Topic will be on a compiler from a list of programming languages Essay

Topic will be on a compiler from a list of programming languages - Essay Example This first Fortran compiler was known as an optimizing compiler, producing assembly code that was similar to hand-coded assembly language programs, but accomplishing the same tasks in less programming statements by a factor of 20. This fact led to the acceptance of the new system of creating code automatically. A Fortran compiler is a program that takes a Fortran program (the source code) and translates it into a lower-level language such as assembly language (the object code), which the computer can execute. This process usually takes three different steps, called passes. They include: lexical analysis, syntax analysis, and code generation, resulting in the binary code of 1‘s and 0‘s that a machine can execute. Currently, other common compiler operations include: preprocessing; parsing; semantic analysis; and code optimization. Which of these operations does a Fortran compiler utilize? The first Fortran compiler was created to work on the IBM 704. The compiler was called a "translator or executive routine". This first Fortran compiler was very simple, since it only had to handle the first, simple version of Fortran. The first Fortran language consisted of only 33 types of possible statements; these included: arithmetic statements and mathematical function statements; input and output statements such as READ and PRINT; the DIMENSION statement for creating matrices; the IF conditional statement; and control statements such as the GO TO and the DO loop statement. The first Fortran compiler (or translator, as then called) consisted of six parts or sections. The first section read in and classified statements, compiling any arithmetic statements. Input-output statements are partially compiled at this stage. Any compiled statements were stored in the COMPAIL file. Any remaining information is stored in tables. The second section compiled indexing statements, such as from the DO statement; these compilations were stored in the COMPDO file. The third