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  • Crafting Interpreters

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Robert Nystrom
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Crafting Interpreters Kindle Edition

by Robert Nystrom (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.7 out of 5 stars (694)
Despite using them every day, most software engineers know little about how programming languages are designed and implemented. For many, their only experience with that corner of computer science was a terrifying "compilers" class that they suffered through in undergrad and tried to blot from their memory as soon as they had scribbled their last NFA to DFA conversion on the final exam.

That fearsome reputation belies a field that is rich with useful techniques and not so difficult as some of its practitioners might have you believe. A better understanding of how programming languages are built will make you a stronger software engineer and teach you concepts and data structures you'll use the rest of your coding days. You might even have fun.

This book teaches you everything you need to know to implement a full-featured, efficient scripting language. You’ll learn both high-level concepts around parsing and semantics and gritty details like bytecode representation and garbage collection. Your brain will light up with new ideas, and your hands will get dirty and calloused.

Starting from main(), you will build a language that features rich syntax, dynamic typing, garbage collection, lexical scope, first-class functions, closures, classes, and inheritance. All packed into a few thousand lines of clean, fast code that you thoroughly understand because you wrote each one yourself.
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  1. Print length
    1192 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Accessibility
    Learn more
  4. Publication date
    27 July 2021
  5. File size
    17.7 MB
  6. Page Flip
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  7. Word Wise
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  8. Enhanced typesetting
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    The first bit of analysis that most languages do is called binding or resolution. For each identifier, we find out where that name is defined and wire the two together. This is where scope comes into play—the region of source code where a certain name can be used to refer to a certain declaration.
    Highlighted by 141 Kindle readers
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    An argument is an actual value you pass to a function when you call it. So a function call has an argument list. Sometimes you hear actual parameter used for these.
    Highlighted by 95 Kindle readers
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    Once we understand what the user’s program means, we are free to swap it out with a different program that has the same semantics but implements them more efficiently—we can optimize it.
    Highlighted by 93 Kindle readers
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Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B09BCCVLCL
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Genever Benning
  • Accessibility ‏ : ‎ Learn more
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ 27 July 2021
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 17.7 MB
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 1192 pages
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0990582953
  • Page Flip ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Best Sellers Rank: 374,782 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
  • Customer reviews:
    4.7 out of 5 stars (694)

About the author

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Robert Nystrom

Robert Nystrom

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Robert Nystrom has programmed professionally for twenty years, about half of which is in games. During his eight years at Electronic Arts, he worked on behemoths like Madden and smaller titles like Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure. He's shipped games on the PC, GameCube, PS2, XBox, X360, and DS, but is most proud of the tools and shared libraries he created for others to build on. He loves seeing usable, beautiful code magnify the creative ability of others.

Robert lives with his wife and two daughters in Seattle where you are most likely to find him cooking for his friends and plying them with good beer.

Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
694 global ratings
Good coverage of important topics
5 out of 5 stars
Good coverage of important topics
Doesn't shy away from concepts like garbage collection. Builds from basic principles. Covers grammar. Funny in some parts of the book. Overall a very good book that deserves a five stars.
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Top reviews from United Kingdom

  • Norm Deplume
    5.0 out of 5 stars Now you don't need to go bothering dragons till you're ready for them.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 4 October 2025
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    I wish this book had been around when I was an undergraduate. It's not just an excellent introduction to the field of compilers and, particularly, interpreters, but actually has some of the best explanation of some general computer science/software engineering concept I've come across.
    I have found I end up skim reading over some of the code. Nystrom has chosen to include all of it for completeness.
    One person found this helpful
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  • PETER
    5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 27 February 2022
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    This is an amazing book. If you are interested in how programming languages work, how they are designed, interpreted, compiled into byte code and run on virtual machines, then this book is for you.

    It takes a single language named lox and features 2(!) full implementations for the language, firstly there is an interpreted version in java, and next there is a version in C that is compiled into byte code and run on a vm.

    The implementations are very different and I would not recommend this book to a novice programmer, but going through it has been amazing journey so far. I am currently working on the C implementation.

    The books is very pragmatic and not heavy on theory, but points the reader in the right direction for more reading.

