Path: csiph.com!v102.xanadu-bbs.net!xanadu-bbs.net!news.glorb.com!border3.nntp.dca.giganews.com!border1.nntp.dca.giganews.com!nntp.giganews.com!news.iecc.com!.POSTED!nerds-end From: "Charles E. Bortle, Jr." Newsgroups: comp.compilers Subject: 40 year old compilers Date: Sat, 15 Jun 2013 03:01:08 -0700 Organization: Compilers Central Lines: 32 Sender: johnl@iecc.com Approved: comp.compilers@iecc.com Message-ID: <13-06-015@comp.compilers> References: <13-06-004@comp.compilers> NNTP-Posting-Host: news.iecc.com Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1"; reply-type=original Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Trace: leila.iecc.com 1371315301 98161 64.57.183.58 (15 Jun 2013 16:55:01 GMT) X-Complaints-To: abuse@iecc.com NNTP-Posting-Date: Sat, 15 Jun 2013 16:55:01 +0000 (UTC) Keywords: books, history Posted-Date: 15 Jun 2013 12:55:01 EDT X-submission-address: compilers@iecc.com X-moderator-address: compilers-request@iecc.com X-FAQ-and-archives: http://compilers.iecc.com Xref: csiph.com comp.compilers:925 > I still have http://www.amazon.com/dp/047132776X (Gries) that I bought > about 35 years ago, but that might not be the best to understand > C compilers. > Most should be availabl for low prices on the used book market. > Gries is $0.01 plus $3.99 for shipping. Putting my 2cents in... My copy of Gries, purchased in 1974, still has the Cal State Long Beach bookstore price tag on the inside of the cover...$19.75. ;-) (No, I was not taking a compiler class at the time...I was just interested in learing how to write compilers.) Actually, I was a business major (Accounting) but spent 11 years as a computer technician at MAI Basic Four, Inc. I took a Fortran IV class as part of my Business electives and eventually realized I could write a Fortran compiler using what I later learned was called Recursive Descent parsing...that was in '74 and I hired in at Basic Four in '77. I am oriented more to Top Down rather than the Bottom Up that is generally used to parse C. Gries did cover both. Along the way I learned digital electronics and began learning how to build microprocessor based computers. I even designed a horizontal microprogrammed super mini (never could aford to build it though) so I got to see both the hardware and software side of compiler tech. Charles Bortle charlesb@calvaryanaheim.org [Somehow I ended up with two copies even though my undergrad compiler course didn't use the book. Gries was quite young when he wrote that book and is still around, by the way. http://www.cs.cornell.edu/gries/ -John]