Understanding the Go Compiler

Understanding the Go Compiler

7 articles in this series •

Posts

  1. 1

    The Scanner

    • 10 min read

    This is part of a series where I’ll walk you through the entire Go compiler, covering each phase from source code to executable. If you’ve ever wondered what happens when you run go build, …

  2. 2

    The Parser

    • 18 min read

    In the previous blog post , we explored the scanner—the component that converts your source code from a stream of characters into a stream of tokens.

    Now we’re ready for the next step: the …

  3. 3

    The Type Checker

    • 13 min read

    In the previous posts , we explored the scanner—which converts source code into tokens—and the parser —which takes those tokens and builds an Abstract Syntax Tree.

    In future posts, I’ll cover …

  4. 4

    The Unified IR Format

    • 11 min read

    In the previous post , we explored how the Go compiler’s type checker analyzes your code. We saw how it resolves identifiers, checks type compatibility, and ensures your program is semantically …

  5. 5

    The IR

    • 18 min read

    In the previous posts , we’ve explored how the Go compiler processes your code: the scanner breaks it into tokens, the parser builds an Abstract Syntax Tree, the type checker validates …

  6. 6

    The SSA Phase

    • 16 min read

    In the previous post , we explored the IR—the compiler’s working format where devirtualization, inlining, and escape analysis happen. The IR optimizes your code at a high level, making smart …

  7. 7

    From SSA to Machine Code

    • 14 min read

    In the previous post , we explored how the compiler transforms IR into SSA—a representation where every variable is assigned exactly once. We saw how the compiler builds SSA using Values and Blocks, …