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learning_c/2025/making_a_c_compiler/TODO.md

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# write a compiler driver - ✅
## Options
- `--lex` -> run the lexer, don't parse
- `--parse` -> lex and parse, don't generate assembly
- `--codegen` -> lex, parse, generate assembly, but don't emit code
## Steps
### Preprocess
```bash
> gcc -E -P <input-file> -o <preprocessed-file>.i
```
### Compile (stub for now)
### Assemble and Link
```bash
> gcc <assembly-file>.s -o <output-file>
```
# write a lexer - ✅
```python
WORD_BOUNDARY = '\b'
IDENTIFIER = "IDENTIFIER"
CONSTANT = "CONSTANT"
KW_INT = "KW_INT"
KW_VOID = "KW_VOID"
KW_RETURN = "KW_RETURN"
PAREN_OPEN = "PAREN_OPEN"
PAREN_CLOSE = "PARENT_CLOSE"
BRACE_OPEN = "BRACE_OPEN"
BRACE_CLOSE = "BRACE_CLOSE"
SEMICOLON = "SEMICOLON"
REGEX_TABLE = (
(r"[a-zA-Z_]\w*\b", IDENTIFIER),
(r"[0-9]+\b", CONSTANT),
(r"int\b", KW_INT),
(r"void\b", KW_VOID),
(r"return\b", KW_RETURN),
(r"\(", PAREN_OPEN),
(r"\)", PAREN_CLOSE),
(r"{", BRACE_OPEN),
(r"}", BRACE_CLOSE),
(r";", SEMICOLON),
)
```
```pseudocode
while input isn't empty:
if input starts with whitespace:
trim whitespace from start of input
else:
find longest match at start of input for any regex in REGEX_TABLE
if no match is found, raise an error
convert matching substring into a token
remove matching substring from start of input
```
We must return a list of tokens. Some have values (constants, keywords); others do not (PAREN_OPEN, SEMICOLON).
# Write a parser
- `program: Program` nodes can have only one child, a `function_definition`
- `function_definition` has one child, `body: Statement`, and one attribute `name: Identifier`
- `body` has one child, `return_value: Expression`
- we only have one `Express`, which is a `Constant`