Compiler Design Postfix Translation

Compiler Design: Postfix Translation

In the field of compiler design, postfix translation is an important concept that plays a crucial role in the compilation process. It is a technique used to convert an arithmetic expression from infix notation to postfix notation. This conversion is necessary because postfix notation is easier to evaluate and can be directly interpreted by a computer.

Understanding Infix Notation

Infix notation is the most commonly used notation for writing arithmetic expressions. In this notation, the operators are placed between the operands. For example, the expression “3 + 4” is written in infix notation, where the operator “+” is placed between the operands 3 and 4.

However, infix notation can sometimes be ambiguous and difficult to evaluate directly. For example, consider the expression “3 + 4 * 5”. In this case, it is not clear whether the multiplication should be performed first or the addition. To resolve this ambiguity, we use operator precedence rules and parentheses.

Operator Precedence and Associativity

Operator precedence defines the order in which different operators are evaluated in an expression. For example, in the expression “3 + 4 * 5”, the multiplication operator has higher precedence than the addition operator. Therefore, the multiplication should be performed first, resulting in the expression “3 + (4 * 5)”.

Associativity, on the other hand, determines the order in which operators with the same precedence are evaluated. For example, in the expression “3 – 4 – 5”, the subtraction operator is left-associative, which means that the leftmost subtraction should be performed first, resulting in the expression “(3 – 4) – 5”.

Converting Infix to Postfix

To convert an infix expression to postfix notation, we use a technique called the “shunting-yard algorithm”. This algorithm was developed by Edsger Dijkstra in the 1960s and is widely used in compiler design.

The shunting-yard algorithm uses a stack to store operators and parentheses. It scans the input expression from left to right and performs the following actions:

1. If the token is an operand, it is added to the output queue.
2. If the token is an operator, it is pushed onto the stack. However, before pushing the operator, we need to check the operator precedence and associativity to determine whether any operators on the stack should be popped and added to the output queue.
3. If the token is a left parenthesis, it is pushed onto the stack.
4. If the token is a right parenthesis, we need to pop operators from the stack and add them to the output queue until a left parenthesis is encountered. The left parenthesis is then discarded.

After scanning the entire input expression, any remaining operators on the stack are popped and added to the output queue. The resulting postfix expression is obtained by concatenating the tokens in the output queue.

Example

Let’s consider the infix expression “3 + 4 * 5”. We will use the shunting-yard algorithm to convert it to postfix notation.

1. Scan the token “3”. Since it is an operand, add it to the output queue.
2. Scan the token “+”. Push it onto the stack.
3. Scan the token “4”. Since it is an operand, add it to the output queue.
4. Scan the token “*”. Since it has higher precedence than “+”, push it onto the stack.
5. Scan the token “5”. Since it is an operand, add it to the output queue.

After scanning the entire expression, we need to pop the remaining operator from the stack and add it to the output queue. In this case, there is only one operator “*” on the stack. Therefore, we pop it and add it to the output queue.

The resulting postfix expression is “3 4 5 * +”. This notation can be directly evaluated by a computer using a stack-based algorithm.

Benefits of Postfix Notation

Postfix notation has several advantages over infix notation:

1. It eliminates the need for parentheses to specify the order of operations. The postfix expression “3 4 5 * +” is unambiguous and can be evaluated without any ambiguity.
2. It simplifies the evaluation process by using a stack-based algorithm. Each operand is pushed onto the stack, and when an operator is encountered, the required number of operands are popped from the stack and the result is pushed back onto the stack.
3. It is easier to implement in a compiler or interpreter. The postfix expression can be directly interpreted by a computer without the need for complex parsing and precedence rules.

Overall, postfix translation is an important concept in compiler design that allows for the conversion of infix arithmetic expressions to postfix notation. This conversion simplifies the evaluation process and makes it easier to implement in a compiler or interpreter.