Building a Transpiler from scratch
Course description
In modern implementations of compilers, it has become popular to transform one high-level language into another. Examples include transpiling new versions of JavaScript into older ones or converting TypeScript into JavaScript. Such compilers are called transpilers, and this course is dedicated to them.
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Why are transpilers important?
Transpilers allow the use of existing runtime environments (such as JavaScript engines) while avoiding dealing with low-level details such as memory management or bytecode. This is a practical and efficient approach to learning compilers, especially if you want to create your own programming language.
Unlike traditional books on compilers that focus on theoretical aspects (grammars, parsing, etc.), this course offers a practical guide to creating a full-fledged transpiler in 2-4 hours. We will develop it in a live coding format, step by step, with clear explanations.
What will you learn?
We will focus on transpiling a high-level concurrent programming language with message-passing processes into JavaScript. Besides transpiling, you will understand how concurrent functional languages (such as Erlang) and even operating systems with processes and threads work.
Developing a transpiler will improve your programming skills as it involves data structures, algorithms, and architectural decisions.
Course prerequisites
It is optionally recommended to take the course "Building an Interpreter from Scratch", where we create an AST interpreter. If you already understand concepts such as eval, closures, scopes, environments, you can start this course directly.
Who is this course for?
- For engineers who want to master the creation of complex systems and acquire transferable knowledge
- For those interested in compilers, programming languages, and type theory
- For developers who want to create their own programming language
What technologies are used?
We will write the transpiler in JavaScript and compile code into JavaScript. This choice makes the course accessible to a wide range of developers and allows the code to be adapted to other languages (TypeScript, Rust, OCaml, C++, Python, etc.).
Important! This course is focused on active learning. We do not just provide the final code - you will need to implement key parts of the transpiler yourself in specially prepared exercises.
Course format
- Clear and structured lectures - without distractions and unnecessary theoretical digressions
- Animated presentations + live notes - to visually explain complex topics
- Live coding with step-by-step assignments - from an empty project to a full-fledged transpiler
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All Course Lessons (18)
| # | Lesson Title | Duration | Access |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lecture 1: Transpiler overview | Numbers Demo | 12:04 | |
| 2 | Lecture 2: Strings | Blocks and Statements | 07:28 | |
| 3 | Lecture 3: Parsing: S-expression to AST | 05:59 | |
| 4 | Lecture 4: Variable declaration and lookup | 05:17 | |
| 5 | Lecture 5: Function calls | Runtime | 04:21 | |
| 6 | Lecture 6: Binary and Unary expressions | 05:29 | |
| 7 | Lecture 7: Control flow: If statement | While loops | 03:12 | |
| 8 | Lecture 8: Function declarations | Return statement | 05:14 | |
| 9 | Lecture 9: Primer on generators | 08:40 | |
| 10 | Lecture 10: Process | Scheduler class | 05:08 | |
| 11 | Lecture 11: Spawning processes | JS Transform | 07:48 | |
| 12 | Lecture 12: Records and Lists | 07:00 | |
| 13 | Lecture 13: Pattern matching | Decomposition | 11:42 | |
| 14 | Lecture 14: Pattern matching statement | 05:23 | |
| 15 | Lecture 15: Awaiting messages | Process mailbox | 05:41 | |
| 16 | Lecture 16: Receive statement | Recursive calls | 05:18 | |
| 17 | Lecture 17: Using compiled code from Web | 08:35 | |
| 18 | Lecture 18: Final executable | Next steps | 05:44 |
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