Building Programming Language Interpreters: A bottom-up approach to runtimes, execution, and implementation in C++

By Daniel Ruoso

Explore why you might build a new programming language, which aspects influence runtime and language design choices, and how to implement a working first-version interpreter for that language in C++.

Free with your book: DRM-free PDF version + access to Packt's next-gen Reader*

Key Features:

- Design a domain-specific language to solve focused problems and reduce complexity and bugs

- Follow a bottom-up approach, from runtime design to interpreter implementation

- Build an interpreter from scratch as a functional, minimum viable product

Book Description:

Designing a custom programming language can be the most effective way to solve certain types of problems-especially when precision, safety, or domain-specific expressiveness matters. This book guides you through the full process of designing and implementing your own programming language and interpreter, from language design to execution, using modern C++.

You'll start by exploring when and why building a domain-specific language is worth it, and how to design one to fit a specific problem domain. Along the way, you'll examine real-world interpreter architectures and see how their design decisions affect language behavior, capabilities, and runtime trade-offs.

The book then walks through the entire process of interpreter implementation: defining syntax, building a lexer and parser, designing an abstract syntax tree, generating executable instructions, and implementing a runtime. All examples are in modern C++, with a focus on clean architecture and real-world usability.

By the end, you'll have a fully working interpreter for a domain-specific language designed to handle network protocols-plus the knowledge and tools to design your own programming language from scratch.

*Email sign-up and proof of purchase required

What You Will Learn:

- Design a domain-specific language and interpreter from scratch

- Write an interpreter that can be embedded into existing environments

- Understand how runtime shapes language execution and interpreter design

- Reason about language design and runtime trade-offs

- Define and implement the execution model of an interpreted language

- Implement a lexer, parser, analyzer, and instruction emitter in C++

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1837638071
• ISBN13: 9781837638079
• Release Date: January 2026
• Publisher: Packt Publishing
• Length: 372 Pages
• Weight: 1.41 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 7.5" x 9.3"