as a coherent subject in its own right, arguing the topic is under-taught precisely because it sits between compilers and operating systems.
link checked 17 Sept 2026FreeIntermediate
Book2000
Basics of Compiler Design
Torben Ægidius Mogensen
A complete compiler course from lexing through code generation and register allocation, built around one running example, published free by the author for exactly that self-teaching use.
FreeIntermediate
Paper2004
A Nanopass Infrastructure for Compiler Education
Sarkar, Waddell & Dybvig
Argues a compiler is easier to build, test and debug as many small, single-purpose passes over explicitly defined trees than as a handful of large, monolithic ones.
15 pageslink checked 17 Sept 2026FreeIntermediate
Essay2010
Linkers
Ian Lance Taylor
Walks through what a linker actually does — symbol resolution, relocation, the ELF format — a step at a time, arguing the subject is simpler than its reputation once laid out in order.
FreeIntermediate
Video2019
Parsing Explained
Computerphile
Separates tokenising from parsing and shows why a grammar, not a sequence of string checks, is what lets a compiler recognise nested structure at arbitrary depth.
link checked 17 Sept 2026FreeIntermediate
Paper1965
On the Translation of Languages from Left to Right
Donald E. Knuth
Defines LR(k) grammars and proves they can be parsed deterministically in linear time, giving parser theory the class that most real-world parsing algorithms are built to handle.
PaidAdvanced
Paper1968
The Regular Expression Search Algorithm
Ken Thompson
Gives an algorithm for compiling a regular expression into a nondeterministic finite automaton, the construction that still underlies how lexers and text search tools scan input in one pass.
FreeAdvanced
Paper1982
Register Allocation & Spilling via Graph Coloring
Gregory J. Chaitin
Recasts register allocation as graph colouring, so that a compiler decides which values conflict and lets a colouring algorithm decide which live in registers and which spill to memory.
FreeAdvanced
Paper1984
Efficient Implementation of the Smalltalk-80 System
L. Peter Deutsch & Allan M. Schiffman
Introduces inline caching, showing that a bytecode interpreter can approach compiled-language speed by having each call site remember and reuse the method it resolved last time.
FreeAdvanced
Paper1991
Efficiently Computing Static Single Assignment Form and the Control Dependence Graph
Cytron et al.
Gives an efficient algorithm for converting a program into static single assignment form, the representation that made a generation of dataflow optimisations simpler and faster to implement.
FreeAdvanced
Paper1992
Engineering a Simple, Efficient Code-Generator Generator
Christopher W. Fraser, David R. Hanson & Todd A. Proebsting
Shows that a code generator built from simple tree-pattern matching and dynamic programming can rival hand-written ones, making retargetable code generation practical rather than a research curiosity.
FreeAdvanced
In order written
1965 – 2021- 1965On the Translation of Languages from Left to RightDonald E. Knuth
- 1968The Regular Expression Search AlgorithmKen Thompson
- 1982Register Allocation & Spilling via Graph ColoringGregory J. Chaitin
- 1984Efficient Implementation of the Smalltalk-80 SystemL. Peter Deutsch & Allan M. Schiffman
- 1992Engineering a Simple, Efficient Code-Generator GeneratorChristopher W. Fraser, David R. Hanson & Todd A. Proebsting
- 1996The Java Virtual Machine SpecificationTim Lindholm & Frank Yellin
- 1997The Zephyr Abstract Syntax Description LanguageWang, Appel, Korn & Serra
- 1999Linkers and LoadersJohn R. Levine
- 2000Basics of Compiler DesignTorben Ægidius Mogensen
- 2000Dynamo: A Transparent Dynamic Optimization SystemVasanth Bala, Evelyn Duesterwald & Sanjeev Banerjia
- 2004A Nanopass Infrastructure for Compiler EducationSarkar, Waddell & Dybvig
- 2004LLVM: A Compilation Framework for Lifelong Program Analysis & TransformationChris Lattner & Vikram Adve
- 2009Trace-Based Just-In-Time Type Specialization for Dynamic LanguagesAndreas Gal et al.
- 2010LinkersIan Lance Taylor
- 2019Parsing ExplainedComputerphile
- 2021Crafting InterpretersRobert Nystrom