Abstract

Compiler symbol processing has become complex as programming languages have evolved . In this paper we describe a comprehensive model of symbol processing, and a system that uses this model to generate the symbol processing portions of a compiler from simple specification. The model supports a variety of entities with different types of names. It includes a detailed view of scoping. It provides a simple picture of the complex mapping from a source token to a specific entity. The model is illustrated with examples from Ada. The system is divided into two parts. The first takes a nonprocedural description of the semantics of symbol in the language and produces a symbol table module for a compiler for that language. The second supports a simple symbol processing language that allows the easy connection of syntax and semantic processing to the symbol module.