Is it beneficial for a programmer to learn how to build a compiler?

Question

There is a lot of variety when it comes to the different types of programmers. In general, is beneficial for a programmer to learn how to build a compiler? In what cases would

Answer 1

I recently did an independent study on what we called Language Processing (my final project was no so much a compiler as a c++ file parser/interpreter with compiler-like features). I was required to use the "Dragon" book that was mentioned above. I thought that as a software developer this was one of the more important things that I have done in my college career. I found it not only interesting and rewarding for my own personal benefit but it also allowed me to see deeper into the language. On top of the because the Dragon book is not language specific it helped me to understand the similarities and more importantly the reasons behind the differences in different languages. I do however agree with the fact that not all programmers may find it necessary. Yet in the field of software development I think that if you have an interest in expanding your understanding of language design it can be very helpful to look at compilers.