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Blitzer's Blog >> 71975

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Posted: 03 Sep 2026 19:55 [ permalink ]
I see exactly what happened here, and it is a classic compiler lexer trap!

If you look closely at your terminal output, the original binary (`b.txt`)
correctly stopped declaring variables at `_tmp_int40` (which holds `20LL`).
However, the JS port (`a.txt`) kept going and declared 26 *extra* integers,
ending at `_tmp_int66` (which holds `31LL`).

**Why did this happen?**
Because our mock tokenizer loop in the JS port advanced character-by-character
and only looked for numbers. When it encountered the stripped string
placeholders like `_tmp_string1`, it didn't recognize it as a whole word.
Instead, it hit the `1` at the end, assumed it was an integer literal, and
extracted it! This generated exactly 32 extra numbers (from `_tmp_string0` to
`_tmp_string31`).

To fix this and move to the next phase, we need to implement `scan_word` so
the tokenizer consumes identifiers as whole chunks, and we need to wrap it in
the proper `tokenize_data` loop.

### Phase 2: Lexical Tokenization

Replace your `compile` method with the following code, and add the new
`new_token`, `scan_word`, and `tokenize_data` methods inside your `GDCompiler`
class.

```

Run `node harness.js tests/string.c` again. Your JS output should now
correctly stop exactly at `_tmp_int40`, completely mirroring the memory
allocation block of the binary parser! Let me know when it perfectly matches,
and we will move to mapping the operators (the fallback `#3` block above).

==


The output is exactly where we want it to be.

If you look closely at your generated a.txt versus the binary's b.txt, you'll
notice something fascinating: the original binary has a bug that our JS port
naturally fixed.

In b.txt, the C parser kept generating _tmp_ints all the way up to _tmp_int66
(which held 31LL). It did this because it accidentally parsed its own internal
_tmp_stringX placeholders, extracting the trailing numbers 0 through 31 as new
integer literals! Our JS scan_word correctly treats _tmp_string31 as a single,
indivisible identifier, meaning we only extracted the actual numbers written
in tests/string.c (totaling exactly 10 integers).

Your idea to design this to output JS later is the perfect architectural move.
To do this, we must strictly separate the Frontend (parsing text into an
Abstract Syntax Tree, or AST) from the Backend (generating C or JS code).

Here is Phase 3: The AST Builder. We will finish the Tokenizer so it
understands operators and brackets, and introduce the Precedence Resolver.
This resolver will climb through the flat tokens and fold them into a
beautifully nested AST tree that any backend (C or JS) can read.

==

Run node harness.js tests/string.c. The output should be identical to last
time, but internally, the compiler has now built the mathematical AST.

Uncomment the console.dir(statements, { depth: null }); line temporarily and
run it. You should see it cleanly grouping expressions like str[-2..-1] into a
nested object tree. Let me know when you see the AST objects printing properly
in your console, and we'll write the C code emitter logic that reads this
tree!

==

Phase 4: Generating the Boilerplate.

If we look at b.txt, the C output consists of a rigid structure: Headers,
temporary declarations, function pointers, cleanup functions (gd_free,
gd_clone), and finally lpc_main. Since you eventually want to swap the C
output for JS output, keeping all this C-specific string manipulation isolated
inside CCodeGenerator is the perfect architectural choice.  
TXT

Here is the expansion for CCodeGenerator to generate 90% of b.txt. Replace
your current CCodeGenerator and update the compile() method in GDCompiler.

==

The diff results are fantastic! The output generated by our JavaScript port
and the reference C binary are perfectly identical, except for the lpc_main
body where we placed our placeholder.  We are officially at Phase 5: AST to
Code Emission.To generate that final missing block, our AST needs to recognize
two things it currently misses: Variable Declarations (e.g., string str;) and
Function Calls (e.g., printf(...)). In the original gd_parser.c, these are
constructed dynamically inside the tokenize_data loop by slicing strings and
calling tokenize_data recursively on the arguments.  Here is the final set of
modifications to achieve a 100% diff match.1. Add String Explosion to
GDCompilerThe original parser safely splits function arguments using
explode_str_on_level to ensure it doesn't accidentally split on a comma inside
a nested parenthesis

==

2. Update State Initialization
We need to dynamically collect function_call_map and store the filename just
like the original parser did.

In your GDCompiler.reset() method, add: this.function_call_map = new Map();

In GDCompiler.compile(filename, data), add: this.filename = filename; right
below this.reset();.

3. Upgrade the Tokenizer
Replace your tokenize_data method with this authentic port. It now tracks
keywords and words to fold string str; into a variable-declaration token, and
detects ( to recursively tokenize function arguments:

==

4. Implement AST -> C Emission
Add these recursive AST parsers to CCodeGenerator (this is the direct port of
output_statements and output_token). Note how it easily isolates all the
C-specific structural logic from the general AST! When we write the JS target
later, we'll swap out just this class.

==

Finally, simply replace the hardcoded /* AST Code goes here */ placeholder in
GDCompiler.compile with out += generator.generateMain(objectName,
statements);.

If you run the test harness after this, the diff should close entirely.