Anders Hejlsberg on Modern Compiler Construction

Originally published on Channel 9

The way this story starts is pretty interesting: one day in the lunch room in building 25 I happened to have a chat with the great Anders Hejlsberg about compilers (yeah, it was pretty cool). One thing he mentioned (in passing I might add) was that there is a huge gap between the way compilers are taught in school and the way compilers are implemented nowadays. I mentioned (again in passing) that we should do a whiteboard on the topic for Channel 9. He agreed!

In this video Anders a great foundation of compiler construction by describing the traditional methodologies that have been used in the last 30 or so years. He then uses that foundation to describe modern tooling needs and how compilers have adapted to meet increasing demands. The discussion was not only enlightening but also went a long way to show how Microsoft is taking great care to meet the modern needs of a wide array of developers. I hope you enjoy the discussion as much as I did!