On the structure of dictionaries for compilers

Abstract

The format of a dictionary (symbol table) adequate for a PL/I compiler is presented. The dictionary contains two types of entries: name and attribute. Methods of storing name entries are discussed. Emphasis is placed on the contents and structure of the attribute entries necessary to handle structures in a block environment. Extensions of the method that allow one-pass compilation are discussed. The relevance of the dictionary structure to other higher-level language compilers is explained.