I know enough about compilers to recognize three-address code but actually implementing a parser from scratch under pressure is a different story.
Start by clarifying requirements and constraints, then outline a two-phase approach: tokenization and parsing using the shunting-yard algorithm to produce postfix notation, followed by conversion to triads. Emphasize handling of precedence, associativity, and parentheses, and discuss trade-offs between different parsing techniques.
Pro tip: Demonstrate awareness of real-world complexities like unary operators, function calls, and error handling, and mention how the triad representation can be extended for optimization or code generation.
Ask about the expected input format, supported operators, error handling, and performance requirements. Confirm whether the output should be a list of triads and if any specific ordering is required.
Decide between recursive descent, shunting-yard, or other algorithms based on requirements. Explain why shunting-yard is suitable for handling precedence and associativity with parentheses.
Describe how to tokenize the input into numbers, operators, and parentheses. Then apply the shunting-yard algorithm to convert to postfix notation, managing operator stack and output queue.
Process the postfix expression using a stack to build triads. For each operator, pop two operands (or operand references) and create a triad, pushing a reference to the result for subsequent operations.
Compare your approach with alternatives like recursive descent or AST-based methods. Mention how to handle unary operators, function calls, and error recovery, and how triads facilitate optimization.
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