AAT-2

COMPILER DESIGN
N.ABHISHEK (22955A0503)

1.Convert Regular Expression (11+0)(00+1) to Finite Automata.

Ans:-

2.Explain and differentiate frontend and backend of a compiler.

Ans:- In the context of compilers, the terms "frontend" and "backend" refer to
distinct phases or components of the compiler that handle different aspects of
the compilation process. Here's an explanation of each:

1. Frontend:

The frontend of a compiler is responsible for the initial stages of compilation,

which involve analyzing, parsing, and translating the source code into an
intermediate representation or internal data structure that can be further
processed by the backend. The frontend deals primarily with language-specific
syntax, semantics, and high-level constructs.
Key tasks performed by the frontend include:
- Lexical Analysis: Also known as scanning, lexical analysis involves breaking
down the source code into a sequence of tokens, such as identifiers, keywords,
operators, and literals.
- Syntax Analysis: Syntax analysis, or parsing, involves analyzing the structure of
the source code according to the rules of the programming language's grammar.
This phase typically produces a parse tree or abstract syntax tree (AST)
representing the syntactic structure of the code.
- Semantic Analysis: Semantic analysis involves checking the correctness and
meaning of the source code beyond its syntax. This phase includes type
checking, scope resolution, and other analyses to ensure that the code adheres
to the rules and constraints of the programming language.
The frontend generates an intermediate representation (IR) of the source code,
which abstracts away language-specific details and facilitates subsequent
optimization and code generation phases performed by the backend.
2. Backend:
The backend of a compiler takes the intermediate representation produced by
the frontend and translates it into executable machine code or another target
representation suitable for the target platform or environment. The backend is
responsible for generating efficient, optimized code that preserves the semantics
and behavior of the original source code.
Key tasks performed by the backend include:
- Optimization: Optimization involves analyzing and transforming the
intermediate representation to improve code efficiency, reduce resource
consumption, and enhance performance. Optimization techniques include loop
optimization, constant folding, dead code elimination, and register allocation.
- Code Generation: Code generation involves translating the intermediate
representation into machine code, assembly language, or another target
representation suitable for the target hardware or runtime environment. This
phase generates executable instructions that implement the behaviour specified
by the source code.
- Target-Specific Adaptation: The backend may perform target-specific
adaptations and optimizations tailored to the characteristics and constraints of
the target platform, such as instruction set architecture (ISA), memory model,
and optimization opportunities.
In summary, the frontend of a compiler handles language-specific analysis and
translation tasks, while the backend focuses on optimization, code generation,
and target-specific
adaptation. The frontend and backend work together in a coordinated manner to
transform source code into executable programs efficiently and accurately.
3.Explain the following terms

i)Canonical collection of items

ii) Augmented Grammar

iii) Closure and go to Operation

1. Canonical Collection of Items:

In the context of LR(0) parsing, a canonical collection of items represents the set of all
LR(0) items that describe the valid states of the parsing automaton. Each LR(0) item
corresponds to a production rule of the grammar, augmented with a marker indicating the
position of the parser's scanning head within the production. The canonical collection of
items is constructed using closure and goto operations, and it forms the basis for building
LR(0) parsing tables, such as the action and goto tables.

2. Augmented Grammar:

An augmented grammar is a modified form of the original grammar used in LR parsing

algorithms, such as SLR, LR(0), LR(1), LALR, and Canonical LR parsing. To convert a
grammar into an augmented grammar, an additional production rule is added, often
referred to as the start production. This new production rule has the form S' → S, where S
is the start symbol of the original grammar. The augmented grammar ensures that the
parser can recognize when it reaches the end of the input string, aiding in the parsing
process.

3. Closure and Goto Operation:

- Closure Operation: The closure operation is a key step in constructing the canonical
collection of LR(0) items for LR parsing. It ensures that all possible productions reachable
from the current LR(0) item are included in the item set. The closure operation starts with
a set of LR(0) items and expands it by considering the productions associated with non-
terminal symbols that immediately follow the marker position in the items. This process
continues recursively until no more items can be added.

