Building a C-Subset Compiler for the FRISC Architecture: From Formal Languages to Executable Code

Description:

***Building a C-Subset Compiler for the FRISC Architecture: From Formal Languages to Executable Code*** is a narrative monograph on building a complete working compiler for a deterministic ***subset of C*** targeting the ***FRISC*** educational instruction-set architecture. Rather than presenting compiler construction as a set of disconnected algorithms, the book follows one real compiler end to end: ***lexical analysis***, NFA and DFA construction, maximal-munch tokenization, ***LR(1) parsing***, ***semantic analysis***, type checking, lowering to a typed three-address ***intermediate representation***, semantics-preserving optimization, FRISC ***code generation***, runtime support, and ***simulation***. The book also explores two additional back ends for the same intermediate representation: a tree-walking interpreter and a stack-based bytecode virtual machine. It is intended for advanced students, self-taught engineers, compiler enthusiasts, and readers who want to understand how a compiler is actually built, optimized, and executed.

subjects: compiler construction,  compilers,  programming languages,  formal languages,  lexical analysis,  parsing,  LR(1) parsing,  semantic analysis,  type checking,  intermediate representation,  code generation,  compiler optimization,  virtual machine,  bytecode interpreter,  interpreter,  FRISC architecture,  RISC architecture,  educational compiler,  C subset,  Java,  computer science,  Software engineering

People: Karlo Knežević

Places: Zagreb,  Croatia; University of Zagreb; Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing; FER

Times: 2026