Compiler terms
How source code becomes something a machine can actually run
Compilers are the translators that turn human-readable source code into something a machine can execute. This category covers lexing, parsing, abstract syntax trees, semantic analysis, optimisation passes, code generation, and just-in-time compilation. Understanding how compilers work illuminates why languages behave the way they do and how to write code that compiles to faster output.
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Dead Code Elimination PHP 7.4+
A compiler and static analysis optimisation that identifies and removes code that can never be executed or whose result is never used.
1mo ago
compiler intermediate
Type Inference PHP 7.0+
The compiler's ability to automatically deduce the type of an expression without an explicit annotation, based on context and assigned values.
1mo ago
compiler intermediate
Ahead-of-Time vs Just-in-Time Compilation
AOT compiles all code before execution (C, Go, Rust — fast startup, predictable performance). JIT compiles hot paths at runtime (PHP 8+, JVM — adapts to actual usage patterns).
2mo ago
compiler intermediate
Bytecode VMs PHP 5.0+
Zend Engine (PHP), JVM (Java/Kotlin), CLR (.NET) — all compile source to platform-independent bytecode then interpret or JIT-compile to native code.
2mo ago
compiler intermediate
Lexing & Parsing PHP 7.0+
Two stages of language processing — the lexer converts source text to tokens, the parser converts tokens to an Abstract Syntax Tree representing the program's structure.
2mo ago
compiler advanced
Memory Management — Stack vs Heap PHP 5.0+
The stack holds function call frames with fixed-size local variables — fast, automatic, limited. The heap holds dynamically allocated objects — flexible, managed by GC, slower.
2mo ago
compiler intermediate
Opcode Optimisation PHP 5.5+
PHP's compiler applies optimisation passes to the opcode array before caching — constant folding, dead code elimination, and pass-through minimisation reduce instruction count.
2mo ago
compiler advanced
PHP Compilation Pipeline PHP 5.0+
Source code → lexer → tokens → parser → AST → compiler → opcodes → Zend VM — OPcache intercepts after compilation to cache and reuse opcodes across requests.
2mo ago
compiler advanced
Abstract Syntax Tree (AST) PHP 7.0+ Tree representation of code structure used by compilers and tools to analyse and transform programs.
2mo ago
compiler advanced
Garbage Collection PHP 5.3+ Automatic memory management that reclaims objects no longer reachable by the program — PHP uses reference counting with a cycle collector for circular references.
2mo ago
compiler advanced
JIT Compilation PHP 8.0+ Just-in-Time compilation converts hot bytecode paths to native machine code at runtime — trading startup time for faster execution of frequently run code.
2mo ago
compiler advanced
Transpilation Converting source code from one language or version to another at the same abstraction level — Babel transpiles modern JS to older JS, Rector transpiles old PHP to new PHP.
2mo ago
compiler intermediate