Configuration Control in Compiler Construction

A compiler is made up of a large number of individual components. Some of these components are generated from formal specifications, some result from hand adaptation of general algorithms, and some are standard modules from a library. Configuration control is a serious problem in compiler construction: How do we subdivide the compilation task into components, solve them individually, and then re-integrate the solutions into a consistent product. The authors have successfully used the Odin object manager to solve this problem for a particular compiler architecture. The resulting system illustrates many of the complexities of configuration control in an environment of compiler construction tools. Keywords: Implementation; Off the shelf equipment.