    Also, while the book includes the full code of both implementations, each chapter ends with a number of challenges to push the reader to improve their work, if in need of a challenge.

    Further there is discussion about the choices made for lox and the trade offs.

    Personally I always learn best while doing and this book seems a great combination of doing and learning.
    13 people found this helpful
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  • Jonathan
    5.0 out of 5 stars Well written
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 11 June 2023
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    The topics are well covered. The style is open and not stuffy like a lot of these kinds of books, which makes it easily digestible. It is devoid sesquipedalianism which makes a world of difference when learning.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Bhathiya Perera
    5.0 out of 5 stars Good coverage of important topics
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 18 January 2022
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    Doesn't shy away from concepts like garbage collection. Builds from basic principles. Covers grammar. Funny in some parts of the book. Overall a very good book that deserves a five stars.
    Customer image
    Bhathiya Perera
    5.0 out of 5 stars
    Good coverage of important topics

    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 18 January 2022
    Doesn't shy away from concepts like garbage collection. Builds from basic principles. Covers grammar. Funny in some parts of the book. Overall a very good book that deserves a five stars.
    Images in this review
    Customer image
    5 people found this helpful
    Helpful
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  • Jack Wright
    5.0 out of 5 stars Phenomenal book
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 23 December 2023
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    I have been learning from the online version of the book, but had to support Robert by purchasing a physical copy. It's so well written and I am learning so much.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • ?
    5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome Book.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 1 August 2024
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    Awesome Book.
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  • Nick Keighley
    5.0 out of 5 stars Lovely Fun Book
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 4 October 2021
    Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase
    A great overview on implementing a language. Witty and fun read. I've read another book by the author and it was similarly both educational and fun.
    3 people found this helpful
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  • Matthew B.
    1.0 out of 5 stars Get it free on the website
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 18 August 2024
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    I was enjoying this book. Then hit a tricky spot so did some googling to see if anyone had come across the same issues. Imagine my surprise and irritation when I discovered that this £40 book, is available for free in its entirety on the authors own website.
    2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars a great buy
    Reviewed in India on 11 February 2026
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    very good book... well built... very well printed.
    Although, the book is available online, it is good to have a paper book.
    Customer image
    Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars
    a great buy

    Reviewed in India on 11 February 2026
    very good book... well built... very well printed.
    Although, the book is available online, it is good to have a paper book.
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  • Cliente Amazon
    5.0 out of 5 stars Practical, Easy, Demystifying
    Reviewed in Italy on 24 January 2025
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    It makes all topics easy to digest. It's so satisfying to see the interpreter slowly become more powerful. You will go through many interesting cs topics, like closures and garbage collectors. Many chapters ends with additional notes that analyze the implementation choice between different real languages.
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  • Raul Costa Junior
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book!
    Reviewed in Germany on 10 January 2026
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    Teaches about compilers, interpreters and language runtime in a hands-on, pragmatic and accessible way. Great reading!
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  • Huibert Aalbers
    5.0 out of 5 stars De lo mejor que he leído con respecto a intérpretes/compiladores
    Reviewed in Mexico on 22 October 2021
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    Si alguna vez quisiste saber cómo escribir un intérprete de un lenguaje de programación de (relativamente) alto nivel, este es un gran libro. El autor empieza definiendo el lenguaje que quiere implementar (Lox) y luego desarrollo dos intérpretes para este lenguaje, uno en Java (para entender las bases) y luego otro mucho más rápido en C, pero también más complejo, en C.

    Se trata de un libro ameno, escrito por un experto que conoce el tema a fondo y que te permitirá aprender todos los conceptos fundamentales. ¡Altamente recomendado!
    Report
  • Maurice Szmurlo
    5.0 out of 5 stars Un must have pour tous ceux qui sont intéressés pas des interpréteurs ou des compilateurs et des VM
    Reviewed in France on 26 December 2024
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    Excellent. Pour tous les niveau (ok, il faut quand même savoir développer à la base). Absolument limpide. Couvre la création d'un interprète, d'une machine virtuelle pour exécuter du byte code et le compilateur pour générer ce byte code. Un vrai bijou
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