2009 Paper 5 Question 1
Compiler Construction
(a) Give two reasons why a compiler is typically broken down into passes (or
phases) and indicate a typical set of passes and the data structures passed
between them. [4 marks]
(b) Explain one way in which the process of compiling a Java applet, to be stored
on a web page and run within many browsers, might differ from that of
compiling an application and running it multiple times on a single machine.
[2 marks]
(c) Explain the difference between a file containing textual assembly code and a
file containing an object module. Indicate the essential structure of an object
file, for example ELF, highlighting the purpose of each section. Give assemblylevel or C-level code that produces entries in each of these sections. [7 marks]
(d) Explain the actions of a linker, the role of libraries and what makes certain
object files directly executable. [4 marks]
(e) Explain the difference between static and dynamic linking giving one advantage
of each. Which is most appropriate for an applet stored on a web site to be
loaded into a browser? [3 marks]