Prerequisites by Topic

• working knowledge of a high-level language, preferably Java, C, or C++;
  
• ability to use and implement common data structures such as lists, stacks,
  queues, and trees;
  
• principles of functional, block-oriented programming languages  including types,
  scoping, abstraction mechanisms, exceptions, and concurrency
  
• principles of object-oriented programming languages  including
  classes and objects
  
• knowledge of software architecture and design

Knowledge and Skills Acquired

• Mastery of:
  
  
  
  • Deterministic parsing, Semantic analysis, Abstract syntax trees
    
  • Symbol tables, type checking, resource allocation
    
  • Generating LR parsers using automated tools such as Flex and Bison
    
  • Code generation
  
  
• Familiarity with:
  
  
  
  • Domain specific languages
    
  • Garbage collection, native code generation, static analysis
    
  • Virtual machines and run-time environments