An APL Compiler

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xi

   PDF

2. Why A Compiler ?

   • Timothy Budd

   Pages 1-9

3. The Inferencing Pass

   • Timothy Budd

   Pages 11-31

4. Code Generation Overview

   • Timothy Budd

   Pages 33-44

5. Simple Space Efficient Functions

   • Timothy Budd

   Pages 45-58

6. Further Space Efficient Functions

   • Timothy Budd

   Pages 59-80

7. Structural Functions

   • Timothy Budd

   Pages 81-90

8. Space Inefficient Functions

   • Timothy Budd

   Pages 91-95

9. Compiling for a Vector Machine

   • Timothy Budd

   Pages 97-105

10. Epilogue

    • Timothy Budd

    Pages 107-109

11. Back Matter

    Pages 111-156

    PDF

Presents the results of an investigation into the issues raised by the development of a compiler for APL, a very high level computer programming language. APL presents a number of novel problems for a compiler writer: weak variable typing, run time changes in variable shape, and a host of primitive operations. Through the integration of several recently developed compiler construction techniques, such as data flow analysis, and a novel and space efficient demand driven or lazy evaluation approach to code generation, the author has been able to produce a true compiler for the language while still maintaining the felxibility and ease that are the hallmarks of APL.

• APL
• compiler
• functions
• programming
• programming language

• Department of Computer Science, Oregon State University, Corvallis, USA

  Timothy Budd

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