The central task of this project is to construct a compiler for µOCCAM, a subset of the OCCAM parallel programming language. The project is divided into two phases: the first is to produce an appropriate lexical analyser and parser; the second is to write a code generator for a parallel abstract machine. The compiler is to be written in C, and sections of support code are provided to make the task achievable in the time given.
More detailed information on each phase can be found through the following links.
There is a questionnaire for you to provide feedback on this module. Please do. Copies will be distributed at the closing lecture of Phase 2.
This year the individual programming project is administered by Ian Stark.
| Tuesday 17 October 2000 | (Term 1 Week 2) | Phase 1 begins. Briefing session in Lecture Theatre C at 11-12. |
| Tuesday 14 November 2000 | (Term 1 Week 6) | Phase 1 ends. Submissions due by 12 noon. |
| Tuesday 5 December 2000 | (Term 1 Week 9) | Phase 1 closing lecture in Lecture Theatre C at 11-12. |
| Tuesday 16 January 2001 | (Term 2 Week 2) | Phase 2 begins. Briefing session Lecture Theatre B at 1pm. |
| Tuesday 30 January 2001 | (Term 2 Week 4) | Phase 2 sample programs due in by 1pm. |
| Friday 16 February 2001 | (Term 2 Week 6) | Phase 2 ends. Submissions due by 1 pm. |
| Monday 12 March 2001 | (Term 2 Week 10) | Phase 2 closing lecture in Lecture Theatre C at 11am. |
While the project is running, you should expect to spend at least as much time working on it as you do on any other lectured module.
Each phase contributes 50% to the final project mark. Project assessment is primarily based on the implemented compiler, which is run through a batch of tests. There is a prize at the end of the year for the student whose program performs best.
The resources listed below contain a wealth of information relevant to this
practical. In addition you can send specific queries to the ipphelp mail alias. This is
passed to a postgraduate demonstrator assigned to this course. You can also
come to see me personally: my office is JCMB 2506, and I shall be available
during term time between 2 and 3pm on Mondays and Thursdays.
You should consult the newsgroup eduni.dcs.cs3.ipp frequently: all
course announcements will appear there. This is in addition to the standard
eduni.dcs.cs3 group, and is
specifically for questions and discussion about the project. Staff,
demonstrators and other students will all read and post to the group.
In an extended and substantial practical like this, it can be very helpful to air common queries and difficulties. Unfortunately, it is sometimes difficult to judge what amount of shared discussion is legitimate. We strongly encourage you to put all discussion of the practical on the newsgroup. As well as giving everyone a chance to comment and help you, this will also forestall any possible accusation of inappropriate collaboration.
Please take care to protect your own work from the inspection of others.
Source code is precious: use chmod to protect files, and do
not show your code to anyone else.
The standard equipment for this practical is the Linux PC's in the machine halls. If you have a similar machine of your own, you are welcome to use that instead; the programs should work on any Unix system. Before submission though, you should always check that your code works correctly on our machines.
There is a small collection of relevant reference books chained down in the NE corner of the South machine hall. For further material, including several introductory books on the OCCAM language, try the library on floor 4 of the JCMB. The O'Reilly book on Lex and Yacc is popular; it covers the flex and Bison tools used in this project.
The following electronic resources are relevant to this project. All the
material held locally is in /home/cs3/ipp/.
Some text was missing from diagrams in the printed handouts; these pages are available as a separate document (pdf, postscript).
The µOCCAM grammar and OCCAM 2.1 manual were given out at the first lecture. If you don't have them, ask for a copy at the Informatics Teaching Office.
/home/cs3/ipp/source/.
ipp test script
man
flex to get documentation; this is available locally as
dvi,
pdf and
postscript,
with a full online manual
provided by the GNU project.
These four tools are very widely used and well worth learning to use effectively. Several programming reference books cover them in some depth.
/home/cs3/ipp/nuweb/,
and the original literate form of the µOCCAM compiler in /home/cs3/ipp/literate-source/.The µOCCAM compiler project was originally devised and implemented by Kevin Mitchell.