Hi James, I actually did get that from the conversations between everyone, I think the message is clear here, there is a lot to this (naturally) so finding a place to start i.e. parsing, is where ill be starting my journey.
On Jan 13, 3:29 pm, James Iry <[email protected]> wrote: > Sorry about giving the wrong impression. My point wasn't that you need > to pile up a bunch of theory to do what you want to do. My point was > just that parsing is 1/10th to 1/100th of the effort of building a > compiler so all the focus on ANTLR, et al was over-emphasizing the > wrong part. How you learn this stuff - by book, by experimentation, > or (most likely) both - is a separate issue. > > Syntax is the UI to your language. As such, it IS important. But > it's still just UI - just like any program you need to give some > thought to what the language does before you can put an interface on > it. And unlike the complexities of, say, graphical user interfaces, > language grammars are deliberately very simple things. > > It's not uncommon to start with a bonehead simple syntax, say > something based on S expressions (think Lisp) while you explore > semantic issues, code generation issues, etc. Once you have a solid > base figured out it's actually pretty easy to reskin your language (at > least it is if you've kept semantic and syntactic issues cleanly > separated). Or, you might even decide that S expressions are perfect > for your goals. > > By all means, start playing with parser generators if that's what > interests you. Just remember there's plenty more depth to plumb. > > On Jan 11, 6:25 pm, Kram <[email protected]> wrote: > > > Thanks James, your are right, a lot of the conversations were on > > parsing, and like you said, its been done. but thats a good thing in > > my situation as I do not really know anything yet and parsing is a > > great way to get started and familiar with different ideas and > > concepts. > > > Those books you mentioned I have added to my wish list on amazon and > > will have a go at them in due time, thanks for the advice. > > > RogerV, could you please explain a little more on the "lazy-man > > approach" that you mentioned? > > > Thanks all for the help so far, I also think i'll be joining that > > google-group too! > > > Cheers, > > Mark > > > On Jan 9, 1:03 am, James Iry <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > I'm a little late to this conversation. > > > > For some reason, all the responses have been about parsing. Parsing > > > is the easiest problem related to languages - a zillion man hours of > > > research have made it a "solved" problem. ANTLR, Rats, Scala's parser > > > combinators, whatever. There are reasons to prefer one over the > > > other, but in the end whichever route you go the mechanics are all > > > pretty easy. > > > > The part that does semantic analysis and optimization and code > > > generation - that's the fun part. > > > > Fortunately, there are plenty of great books on compilers. > > > > This one is a classic, but IMHO goes too deep in some areas for a > > > first compiler book while simultaneously ignoring many modern compiler > > > techniques (at least in the older edition I own). Still, it's a > > > classic for a > > > reason:http://www.amazon.com/Compilers-Principles-Techniques-Tools-2nd/dp/03... > > > > This one is in Java, but probably needs supplementary material if you > > > want to move beyond the compiler he presents (again, at least in the > > > edition I own). On the plus side it's a very easy read, especially as > > > compared to the previous > > > one:http://www.amazon.com/Modern-Compiler-Implementation-Andrew-Appel/dp/... > > > > This one is also in Java and gets a lot of rave reviews, but I've > > > never read > > > it:http://www.amazon.com/Programming-Language-Processors-Java-Interprete... > > > > If you're targeting the JVM, there's a google group devoted to > > > discussing the design and implementation of languages for the > > > JVM:http://groups.google.com/group/jvm-languages > > > > Somebody else mentioned Lambda the Ultimate. It's a great resource, > > > but we (I'm a contributing editor) generally don't discuss basic how- > > > to kinds of issues. Be sure to search the site and read the FAQ > > > before posting. > > > > On Jan 8, 2:13 am, Kram <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > Thanks Jan for the advice, I will definitely go ahead and start on > > > > that trail. > > > > > I too appreciate the thinness of books, and also when they get strait > > > > to the point and skip the bloating that can occur in many text > > > > books... --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "The Java Posse" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/javaposse?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
