Compiler Construction

  • Joe Gibbs Politz (Instructor)
  • Dharmendra Chaturvedi (TA)
  • Kasra Ferdowsifard (TA)

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, 9:30am Tue/Thu
  • Discussion Section: Center 212, 8am F
  • Tests (in Friday Discussion Section): Oct 18, Nov 15

  • Final Exam: Dec 12, 8am-11am, Center 109

  • Podcasts: https://podcast.ucsd.edu/watch/fa19/cse131_a00
  • Q&A Forum Campuswire, use access code 8255
  • 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 we will 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 instructors’ materials as well.

Schedule

The schedule below outlines topics, due dates, and links to assignments. In a typical week, by Tuesday 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 Thursday evening.)

Staff & Resources

Office Hours

Office hours are concentrated on Friday, Monday, and Tuesday, since most assignments are due Wednesday. Please check the calendar before you come in case there have been any changes. When you come to the office hour, we may ask you to put your name in the queue using the whiteboard. Read the description about collaboration below for some context about office hours.

Useful Resources

Grading

Your grade will be calculated from:

  • 5% participation in class
    • There are 20 lectures, you must attend 10 for full credit
    • Each week both lectures will have clicker questions. You get credit for each session where you answer at least half of the questions.
    • For full credit, you need to attend (at least) 10 lectures. For each lecture fewer than 10 you attend, you lose one of the participation points, minimum 0 (so if you only attend 8 you get 3 participation points, if you attend 2 lectures, you get 0 participation points)
    • Clicker scores can be checked on Gradescope
  • 5% review quizzes
    • Each week there will be an online review quiz due Monday evening, you get full review quiz credit for getting at least half the questions right.
    • For full credit, you need to get credit for 5 quizzes. For each quiz fewer than 5 you complete, you lose one of the review quiz points, minimum 0.
    • Quiz scores can be checked on Gradescope
  • 50% programming assignments (8 total) This list may shift slightly, but it’s a close estimate and any changes will be reflected here.
    • PA0 open collab (warmup): 2%
    • PA1 closed collab (let and arithmetic): 3%
    • PA2 open collab (tagged values): 5%
    • PA3 open collab (types and loops): 5%
    • PA4 closed collab (functions): 9%
    • PA5 open collab (heap allocation): 7%
    • PA6 open collab (heap allocation/optimization): 7%
    • PA7-checkpoint open collab (memory management): 3%
    • PA7-gc closed collab (memory management): 9%
  • 40% exams
    • 16% for in-class exams
    • 24% final exam
      • You must pass the final exam to pass the course
      • The final exam will have questions that allow you to regain credit lost on in-class exams

After your weighted average is calculated, letter grades will be assigned based on the following grading scale:

A+ A A- B+ B B- C+ C C- D, F
  >97    93-96.99     90-92.99    87-89.99    83-86.99    80-82.99    77-79.99    73-76.99    65-72.99    Below 64.99 

We may adjust the above scale to be more lenient (depending on the overall class performance), but we guarantee that we will not adjust the scale to make it harder to get a better grade.

Policies

Programming

In your professional programming life, some of your work will be highly collaborative with lots of expert advice available from senior developers and from sites like StackOverflow. This is a common case in many Web-focused companies, in academia, and on open-source projects. It’s a great way to get exposed to new techniques, share knowledge, and generally enjoy teamwork. In contrast, some of your work will involve figuring out programming problems on your own, where you are the first person to encounter an issue, or the first person to try using a new library in the context of your application. You should get experience in both types of situations; we might call the former kind of process open to collaboration and the latter closed to collaboration.

In terms of courses, this split also makes sense. Programming assignments serve (at least) two roles. First and foremost, they are a mechanism for you to learn! By directly applying the techniques and skills we discuss in class, you get practice and become a better programmer. Second, they are an assessment mechanism – as instructional staff we use them to evaluate your understanding of concepts as demonstrated by your programs. Open collaboration can reduce frustration while learning and give you chances to enjoy collaboration and lots of help, but may not let us accurately evaluate your understanding. Closed assignments are an opportunity for you to demonstrate what you know by way of programming (and some of the frustration of working through a problem on your own is healthy frustration).

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 online, 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 the forum post at [link]”
    • 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 a message board. 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.

    This doesn’t mean the staff will be handing out answers. We’ll mostly respond with leading questions and advice, and you shouldn’t expect a direct answer to questions like “am I done?” or “is my code right?”

    There is no guarantee the assistance you get from your classmates is correct. It is your responsibility to use your judgment to avoid using an idea on the course message board that is wrong, or doesn’t work with your solution; we won’t necessarily tell you one way or another while the assignment is out.

    If we see that you used code from other students and didn’t cite it in the README, the penalty will range from a point deduction to an academic integrity violation, depending on the severity. Always cite your work!

  • Closed collaboration assignments, where you cannot collaborate with others. You can ask clarification questions as private posts 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 the course message board (or on social media or other forums). Of course, you can still post questions about material from lecture or past assignments!
    • 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.

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

Late Work

Late work is generally not accepted, because often we’ll release partial or full solutions immediately following the deadline for an 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

There will be two tests during the quarter (held in discussion section) and a final exam. There are no make-up tests for the tests during the quarter. However, the final exam will have sections that correspond to each of the in-class tests, and if your score on that part of the final is higher than your score on that in-class test, the exam score replaces it. This includes the case where you miss an in-class test (scoring a 0), but can regain credit from that part of the final exam. This policy is designed to encourage you to treat the in-class tests as learning opportunities so that you can study any mistakes you make and re-apply that knowledge on the final.

You are not allowed any study aids on 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.

Some past exams are available at the link below for reference on format (content changes from offering to offering so this may not be representative):

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1yPxZ-nqRpC9Gz63JIavhQgfnyhA0uGIs?usp=sharing

Laptop/Device Policy in Lecture

There are lots of great reasons to have a laptop, tablet, or phone open during class. You might be taking notes, getting a photo of an important moment on the board, trying out a program that we’re developing together, and so on. The main issue with screens and technology in the classroom isn’t your own distraction (which is your responsibility to manage), it’s the distraction of other students. Anyone sitting behind you cannot help but have your screen in their field of view. Having distracting content on your screen can really harm their learning experience.

With this in mind, the device policy for the course is that if you have a screen open, you either:

  • Have only content onscreen that’s directly related to the current lecture.
  • Have unrelated content open and sit in one of the back two rows of the room to mitigate the effects on other students. I may remind you of this policy if I notice you not following it in class. Note that I really don’t mind if you want to sit in the back and try to multi-task in various ways while participating in lecture (I may not recommend it, but it’s your time!)

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/.