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27 wrz 2024 · A symbol table is one of the most important data structures within a compiler, where all the identifiers used in a program are stored along with their type, scope, and memory locations. The symbol table is built during the earliest stages of compilation.
Symbol table management is vital in compiler design for several reasons: It allows the compiler to efficiently store and retrieve information about the identifiers used in the source code. It helps in ensuring that identifiers are used correctly, with proper scoping rules and type checking.
A compiler maintains two types of symbol tables: a global symbol table which can be accessed by all the procedures and scope symbol tables that are created for each scope in the program. To determine the scope of a name, symbol tables are arranged in hierarchical structure as shown in the example below:
The symbol table phase or symbol table management refer to the symbol table’s storage structure, its construction in the analysis phase and its use during the whole compilation.
Basic symbol table needs: A function to insert symbols and add attributes to symbols A function to lookup symbols A function to ‘enter’ a new scope A function to ‘exit’ a scope.
16 wrz 2008 · Symbol table is an important data structure created and maintained by compilers in order to store information about the occurrence of various entities such as variable names, function names, objects, classes, interfaces, etc.
In the field of compiler design, symbol tables play a crucial role in managing information about symbols used in a programming language. A symbol table is a data structure that stores information about each occurrence of a symbol in the source code, such as identifiers, keywords, constants, and other programming elements.