Course detail

Formal Languages and Compilers (in English)

FIT-IFJeAcad. year: 2025/2026

This course discusses formal languages and their models. Based on these models, it explains the construction of compilers. The lectures are organized as follows: (I) Basic notions: formal languages and their models, grammars, automata; compilers. (II) Regular languages and lexical analysis: regular languages and expressions, finite automata, lexical analyzer; symbol table. (III) Context-free languages and syntax analysis: context-free grammars, pushdown automata, deterministic top-down syntax analysis (recursive descent), the essence of deterministic bottom-up syntax analysis. (IV) Semantic analysis and code generation: intermediate code generation, optimization, code generation.

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Exam prerequisites

To be allowed to take the final exam, the student must obtain 20 points during the semester; out of these 20 points, at least 5 points must be obtained from the project.

Language of instruction

English

Number of ECTS credits

5

Mode of study

Not applicable.

Guarantor

prof. RNDr. Alexandr Meduna, CSc.

Department

Department of Information Systems (UIFS)

Offered to foreign students

Of all faculties

Entry knowledge

Discrete mathematics.

Rules for evaluation and completion of the course

  • Mid-term exam - 20 points.
  • Project - 25 points.
  • Final exam - 55 points. To be allowed to take the final exam, the student has to obtain 20 points during the semester; out of these 20 points, at least five points have to be obtained from the project.

 

 


 

Aims

Familiarity with formal languages and their models. Grasp of compiler construction.
Fundamental familiarity with the theory of formal languages. Ability of a compiler construction.

Study aids

Not applicable.

Prerequisites and corequisites

Basic literature

Meduna, A.: Formal Languages and Computation: Models and Their Applications. Taylor & Francis, New York, 2014. (EN)

Recommended reading

Meduna, A.: Elements of Compiler Design. Taylor & Francis, New York, 2008. (EN)
Nystrom, R.: Crafting Interpreters.‎ Genever Benning, 2021, Available online http://craftinginterpreters.com. (EN)
Parsons, T. W.: Introduction to Compiler Construction. Freeman, New York, 1992. (EN)

Classification of course in study plans

  • Programme IT-BC-1H Bachelor's

    specialization BCH , 0 year of study, winter semester, recommended course

  • Programme MIT-EN Master's 1 year of study, winter semester, compulsory

Type of course unit

 

Lecture

39 hod., optionally

Teacher / Lecturer

prof. RNDr. Alexandr Meduna, CSc.
Ing. Zbyněk Křivka, Ph.D.

Syllabus

  • Basics of formal languages: alphabet, strings, languages.
  • Introduction to compiler design: structure of a compiler.
  • Regular languages and their models: regular expressions, finite automata.
  • Variants of finite automata.
  • Lexical analysis: lexical analyzer, symbol table.
  • Context-free languages and their models: context-free grammars, pushdown automata.
  • Pushdown automata and general parsing.
  • Deterministic top-down syntax analysis: recursive descent.
  • Deterministic bottom-up syntax analysis: simple precedence analysis.
  • Chomsky hierarchy and the corresponding models. Remarks and summary.

Project

13 hod., compulsory

Teacher / Lecturer

Ing. Martin Havel
Ing. Zbyněk Křivka, Ph.D.

Syllabus

The task is to implement and document a program which, given a composition of functions, transforms it to an equivalent mathematical expression.