Compiler Construction

Joe Gibbs Politz (Instructor)

Basics - Schedule - Staff & Resources - Grading - Policies

In this course, we’ll explore the implementation of compilers: programs that transform source programs into other useful, executable forms. This will include understanding syntax and its structure, checking for and representing errors in programs, writing programs that generate code, and the interaction of generated code with a runtime system.

We will explore these topics interactively in lecure, you will implement an increasingly sophisticated series of compilers throughout the course to learn how different language features are compiled, and you will think through design challenges based on what you learn from implementation.

This web page serves as the main source of announcements and resources for the course, as well as the syllabus.

Basics

  • Lecture: Center 109, 9am MWF
  • Discussion: Center 119, 12pm (noon) F
  • Midterm: May 4, Center 109, 9am (normal class time)

  • Final: June 13, TBA, 8am

  • Podcasts: https://podcast.ucsd.edu/podcasts/default.aspx?PodcastId=4931
  • Piazza: https://piazza.com/class/jfh8ukqgp5h521
  • Gradescope: https://www.gradescope.com will be used for submissions (instructions will accompany the first programming assignment)
  • Textbook/readings: There’s no official textbook, but I’ll link to different online resources for you to read to supplement lecture. Versions of this course have been taught at several universities, so sometimes I’ll link to those instructor’s materials, as well.

Schedule

The schedule below outlines topics, due dates, and links to assignments. In a typical week, by Monday before class all due dates, readings, and notable events in the course until the following week will be posted here. So if you check the schedule at the beginning of the week, you’ll know when all reading quizzes, programming assignments, etc. will be due. We will often have the schedule confirmed more than a week out, but we’ll always be at least a week ahead. The schedule of lecture topics might change slightly, but I post a general plan so you can know roughly where we are headed.

(The first week is an exception; we’ll get everything you need for the first week out by Tuesday evening.)

Staff & Resources

Office Hours

Office hours are subjected to change each week, so please check the calendar before you come. When you come to the office hour, we may ask you to put your name in the queue using the whiteboard. We won’t use Autograder for this course, because we want to encourage you to discuss with each other and ask questions without code in front of us. That said, for open collaboration assignments, we will be happy to help your code if you need it.

Useful Resources

Grading

Your grade will be calculated from:

  • 5% participation via clickers
    • Each week both lecture and discussion will have clicker questions. You get credit for each session where you answer at least half of the questions.
    • Discussion attendance is not mandatory to get full clicker credit
    • Credit is awarded proportionally to the number of total lectures with clicker questions (usually around 25), with 4 allowed absences
    • Clicker scores can be checked here
  • 5% review quizzes
    • Each week there will be an online review quiz, you get full review quiz credit for getting at least half the questions right
    • Quiz scores can be checked here
  • 40% programming assignments (9 total)
    • PA0 open collab (warmup): 2%
    • PA1 closed collab (let and arithmetic): 2%
    • PA2 open collab (tagged values): 3%
    • PA3 closed collab (functions): 8%
    • PA4 open collab (using tuples): 3%
    • PA5 closed collab (heap compilation): 7%
    • PA6 open collab (C runtime library): 3%
    • PA7 closed collab (memory management): 8%
    • PA8 open collab (optimization): 4%
  • 20% take home written work
  • 30% exams
    • 10% a midterm exam, in class
    • 20% final exam
      • You must score over 50% on the final exam to pass the course
      • If you score higher on the final exam than on the midterm (including 0’s on the midterm), the final applies at 30%
      • There are no make-up midterms; if you do not take the midterm, you get the same score on the midterm as you get on the final

Policies

Late Work

You have a total of 4 extension days that you can apply over the course of the quarter. Any amount of time (up to 24 hours) past the deadline counts as a full day. These apply to programming assignments and to take-home work. You cannot use more than one day on a given assignment.

Regrades

Mistakes occur in grading. Once grades are posted for an assignment, we will allow a short period for you to request a fix (announced along with grade release). If you don’t make a request in the given period, the grade you were initially given is final.

Exams

You are not allowed any study aids on in-class exams, aside from those pertaining to university-approved accommodations. References will be provided along with exams to avoid unnecessary memorization.

You cannot discuss the content of exams with others in the course until grades have been released for that exam.

Academic Integrity

There are two types of assignments in this course:

  • Open collaboration assignments, for which you can talk to anyone else in the course, post snippets of code on Piazza, get lots of help from TAs, and generally come up with solutions collaboratively. TAs will be happy to look at your code and suggest fixes, along with explaining them. There are a few restrictions:
    • Any code that you didn’t write must be cited in the README file that goes along with your submission
      • Example: On an open collaboration assignment, you and another student chat online about the solution, you figure out a particular helper method together. Your README should say “The FOO function was developed in collaboration with Firstname Lastname”
      • Example: On an open collaboration assignment, a student posts the compilation strategy they used to handle a type of expression you were struggling with. Your README should say “I used the code from https://piazza.com/class/id-of-post”
    • Anyone you work with in-person must be noted in your README
      • Example: You and another student sit next to each other in the lab, and point out mistakes and errors to one another as you work through the assignment. As a result, your solutions are substantially similar. Your README should say “I collaborated with Firstname Lastname to develop my solution.”
    • You cannot share an entire repository of code or paste an entire solution into Piazza. Keep snippets to reasonable, descriptive chunks of code; think a dozen lines or so to get the point across.
    • You still cannot use code that you find online, or get assistance or code from students outside of this offering of the class. All the code that is handed in should be developed by you or someone in the class.
  • Closed collaboration assignments, where you cannot collaborate with others. You can ask clarification questions as private posts on Piazza or of TAs. However, TAs will not look at your code or comment on it. Lab/office hours these weeks are for conceptual questions or for questions about past assignments only, no code assistance. On these assignments:
    • You cannot look at or use anyone else’s code
    • You cannot discuss the assignment with other students
    • You cannot post publicly about the assignment on Piazza (or on social media or other forums). Of course, you can still post questions about material from lecture on Piazza!
    • All of the examples in the open collaboration section above would be academic integrity violations on a closed collaboration assignment

Programming assignments will explicitly list whether they are open or closed collaboration. There will also be take-home written homeworks, which are always closed collaboration.

You should be familiar with the UCSD guidelines on academic integrity as well.

Diversity and Inclusion

We are committed to fostering a learning environment for this course that supports a diversity of thoughts, perspectives and experiences, and respects your identities (including race, ethnicity, heritage, gender, sex, class, sexuality, religion, ability, age, educational background, etc.). Our goal is to create a diverse and inclusive learning environment where all students feel comfortable and can thrive.

Our instructional staff will make a concerted effort to be welcoming and inclusive to the wide diversity of students in this course. If there is a way we can make you feel more included please let one of the course staff know, either in person, via email/discussion board, or even in a note under the door. Our learning about diverse perspectives and identities is an ongoing process, and we welcome your perspectives and input.

We also expect that you, as a student in this course, will honor and respect your classmates, abiding by the UCSD Principles of Community (https://ucsd.edu/about/principles.html). Please understand that others’ backgrounds, perspectives and experiences may be different than your own, and help us to build an environment where everyone is respected and feels comfortable.

If you experience any sort of harassment or discrimination, please contact the instructor as soon as possible. If you prefer to speak with someone outside of the course, please contact the Office of Prevention of Harassment and Discrimination: https://ophd.ucsd.edu/.