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CS 444Compiler Construction

Units
0.50
Faculty
Mathematics
Subject
Computer Science

When it runs

  1. F24
  2. W25
  3. S25
  4. F25
  5. W26
  6. S26
  7. F26
  8. W27
  9. S27

Ran in 4 of the last 7 terms. Winter 2027: scheduled, 2 lecture sections. Spring 2027: schedule not out yet.

Phases of compilation. Lexical analysis and a review of parsing. Compiler-compilers and translator writing systems. LEX and YACC. Scope rules, block structure, and symbol tables. Runtime stack management. Parameter passage mechanisms. Stack storage organization and templates. Heap storage management. Intermediate code. Code generation. Macros.

Prerequisites

Antirequisites

None listed.

Leads to

No course lists it as a requisite.

Winter 2027 sections

Enrolment from UW Open Data, which can trail Quest by up to two days. Instructors and rooms: Schedule of Classes.
SectionClassEnrolledMeets
LEC 00156110 / 75TTh 16:00–17:20
LEC 701219549 / 9999Online or by arrangement

Resources

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Reviewed on UW Flow

34% liked it77% easy98% useful

From 103 ratings and 9 comments on UW Flow. The most helpful comments, quoted as written, without names. Read them all on UW Flow.

  • Basically a continuation/extension of CS241. You implement a Java compiler for x86. It is pretty neat at the end of the term to have working executables which run natively on your own machine. However, it was a bit disappointing that a lot of time in the courses was spent on lexing/parsing and specifying how Java's class hierarchy works. I'd have preferred to use flex/bison and then spend time on something like modern techniques for garbage collection, register allocation, or even data flow optimizations.
    For the most part, the amount of work wasn't that bad or out of line of other CS courses, I really only had one late night near the end of the term for the last assignment.

    Aug 2017 · liked it · 2 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • Honestly I'm a little disappointed with this course. I really enjoyed CS 241 and like writing compilers. In that aspect this course is quite interesting because you can write your compiler however you want, and that work is enjoyable. But I don't feel that the lectures really contribute much to my understanding of compilers outside of how to specifically implement Java. It's still an interesting course if you have the time to spend and a good group, but this course doesn't some of the more interesting stuff like optimization techniques, which I found disappointing.

    Mar 2017 · liked it · 2 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • An interesting extension to CS 241. I learned a bunch of oddball things about how Java works, and it was cool working on a large project for school. Grades are determined mostly by marmoset tests that you have access to (65%), one suite of secret tests at the end of the term (10%), and an exam that you must pass (25%). Overall I really liked this course.

    Apr 2016 · liked it · 2 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • Take this course about as seriously as you would take Real-Time. It is more work than you think.

    Apr 2015 · liked it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • can be arbitrarily easy or difficult depending on your implementation strategy. a lot of focus on static analysis that forces you to learn regrettable trivia of java.

    Apr 2025 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this

Discussed on r/uwaterloo

174 posts and comments in 136 threads mention CS 444, March 2012 to December 2024. Quoted word for word, newest first; each reply sits under the post and the comment that started its branch. Search r/uwaterloo for newer posts.

Fall 2024

Upper year CS courses (or electives) that release assignments in advance 5 points, 5 comments

“Hi, I am looking to take a few courses over a summer co-op, however it begins in June. To ease my workload, I want to take courses where it is possible to work ahead on them during May before my job …”

u/OrganizationNaive452: “… cs451 or cs444 off the top of my head lol”

u/OrganizationNaive452: “oh my bad! I believe CS444 is released all at once. Courses like CS451 can have assignments finished before they're released b/c testcases and assignments are same as the previous term. Not sure what's offered in spring, but maybe cs456 is similar.”

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Spring 2024

CS241 (Racket or C++) 8 points, 10 comments

“I am taking cs241 this term and as many may know this course gives you an option of choosing to write code in either racket or c++. …”

u/dave7364: “I used racket and I would pick it again. ASTs are recursive data structures which functional languages handle naturally. C++ can do it, but it's not great at it.”

u/dave7364: “I know people that wrote their CS 444 assignment in Haskell, just to give you an idea of functional language's suitability for this problem.”

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Winter 2024

Rank Every Upper Year CS Elective 9 points, 6 comments

“Rank every cs elective you've taken in terms of difficulty (how easy it is to get a high grade), looking for some courses to finish out my degree”

u/confused-student1028: “Easiest to hardest: cs452 < cs480 < cs444 < others”

u/Organic_Midnight1999: “U gotta be genuinely interested, committed, and put in the work. If ur that kinda person u should be able to get good grades pretty easily. It also depends on ur interests! …”

u/Organic_Midnight1999: “Avoid CS 452, 444, 488. If you are bad at math avoid CS 480, 484 and some of the other AI ones. If you just want something easy look at some of the required 4th year courses in the SE specialization, they r pretty soft. Also check out the team proj and CS 492.”

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Check it elsewhere for Fall 2026

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