COMP3131 Programming Languages and Compilers (UNSW Sydney): rated 3.1/5 overall across 8 reviews collected on UNSW Wall.
COMP3131 is a UNSW Sydney course taught by the Faculty of Engineering in School of Computer Science and Engineering. This page brings together its handbook details and what UNSW students say about it.
Review data updated 2026-10-24.
Chinese title: 编程语言与编译器
Type: Undergraduate course
Credit points: 6
Subject area: School of Computer Science and Engineering
Faculty: Faculty of Engineering
Level: Undergraduate Level 3
Handbook year: 2026
This subject focusses on basic compiler techniques needed to implement programming languages in a virtual machine (with emphasis on the compiler front end). By writing a compiler in Java to translate a variant of C into Java bytecode, you are also expected to gain a good understanding of important fundamental principles in object-oriented programming languages and develop further your programming and software engineering skills.
COMP3131 has 8 scored reviews: overall 3.1/5 (all out of 5; higher difficulty means harder).
Sources: 8 Reddit comments that an AI model judged to be reviewing this course (average would-recommend 3.0/5).
On Reddit: "Just how many fkups CSE has to have this term? Ranked 19th in the world? lol even my shitty primary school can do better than UNSW I’ve been saying COMP3131 is a shit show and I’ll say it again, it’s fking shit"
On Reddit: "Both if you’re interested in that stuff. I found COMP3161 way more interesting, and the assignments are really fun (evaluator and type checker, both in Haskell). 3161 is more theoretical than 3131, though in 3131 you implement the entire front end of a compiler (in Java tho). Yo…"
The course panel on UNSW Wall shows every review and discussion in full.
Q: Is COMP3131 worth taking?
A: Averaged over 8 reviews: overall 3.1/5.
Q: Which faculty teaches COMP3131, and when is it offered?
A: COMP3131 is taught by the Faculty of Engineering. Check the official handbook for the current year.
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