Any book recommendation for writing a compiler?

[rikki cattermole]

On 01/11/2017 11:13 PM, Jonathan M Davis wrote:
> On Wednesday, November 01, 2017 20:53:44 Dr. Assembly via Digitalmars-d-
> learn wrote:
>> Hey guys, if I were to get into dmd's source code to play a
>> little bit (just for fun, no commercial use at all), which
>> books/resources do you recommend to start out?
> 
> Well, if you're looking to actually buy a book, this is the one that I used
> in college and it was good:
> 
> https://www.amazon.com/Compiler-Construction-Principles-Kenneth-Louden/dp/0534939724/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1509574006&sr=8-1&keywords=louden+compiler

Out of stock: 
https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/compiler-construction-principles-and-practice_kenneth-c-louden/263600/#isbn=0534939724

> However, the one that folks generally mention is the "dragon book:"
> 
> https://www.amazon.com/Compilers-Principles-Techniques-Tools-2nd/dp/0321486811

https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/compiladores-principios-tecnicas-y-herramientas_alfred-v-aho/248872/#isbn=0201100886

> I haven't read it though, so I can't comment on its contents, just that it's
> commonly recommended. Neither book is exactly cheap though. There may be
> some good online resources for learning about compilers, but I don't know
> them. However, if you're really serious about it, you'll probably want to
> read a textbook, since it's the sort of area where a good theoretical
> background to things can be quite useful. Certainly, at minimum, you're
> going to want to know the differences between things like a lexer and parser
> and what an abstract syntax tree is.
> 
> - Jonathan M Davis

I'd call it cheap ;) It isn't too bad grounding in everything, but 
doesn't branch out much (which is fine) and yeah invest in the hard 
cover version, its well worth it.