# Compiler Construction by Niklaus Wirth

4 Hacker News commenters recommended Compiler Construction by Niklaus Wirth and 0 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 3 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** A short, accessible introduction to compiler construction that people recommend for its brevity and clarity; one reader notes you'll want part 2 as well.

## Why people recommend it

- Short book with a lot of content (1 comments): "Great, short book with a lot to say." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46930207))
- Extremely accessible introduction to compilers (1 comments): "extremely accessible book on Compiler Construction" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46221649))
- Pairs with a second part (1 comments): "You'll want part 2 as well for a total of 107 pages." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47780682))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Compilers: Principles, Techniques, and Tools by Aho, Sethi and Ullman](https://hackerapproved.com/p/compilers-principles-techniques-and-tools.md): 23 recommend
- [Modern Compiler Implementation by Andrew Appel](https://hackerapproved.com/p/modern-compiler-implementation.md): 9 recommend
- [Writing a C Compiler by Nora Sandler](https://hackerapproved.com/p/writing-a-c-compiler.md): 8 recommend
- [Engineering a Compiler by Cooper and Torczon](https://hackerapproved.com/p/engineering-a-compiler.md): 6 recommend
- [Essentials of Compilation by Siek](https://hackerapproved.com/p/essentials-of-compilation.md): 4 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0201403536?tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)
- [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/130825/9780201403534) (affiliate link)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Compiler Construction by Niklaus Wirth", https://hackerapproved.com/p/compiler-construction/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).