- Goto Operation: The goto operation is another fundamental step in building the
canonical collection of LR(0) items. It represents the transition between LR(0) item sets as
the parsing automaton moves from one state to another based on input symbols. The
goto operation takes a set of LR(0) items and a grammar symbol as input and produces a
new set of LR(0) items representing the possible transitions to other states in the parsing
automaton. Goto operations are used to construct the goto portion of the LR(0) parsing
table.

In summary, the canonical collection of items, augmented grammar, closure operation,

and goto operation are essential concepts in LR parsing algorithms, providing the
foundation for constructing parsing tables and performing efficient bottom-up parsing of
context-free grammars.

4.Why are quadruples preferred over triples in an optimizing compiler with example?

Ans:- In an optimizing compiler, quadruples are preferred over triples because they
provide a more flexible and expressive representation of intermediate code, enabling a

wider range of optimizations and transformations to be applied during the compilation

process. Here's why quadruples are preferred over triples:

1. Additional Operand Fields: Quadruples typically consist of four fields representing an

operation, two operands, and a result. This additional operand field allows quadruples to
handle complex expressions, multiple memory accesses, and diverse data types more
effectively compared to triples, which usually have only three fields.

2. Support for Temporary Variables: Quadruples facilitate the use of temporary variables
and intermediate results in the intermediate representation. Temporary variables can be
introduced during code generation and optimization phases to hold intermediate values,
simplify expressions, and reduce redundancy in the generated code. Quadruples provide
the necessary structure to manage temporary variables and track their lifetimes
throughout the compilation process.

3. Optimization Opportunities: Quadruples offer greater opportunities for optimization

compared to triples. The additional operand field allows optimizations such as common
subexpression elimination, constant folding, strength reduction, and register allocation to
be performed more efficiently and effectively. Quadruples provide a more detailed
representation of program behavior, enabling optimizations to target specific operations,
operands, and results with greater precision.

4. Simplification of Code Generation: Quadruples simplify the code generation process by

providing a uniform representation of program statements and expressions. Code
generators can traverse quadruples sequentially, translating each quadruple into target
code instructions without the need for complex analysis or transformation steps.
Quadruples abstract away language-specific details and facilitate the generation of
efficient, target-specific code for diverse hardware platforms and runtime environments.

Example:

Consider the following expression: `a = b + c d`

In a quadruple representation, the expression would be represented as a sequence of

quadruples:

1. `t1 = c d` (quadruple representing the multiplication operation)

2. `t2 = b + t1` (quadruple representing the addition operation)

3. `a = t2` (quadruple representing the assignment operation)

Each quadruple captures a specific operation, its operands, and the result, providing a
structured representation of the expression that can be optimized and translated into
target code efficiently.

5. Explain briefly about Source language issues?

Ans:- Source language issues refer to the various considerations, characteristics, and
challenges associated with the design, syntax, semantics, and usage of programming
languages at the source code level. These issues play a crucial role in shaping the
expressiveness, readability, maintainability, and efficiency of software systems. Here's a
brief overview of some key source language issues:

1. Syntax and Grammar: The syntax and grammar of a programming language define its
structure and rules for writing valid statements, expressions, and constructs. Source
languages may exhibit different syntactic features, such as keywords, operators,
punctuation symbols, and control structures, which influence the readability and
comprehension of the code.

2. Semantics and Expressiveness: The semantics of a programming language determine

the meaning and behaviour of its constructs and operations. Source languages may
provide various levels of expressiveness and abstraction for specifying algorithms, data
structures, control flow, and interactions with the underlying system. Language semantics
influence the clarity, conciseness, and precision of the code.

3. Data Types and Abstractions: Source languages define a set of data types, literals, and
abstractions for representing and manipulating data in programs. Data typing systems
may vary in their support for primitive types, composite types, user-defined types, type
inference, and type safety features. Effective data typing facilitates code organization,
modularity, and error detection at compile time.

