Programmers who want to understand how languages work, students preparing for compiler courses and developers curious about what happens between source code and results.
Beginner level
Compilers and Programming Languages
Lexers, Parsers and Interpreters from Scratch
Learn how programming languages work by building one: tokenising source text, parsing with recursive descent and Pratt precedence, building syntax trees, evaluating with environments, functions and closures, reporting good errors, testing the language and finishing with your own complete interpreter.
- 41hours of work
- 13parts
- Checkedcapstone
- Lifetimeaccess
- Lexing
- Parsing and ASTs
- Interpreters
- Environments and closures
- Error handling
- Language testing
At a glance
Comfortable programming in Python (functions, classes, dictionaries, recursion, tests with pytest). No compiler theory is assumed. The programme uses Python for all code, but the ideas apply to any language.
Pass the quizzes, complete the labs and submit your capstone. Everything is checked as you go and your certificate is issued the moment you finish.
What you will be able to do
- 01Explain the pipeline from source text to execution and the difference between interpreting and compiling
- 02Write a lexer and a recursive descent parser with correct operator precedence that produce a syntax tree
- 03Evaluate programs with variables, scopes, control flow, functions, recursion and closures
- 04Produce helpful error messages with line and column positions and recover from errors in a REPL
- 05Design, test and document a small programming language with a growing test suite
Curriculum 41 hours in 13 parts
Select a kind to highlight its parts.
Stage 1Statements, functions, closures and a REPL6 parts · 15 h
- 1How programming languages work: from text to executionWorkshop · Follow along and build, with the steps and the traps written out.2 hFree
- 2Lexing: turning characters into tokensWorkshop · Follow along and build, with the steps and the traps written out.2 h
- 3Parsing: grammars, recursive descent and operator precedenceWorkshop · Follow along and build, with the steps and the traps written out.3 h
- 4Check yourself: the language pipeline, lexing and parsingQuiz · Twelve questions, marked at once, with the reason behind each answer.1 h
- 5A calculator language from text to answerWorkshop · Follow along and build, with the steps and the traps written out.2 h
- 6The Tiny language: statements, functions, closures and a REPLLab · Hands-on work. Many labs are checked automatically against what must exist.5 h
Stage 2Grow Tiny into a usable scripting language with a standard library and a test suite4 parts · 10 h
- 7Scope, environments, closures and the call stackWorkshop · Follow along and build, with the steps and the traps written out.2 h
- 8Errors, testing strategy and building a good REPLWorkshop · Follow along and build, with the steps and the traps written out.2 h
- 9Check yourself: environments, closures, errors and testingQuiz · Twelve questions, marked at once, with the reason behind each answer.1 h
- 10Grow Tiny into a usable scripting language with a standard library and a test suiteLab · Hands-on work. Many labs are checked automatically against what must exist.5 h
Stage 3Real-world languages, DSLs and tooling2 parts · 3 h
- 11How real languages and tools build on these ideasWorkshop · Follow along and build, with the steps and the traps written out.2 h
- 12Check yourself: real-world languages, DSLs and toolingQuiz · Twelve questions, marked at once, with the reason behind each answer.1 h
FinishCapstone project1 part · 13 h
- 13Design, implement, document and release your own programming languageCapstone · A full project for your portfolio.13 h
What you take away
An internship certificate with your skills on it.
Made for you automatically when you finish the last part, it names the internship programme, the level and the 41 hours, lists what you showed, and carries a number and a QR code. Anyone can check it on the NIBVEDA verification page, and it shows as withdrawn there if it is ever revoked.
- Proof you completed all 41 hours of this internship programme
- An Internship badge for your profile, CV or portfolio
- Not a job, a stipend or an academic degree, and it says so
Keep building.
3 programmes in this track, from beginner to expert. Buy the learning path and save 15%.
Build a real compiler: architecture of front, middle and back ends, symbol tables and static type checking with inference, a bytecode compiler and a stack virtual machine with calls and closures, intermediate representations and basic optimisations, memory management and garbage collection, and code generation to LLVM IR, WebAssembly or assembly.
- Compiler architecture
- Type checking and inference
- Bytecode virtual machines
Work at the level of production language implementations: dataflow and SSA optimisation, register allocation, LLVM and MLIR pass pipelines, just-in-time compilers with inline caches and deoptimisation, modern garbage collectors, debug information, language servers, and compiler testing with fuzzing and translation validation.
- SSA optimisation
- Register allocation
- LLVM and MLIR
See all 3 programmes in Compilers and Programming Languages Take the placement test
Quick answers.
The policies have the full detail.
Is this a real internship?
It is a virtual internship programme: a structured, self-paced course built around a real project, with checked assessments and a certificate. It is not employment, it does not carry a stipend and it is not an academic or AICTE-approved qualification. What it gives you is verified, project-based evidence of skills.
How does self-paced work?
You start when you like and move at your own speed. Each part unlocks when you finish the one before it. There are no live classes and no deadlines. Your access is shown on each programme page.
How is my work checked?
Quizzes are marked as soon as you submit them. Labs use a tick-list of tasks. Intermediate and Expert programmes finish with a capstone that the NIBVEDA team reviews and either accepts or sends back with comments.
Can I get a refund?
Please read the refund policy before you buy. It explains when a refund is possible.
Ready to start?
Rs. 352.82 including GST. Lifetime access. Read the first lesson free before you decide.