Developing a Modular Compiler for a Subset of a C-like Language

TL;DR

This paper presents a modular compiler for a subset of a C-like language, emphasizing incremental development, modular design, and efficiency for resource-constrained devices.

Contribution

It introduces a novel modular approach to compiler development that allows flexible language subset modifications and optimized code generation.

Findings

Compiler is efficient and maintainable.

Effective on memory-constrained devices.

Supports incremental language expansion.

Abstract

The paper introduces the development of a modular compiler for a subset of a C-like language, which addresses the challenges in constructing a compiler for high-level languages. This modular approach will allow developers to modify a language by adding or removing subsets as required, resulting in a minimal and memory-efficient compiler. The development process is divided into small, incremental steps, where each step yields a fully functioning compiler for an expanding subset of the language. The paper outlines the iterative developmental phase of the compiler, emphasizing progressive enhancements in capabilities and functionality. Adherence to industry best practices of modular design, code reusability, and documentation has enabled the resulting compiler's functional efficiency, maintainability, and extensibility. The compiler proved to be effective not only in managing the language structure but also in developing optimized code, which demonstrates its practical usability. This was also further assessed using the compiler on a tiny memory-deficient single-board computer, again showing the compiler's efficiency and suitability for resource-constrained devices.