4

Crafting an Interpreter – First Steps

In this chapter, we’ll take our first steps toward constructing a computer simulator by constructing a very primitive simulator that can execute only a single instruction. Once we’ve taken this step, we can move on by gradually enhancing this simulator.

The key topics that we’ll cover in this chapter are as follows:

• Designing a minimal computer with one instruction
• Designing a simple simulator that can decode and execute several instructions
• The instruction set of a general-purpose computer called TC1
• Handing bits in Python (Boolean operations)
• Decoding an instruction in binary form into its component parts
• Executing an instruction after it has been decoded
• Arithmetic operations in a computer
• Designing functions in Python
• Branch and flow control instructions in computer instruction sets

Collectively, these topics cover three areas. Some topics expand our knowledge...