4. Control Structures and Flow of Execution: Source languages offer control structures and
mechanisms for specifying the flow of program execution, including conditionals, loops,
branches, functions, procedures, and exception handling constructs. Language features
for flow control influence program logic, readability, and error handling strategies.

5. Concurrency and Parallelism: Modern source languages may incorporate features for
concurrent and parallel programming, enabling developers to exploit multicore
processors, distributed systems, and asynchronous execution models. Language support
for concurrency primitives, synchronization mechanisms, and communication patterns
impacts the scalability, performance, and reliability of concurrent software.
6. Error Handling and Exception Mechanisms: Source languages provide mechanisms for
detecting, reporting, and handling errors, exceptions, and unexpected conditions during
program execution. Error handling features may include try-catch blocks, exception
propagation, error codes, assertions, and runtime checks, which affect the robustness and
reliability of software systems.

7. Portability and Interoperability: Source languages vary in their portability across

different platforms, operating systems, and runtime environments. Language design
choices, standardization efforts, and compatibility considerations influence the ease of
porting and interoperability with external libraries, APIs, and systems.

8. Tooling and Ecosystem: Source language ecosystems encompass a wide range of

development tools, compilers, interpreters, libraries, frameworks, and community
resources that support software development activities. Language popularity, maturity,
documentation, community support, and third-party tooling affect developer
productivity, learning curve, and ecosystem sustainability.

Addressing source language issues requires careful consideration of language design

principles, user requirements, performance constraints, and evolving trends in software
development practices. By understanding and navigating source language issues
effectively, developers can make informed decisions, select appropriate programming
languages, and design high-quality, maintainable software solutions.

6. Define syntax tree? Draw the syntax tree for assignment statement?

a :=b -c + b -c.

Ans:- A syntax tree, also known as a parse tree or abstract syntax tree (AST), is a
hierarchical representation of the syntactic structure of a program expressed in a
programming language. It illustrates how the various components of the code relate to
each other in terms of the language's grammar rules.

Here's the syntax tree for the assignment statement `a := b -c + b -c`:

Explanation:

- The root of the tree corresponds to the assignment operator `:=`.

- The left child of the root is the variable `a`.

- The right child of the root is the addition operator `+`.

- The left child of the addition operator is the multiplication operator ``, with operands
`b` and unary negation `-c`.

- The right child of the addition operator is another multiplication operator ``, with
operands `b` and unary negation `-c`.

7.Explain the principle sources of code optimization in detail?

Ans:- Code optimization is a crucial phase in the compilation process aimed at improving
the efficiency, performance, and quality of generated code. It involves analyzing and
transforming the intermediate representation of a program to produce optimized code
that executes faster, consumes fewer resources, and exhibits better runtime behaviour.
The principle sources of code optimization can be categorized into several key areas:

1. Constant Folding: Constant folding is a compiler optimization technique that evaluates

constant expressions at compile time and replaces them with their computed values. By
folding constant expressions, compilers eliminate unnecessary computations and reduce
the overhead associated with evaluating expressions at runtime. For example, the
expression `3 + 4` can be folded to `7` during compilation.

2. Strength Reduction: Strength reduction is a technique that replaces expensive

operations with cheaper alternatives to improve code efficiency. It involves replacing
costly operations such as multiplication or division with less expensive operations such as
addition or bit shifting. For instance, replacing multiplication by a power of two with bit
shifting can result in faster execution.

3. Loop Optimization: Loop optimization techniques focus on improving the performance

of loops, which are often a significant source of computational overhead in programs.
Common loop optimizations include loop unrolling, loop fusion, loop interchange, and
loop-invariant code motion. These optimizations aim to reduce loop overhead, minimize
branch instructions, and enhance data locality to improve cache utilization and reduce
memory access latency.

4. Dead Code Elimination: Dead code elimination is the process of identifying and
removing unreachable or redundant code that does not contribute to program execution.
Dead code may result from conditional branches, unreachable statements, or variables
that are never read or modified. Eliminating dead code reduces code size, improves code
clarity, and eliminates unnecessary computational overhead.

