How do we usually construct compilers in industry today? I saw others mentioning parser generators -- is that the main difference?
I think the biggest difference is the rich intermediate representations we use these days. These classic texts don't really address intermediate representations and are usually syntax-directed instead.
These days a program will spent almost all of its time deconstructed into an IR.
I emailed an author of a book that specifically calls parsing a "distraction" (Shriram Krishnamurthi, in PLAI) and he explained that he and other textbook authors of recent texts are reacting to a sort of over-emphasis on parsing in older books and tools (for example, YACC standing for Yet Another Compiler Constructor despite being simply a parser generator).
So it's interesting what you're saying about IRs -- I've definitely noticed Shriram's book and a few other recent ones seem to focus really heavily on them. I wonder if there's also a relationship between a more IR-focused approach and the reduced emphasis on parsing?
I've been working professionally on one compiler continuously since 2013. I've spent like two or three days working on the parser. That's it. I've probably spent longer tweaking the Markdown of the README.
For me the issue is that parsing is basically a solved problem. I don't see how you can make it much better for compilers. If you give me a language I can write you a parser for it. It won't be interesting, fun, or be better or worse than any other parser. It's a purely mechanical job. (Of course it could be a nicer parser, or a faster parser, or give better error messages, or work better for IDEs or tooling, but stick with me.)
But the transformations that happen after that point? Well there a whole world opens up to you! You can do so much, in so many different ways, and achieve incredibly different results for different requirements.
They have a couple of typos, and one can feel that ML one was the first variant, but they are relatively good, covering a lot, specially if one does the exercises.
There is a 2nd edition for the Java one, where the tiger language gets replaced by a Java subset.
The Xerox PARC workstations were microcoded, and the one needed to load the microcode on boot for the specific environment (XDE, Smalltalk, Interlisp-D,...).
Likewise the P-Code as means of portability for Pascal, M-Code on Lillith, the Ceres and latter FPGA RISC for Oberon.