Concepts required in building an IDE/compiler [closed]

Question

When it comes to making an IDE (e.g. SharpDevelop) or a compiler/language parser, what topics of computer science do I need to know? I don't expect a full list of in depth tutorials but just a list of topics which would benefit me in improving.

Am I right in thinking a parser has some rules about the syntax/semantics of a language, and validates the code based on these rules? That seems like a simple approach?

Thanks

Answer 1

An IDE, a compiler and a debugger are three different beasts.

Here's a quick and slightly random selection of some links that I've found interesting or inspiring when thinking about building modeling tools for simulation languages, which is as close as I get to IDE:

• The High Performance GUI
• Magic Ink - programmable information rather than interaction
• Edward Tufte - imagine if your working life was spent looking at information made this beautiful.
• Dynamic IDEs for Dynamic Languages (Bracha also designed Java's debugging mirror interface, another thing an IDE needs)
• Information Design Patterns - general examples of GUIs
• Problems with tabbed interfaces (though icons aren't much use either when each page of code looks the same; maybe generated icons like the ones here would work)
• Common Sense Suggestions for Developing Multimodal User Interfaces - what if the best way to express your code is to wave your hands around, or give a bug a stern talking to.
• The Pinocchio Problem - similar are to Bracha's post, about patching a running framework

There's somewhat of a bias in those links towards patterns to help reading and browsing rather than writing code, and towards systems the user extends while using them rather than as a separate cycle; if you want a task-oriented interface or static plugins, projects for existing IDEs such as Eclipse are the place to look.

Answer 2

For implementing a compiler / language, you will need a fundamental understanding of:

• BNF & EBNF - Context-Free Grammers (the syntax rules)
• Lexical Analyzing Techniques & Tools (Lex / Bison)
• Parsing Techniques (eg. Recursive Decent, LL, LR)