CS912
Advanced Compiler Design
Fall 2000
Mon 6-9pm, King 319

Instructor: P. Hatcher
Office: Kingsbury M202
Phone: 862-2678
E-mail: pjh@cs.unh.edu
Office Hours: MWF 9:30-10am, MWF 11:10am-12noon, M 5:00-6:00pm, or by appointment.

This course will study compiler back-ends. We will begin with an intermediate representation of a program and examine how to translate that intermediate form to efficient assembly language for a given target machine. As well as features (expressions, control flow, etc.) found in all languages, we will also examine the implementation of advanced facilities such as garbage collection, exceptions and parallel execution.

The following is an outline of the material that will be covered:

• Compiler intermediate forms
  • abstract syntax trees
  • three-address code
  • basic blocks
• Code generation
  • instruction selection
  • register allocation
  • instruction scheduling
• Analysis and optimization
  • peephole optimization
  • loop detection
  • dataflow analysis
  • common dataflow-driven optimizations
• Implementing garbage collection
  • mark-and-sweep collectors
  • stop-and-copy collectors
  • conservative collectors
  • incremental collectors
• Implementing object-oriented languages
  • exceptions
  • inheritance
  • overloading
• Implementing parallel languages
  • case study: Java threads on a cluster of machines

Undergraduates who are seniors and who have a strong record (GPA at least 3.2) are encouraged to petition to take this course. The course will count as a Computer Science elective. Please contact Prof. Hatcher for more information.

Grading

1. Build a code selector for the Hyperion intermediate code. The Hyperion intermediate code is used to compile Java programs. Your code selector should target the Alpha architecture. (No knowledge of Java or Alpha assembler is assumed coming into the course.) More details on this assignment are available here.

2. Complete a semester-long project. Project suggestions and requirements are given here.

3. The final course requirement is that students keep up with the assigned reading and participate in class discussion. This is not a formal requirement and I do not plan to issue a "participation" grade. However, if the class does not seem to be taking the reading assignments seriously, I reserve the right to schedule a final exam for finals week.

If no final exam is given, then the project will be worth 75% and the code selection assignment will be worth 25%. If a final exam is given, then the project will be worth 60%, the code selection assignment will be worth 20%, and the exam 20%.

Warning: All students are expected to do their own work on all assignments, unless otherwise explicitly approved by me.

Textbooks

On reserve in the Kingsbury library:

• Compilers: Principles, Techniques, and Tools
  by Aho, Sethi, and Ullman

• Alpha AXP Architecture Reference Manual
  by Sites and Witek

• The Java Virtual Machine Specification
  by Lindholm and Yellin

• Tru64 Unix Assembly Language Programmer's Guide

The last three books in the list will also be on reserve for CS611 students. When asking for those books, you may need to look on the CS611 reserve list.

Note that two of the books are available on-line.

You can also download PDF for the Tru64 Unix Assembly Language Programmer's Guide here.

I do not think you need to purchase any of the above books. Access to the copies on reserve in the library should be sufficient. However, if you want to order your own copies of any of the books on reserve, I suggest Quantum Books or Amazon.com Books.

Other Reading

Computer Accounts

Comments and questions should be directed to pjh@cs.unh.edu