CSC 488/2107 2010W ::= Compilers & Interpeters

Welcome!

Welcome to the web site for the Winter 2010 term of CSC 488/2107, Compilers & Interpreters.
(It is a cross-listed course, the two course numbers referring to the undergraduate and graduate course number respectively.)

The Buzz

I'm teaching this course for the first time. Last term the CSC 324 instructor invited me to talk about, among other things, the changes I've been preparing (since this is a natural follow-up to his course).

A number of CSC 488 students also attended. Here's a representative response to part of that talk, from one of those students:

Fantastic talk in 324 today! I loved how you took a Python program that converted Python into S-Expressions, then were able to run that same program in Scheme. That kind of stuff is never even considered in [any] course in this school.

How hard is this course?

Some students have told me they've heard CSC 488 is a killer course. Regardless of whether that is historically true or just perception and rumour, I don't expect my version to be a killer. I certainly would like it to be accessible to more than the 16 fourth year undergraduates who signed up last year, and that is part of the reason I agreed to take on the course and put a lot of effort into preparing for it.

Maybe a cartoon will put you at ease (or maybe not, given the last three panels ☺).