Peter Lewerin

Into the Interpreter with ConsTcl Peter Lewerin

In computing, an interpreter is software that executes source code without first compiling it to machine code. (Wikipedia)

If you have ever wondered how to write such a piece of software, this book has a full set of code for an interpreter that accepts and evaluates Scheme source. The source for the interpreter is also available on the web.

With twelve illustrations and detailed descriptions of every component of the interpreter, along with the source code for the individual component, you're all set to explore the mechanisms of an interpreter. Input, evaluation, and output are covered, as well as lexical scoping with environments, and also a library with equivalence predicates, numbers, booleans, characters, procedures and control constructs, input and output procedures, pairs and lists, strings, symbols, and vectors.

The source code for the interpreter (ConsTcl) is in Tcl, a language well suited for writing software of this kind.