5. Common Subexpression Elimination (CSE): Common subexpression elimination is a

compiler optimization technique that identifies and eliminates redundant computations
by reusing previously computed values. It involves identifying expressions that produce
the same result within a program and replacing redundant computations with references
to precomputed values. CSE reduces computational overhead, improves code efficiency,
and eliminates redundant code paths.

6. Register Allocation: Register allocation is the process of assigning variables and

intermediate values to processor registers to minimize memory accesses and enhance
performance. Register allocation techniques aim to maximize register utilization,
minimize spill code, and optimize data movement between registers and memory.
Efficient register allocation improves code speed and reduces the frequency of memory
accesses, leading to improved runtime performance.

7. Data Flow Analysis: Data flow analysis is a static analysis technique used to analyze how
data flows through a program and identify optimization opportunities. Data flow analysis
techniques include reaching definitions analysis, live variable analysis, and data
dependence analysis. By understanding data dependencies, compilers can optimize
memory access patterns, identify redundant computations, and improve code parallelism
and concurrency.

These are some of the principle sources of code optimization employed by compilers and
optimization tools to improve the efficiency, performance, and quality of generated code.
By applying a combination of these optimization techniques, compilers can generate
optimized code that executes more efficiently and exhibits better runtime behavior on
target hardware platforms.

8.Differentiate ordered, unordered and binary search tree in symbol table?

Ans:- In symbol tables, ordered, unordered, and binary search trees (BSTs) represent
different data structures used for storing and retrieving key-value pairs efficiently. Here's a
brief differentiation between them:

1. Ordered Symbol Table:

- An ordered symbol table maintains its entries in a sorted order based on the keys.

- It typically supports operations such as insertion, deletion, search, and range queries
while preserving the sorted order of keys.

- Common implementations of ordered symbol tables include balanced binary search

trees like AVL trees or Red-Black trees, as well as other sorted data structures like B-trees
and skip lists.

- Ordered symbol tables are suitable for applications that require fast retrieval of data in
sorted order, such as range queries or searching for the nearest key.

2. Unordered Symbol Table:

- An unordered symbol table does not enforce any specific order on its entries.

- It focuses on fast insertion, deletion, and retrieval of key-value pairs without maintaining
any particular order among the keys.

- Hash tables are a common implementation of unordered symbol tables. They use a
hash function to map keys to array indices, allowing for constant-time average-case
access to elements.

- Unordered symbol tables are useful when the order of keys is not important, and the
primary concern is efficient access to individual elements.

3. Binary Search Tree (BST):

- A binary search tree is a specific type of ordered symbol table that organizes its entries
using a binary tree structure.

- In a BST, each node has at most two children: a left child and a right child.
 - The keys in a BST are arranged such that for any given node, all keys in its left subtree
are less than the node's key, and all keys in its right subtree are greater than the node's
key.

- BSTs support efficient insertion, deletion, and search operations with average-case
time complexity of O(log n), where n is the number of elements in the tree.

- However, the performance of BST operations depends on the tree's balance.

Unbalanced BSTs may degenerate into linked lists, leading to worst-case time complexity
of O(n) for operations.

In summary, ordered symbol tables maintain entries in sorted order, unordered symbol
tables do not enforce any specific order, and binary search trees provide efficient ordered
storage and retrieval of key-value pairs using a binary tree structure. The choice of symbol
table implementation depends on the specific requirements of the application, including
the expected data distribution, access patterns, and performance considerations.

9.Explain in the DAG representation of the basic block with example?

Ans:-DAG representation for basic

blocks

A DAG for basic block is a directed acyclic graph with the

following labels on nodes:

1. The leaves of graph are labeled by unique identifier

and that identifier can be variable names or

constants.

2. Interior nodes of the graph is labeled by an operator

symbol.

3. Nodes are also given a sequence of identifiers for

labels to store the computed value.

● DAGs are a type of data structure. It is used to

implement transformations on basic blocks.

● DAG provides a good way to determine the common

sub-expression.

