This volume is based upon the proceedings of a workshop on code generation which took place in Germany in May 1991. The aim of the workshop was to evaluate current methods of code generation and to indicate the main directions which future research is likely to take. It provided a forum for the exchange of ideas and had the added advantage of bringing together European and American experts who were unlikely to meet at less specialized gatherings. This volume contains 14 of the 30 papers presented at the German workshop. The papers deal mainly with the following topics: tools and techniques for code generation, code generation for parallel architectures, register allocation and phase ordering problems, and formal methods and validations. Most of the papers assess the progress of on-going research work, much of which is published here for the first time, while others provide a review of recently completed projects. The volume also contains summaries of two discussion groups which looked at code generation tools and parallel architectures.