CS606 – Compiler Construction

Total Marks: 20
Assignment No. 01
Due Date: Nov 25, 2024
Semester: Fall 2024

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Lectures Covered: This assignment covers Lectures # 1 to 10.

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 CS606 – Compiler Construction
Total Marks: 20
Assignment No. 01
Due Date: Nov 25, 2024
Semester: Fall 2024

Question 1 (10 Marks)

Explain the role of a lexical analyzer in a compiler. What are the
different phases it involves? Use a small code snippet in C to
illustrate how the lexical analyzer breaks down the source code into
tokens.

In a compiler, the lexical analyzer (also called the lexer) plays a crucial role in the first phase of
the compilation process. Its primary function is to take the raw source code and convert it into a
sequence of tokens that are easier for the compiler to process. A token is a categorized unit of
the source code, which typically corresponds to keywords, identifiers, operators, literals, and
punctuation.
Role of a Lexical Analyzer:
The lexical analyzer performs the following tasks:
1. Reading the Source Code: It reads the input source code character by character.
2. Tokenization: It groups characters into meaningful sequences and classifies them into categories
(e.g., keywords, operators, variables, numbers).
3. Skipping Whitespace and Comments: It ignores irrelevant whitespace, newline characters, and
comments.
4. Error Handling: It detects invalid sequences of characters and reports lexical errors (e.g.,
unrecognized symbols).
Phases Involved in Lexical Analysis:
The process of lexical analysis typically involves several phases:
1. Input Reading: The lexical analyzer reads the source code character by character.
2. Pattern Recognition: The analyzer uses regular expressions or other pattern matching
techniques to identify token types (e.g., keywords, identifiers, literals).
3. Tokenization: Once a match is found, the sequence of characters is grouped into a token and
passed to the next phase of the compiler.
4. Error Detection: If an illegal sequence of characters is encountered (such as a malformed
identifier), the lexical analyzer generates an error message.
Example Code in C:
Consider the following simple C code snippet:
int main() {
int x = 10;
float y = 20.5;
if (x < y) {
x = x + 1;
}
return 0;
}

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 CS606 – Compiler Construction
Total Marks: 20
Assignment No. 01
Due Date: Nov 25, 2024
Semester: Fall 2024

Breakdown by Lexical Analyzer:

1. Characters Read: The lexical analyzer reads characters from the source code one by one.
2. Tokenization: The analyzer identifies and classifies sequences of characters into tokens.
o "int" → Keyword (int)
o "main" → Identifier (main)
o "(" → Symbol (()
o ")" → Symbol ())
o "{" → Symbol ({)
o "int" → Keyword (int)
o "x" → Identifier (x)
o "=" → Operator (=)
o "10" → Integer literal (10)
o "float" → Keyword (float)
o "y" → Identifier (y)
o "=" → Operator (=)
o "20.5" → Floating-point literal (20.5)
o "if" → Keyword (if)
o "(" → Symbol (()
o "x" → Identifier (x)
o " < " → Operator (<)
o "y" → Identifier (y)
o ")" → Symbol ())
o "{" → Symbol ({)
o "x" → Identifier (x)
o "=" → Operator (=)
o "x" → Identifier (x)
o " + " → Operator (+)
o "1" → Integer literal (1)
o "}" → Symbol (})
o "return" → Keyword (return)
o "0" → Integer literal (0)
o ";" → Symbol (;)
o "}" → Symbol (})
Visualized Breakdown:
Here's how the lexical analyzer might break down the given C code snippet:
Token 1: Keyword("int")
Token 2: Identifier("main")
Token 3: Symbol("(")
Token 4: Symbol(")")
Token 5: Symbol("{")
Token 6: Keyword("int")
Token 7: Identifier("x")
Token 8: Operator("=")

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 CS606 – Compiler Construction
Total Marks: 20
Assignment No. 01
Due Date: Nov 25, 2024
Semester: Fall 2024

Token 9: IntegerLiteral("10")
Token 10: Keyword("float")
Token 11: Identifier("y")
Token 12: Operator("=")
Token 13: FloatingPointLiteral("20.5")
Token 14: Keyword("if")
Token 15: Symbol("(")
Token 16: Identifier("x")
Token 17: Operator("<")
Token 18: Identifier("y")
Token 19: Symbol(")")
Token 20: Symbol("{")
Token 21: Identifier("x")
Token 22: Operator("=")
Token 23: Identifier("x")
Token 24: Operator("+")
Token 25: IntegerLiteral("1")
Token 26: Symbol("}")
Token 27: Keyword("return")
Token 28: IntegerLiteral("0")
Token 29: Symbol(";")
Token 30: Symbol("}")

Each of these tokens represents a meaningful element of the source code. After this tokenization process, the
lexical analyzer passes the tokens to the parser phase, where the syntactic structure of the code is analyzed.

Question 2 (10 Marks)

Consider the following code snippet. Identify the lexemes and

corresponding tokens for each line.
int x = 20;
if (x > 10) {
x = x + 5;
}

Let's break down the code snippet line by line and identify the lexemes (the individual
components or substrings that represent a meaningful unit of the source code) and the
corresponding tokens (the category or type that the lexeme belongs to).
Here is the code:
int x = 20;
if (x > 10) {

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 CS606 – Compiler Construction
Total Marks: 20
Assignment No. 01
Due Date: Nov 25, 2024
Semester: Fall 2024

x = x + 5;
}

Line 1: int x = 20;

 Lexeme: int, Token: Keyword
int is a keyword in C/C++ and other languages, used to define an integer type.
 Lexeme: x, Token: Identifier
x is an identifier representing a variable name.
 Lexeme: =, Token: Assignment Operator
The = symbol is used for assignment in C/C++.
 Lexeme: 20, Token: Integer Literal
20 is a literal integer value.
 Lexeme: ;, Token: Semicolon
The semicolon marks the end of the statement.
Line 2: if (x > 10) {
 Lexeme: if, Token: Keyword
if is a conditional statement keyword in C/C++.
 Lexeme: (, Token: Left Parenthesis
The opening parenthesis is used to start the condition in the if statement.
 Lexeme: x, Token: Identifier
Again, x is an identifier, representing the variable x.
 Lexeme: >, Token: Relational Operator
The > symbol is a relational operator that means "greater than."
 Lexeme: 10, Token: Integer Literal
10 is an integer literal.
 Lexeme: ), Token: Right Parenthesis
The closing parenthesis ends the condition of the if statement.
 Lexeme: {, Token: Left Brace
The opening brace marks the beginning of the block of code to execute if the condition is
true.
Line 3: x = x + 5;
 Lexeme: x, Token: Identifier
The variable x.
 Lexeme: =, Token: Assignment Operator
The assignment operator.
 Lexeme: x, Token: Identifier
Again, the variable x.
 Lexeme: +, Token: Addition Operator
The + symbol is used for addition.
 Lexeme: 5, Token: Integer Literal
The literal integer 5.

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 CS606 – Compiler Construction
Total Marks: 20
Assignment No. 01
Due Date: Nov 25, 2024
Semester: Fall 2024

 Lexeme: ;, Token: Semicolon

The semicolon ends the statement.
Line 4: }
 Lexeme: }, Token: Right Brace
The closing brace ends the block of code in the if statement.