● It gives a picture representation of how the value

computed by the statement is used in subsequent

statements.

Algorithm for construction of DAG

Input:It contains a basic block

Output: It contains the following information:

Remember CO 5 AIT004.16

● Each node contains a label. For leaves, the label is an

identifier.

● Each node contains a list of attached identifiers to

hold the computed values.

1. Case (i) x:= y OP z

2. Case (ii) x:= OP y

3. Case (iii) x:= y

Method:

Step 1:

If y operand is undefined then create node(y).

If z operand is undefined then for case(i) create node(z).

Step 2:
For case(i), create node(OP) whose right child is node(z)

and left child is node(y).

For case(ii), check whether there is node(OP) with one child

node(y).

For case(iii), node n will be node(y).

Output:

For node(x) delete x from the list of identifiers. Append x to

attached identifiers list for the node n found in step 2.

Finally set node(x) to n.

Example:

Consider the following three address statement:

1. S1:= 4 i

2. S2:= a[S1]

3. S3:= 4 i

4. S4:= b[S3]

5. S5:= s2 S4

6. S6:= prod + S5

7. Prod:= s6

8. S7:= i+1

9. i := S7

10.if i<= 20 goto (1)

Example DAG
10. Explain peephole optimization in detail?

Ans:- Peephole optimization is a local optimization technique commonly used in

compilers to improve the efficiency and quality of generated code by analyzing
and optimizing small, contiguous sequences of instructions known as
"peepholes." Peephole optimization operates by identifying patterns or
sequences of instructions that can be replaced with more efficient or optimized
equivalents.
Here's how peephole optimization works in detail:
1. Scope and Constraints: Peephole optimization focuses on analyzing and
optimizing small windows or "peepholes" of instructions within a program. The
size of the peephole window is typically small, ranging from a few instructions to
several instructions, depending on the specific optimization being performed.
Peephole optimization is applied locally, within the context of the current
instruction sequence, and is performed iteratively over the entire codebase.
2. Pattern Matching: Peephole optimization involves pattern matching techniques
to identify specific sequences or patterns of instructions that can be optimized.
These patterns may include common subexpressions, redundant instructions,
inefficient sequences, or opportunities for code simplification.
3. Optimization Rules: Peephole optimization applies a set of optimization rules
or transformations to replace identified patterns with more efficient or optimized
equivalents. These optimization rules are predefined and target specific patterns
or sequences of instructions that commonly occur in programs. Examples of
optimization rules include:
 - Redundant instruction elimination: Removing unnecessary instructions that
have no effect on program behavior or computation results.
- Strength reduction: Replacing expensive operations with cheaper alternatives,
such as replacing multiplication with bit shifting or addition.
- Common subexpression elimination: Replacing redundant computations with
references to previously computed results.
- Load/store optimization: Combining consecutive load/store instructions or
eliminating unnecessary memory accesses.
- Register allocation optimization: Reordering instructions to minimize register
spills and optimize register usage.
4. Constraint Checking: Peephole optimization considers constraints and
limitations imposed by the target architecture, instruction set, and compiler
settings. Optimization rules are applied within the constraints of the target
hardware platform, ensuring that optimized code remains valid and compatible
with the target environment.
5. Iterative Application: Peephole optimization is applied iteratively over the
entire codebase, scanning through each instruction sequence or basic block to
identify and apply optimization opportunities. The process may involve multiple
passes over the code, with each pass potentially discovering new optimization
opportunities or refining previously applied optimizations.
6. Evaluation and Performance Impact: Peephole optimization evaluates the
performance impact of applied optimizations using metrics such as execution
time, memory usage, and code size. Optimization decisions may be guided by
performance profiling data, benchmarking results, or heuristics aimed at
improving overall program performance.
Overall, peephole optimization is a powerful and widely used technique for
improving code quality and performance in compilers. By analyzing and
optimizing small, localized instruction sequences, peephole optimization can
achieve significant performance gains and code efficiency improvements with
relatively low computational overhead.