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Best Compilers Course?

10 points by perfmode ↗ HN
is Stanford CA 143 the best introductory compilers course? what about CMU 15-411? or MIT 6.035?

I'm looking to scratch an itch I've had for years. if the experience goes well, I might consider FTE opportunities in the domain.

my background is Stanford B.Sc. (systems focus)

1 comment

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dmlittle
From a quick look at all 3 syllabi they all cover similar material. CMU 15-411 and MIT 6.035 seem to cover implementing optimizations as part of the projects while Stanford CS 143 does no so I'd recommend one of the former ones.

As someone who took 6.035, I cannot recommend it enough. It's probably the favorite class I took while in college. The class covered a lot of compiler theory during lectures but unlike other classes that involved programming there was no skeleton code or starting point for the project (4 parts, each building on each other). You got an empty git repo and a set of instructions of what your compiler interface should be in order for TAs to be able to run your compiler. You had to figure out everything on your own.