Modular and Didactic Compiler Design with XML Inter-Phases Communication

TL;DR

This paper introduces a modular, educational compiler for a Pascal-like language that uses XML to represent each compilation phase, enhancing understanding and teaching in compiler design courses.

Contribution

It presents a novel compiler architecture that employs XML for phase communication, making the compilation process more transparent and suitable for educational purposes.

Findings

XML-based phase communication improves learning clarity

The compiler can be implemented in Python

Educational benefits for compiler courses

Abstract

In Compiler Design courses, students learn how a program written in high level programming language and designed for humans understanding is systematically converted into low level assembly language understood by machines, through different representations. This article presents the design, educative characteristics and possibilities of a modular and didactic compiler for a Pascal-like programming mini-language that is super-set of Niklaus Wirth's PL/0. The main feature is that it implements the compiling phases in such a way that the information delivered to each next one may be reflected as an XML document, which can be studied separately. It is also shown that its design is suitable for being included as learning tool into compiler design courses. It is possible to implement a compiler in a high-level language like Python.