An old favorite, it gets lots of comments every time it's submitted. Here are a few:

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1727004

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=232024

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=63004

I'm really just describing how a compiler works. Are you looking for references on the compilation process? There's a classic series called "Let's Build a Compiler" (http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1727004) available online that walks through building a simple compiler. Then there's also actual textbooks, but I was not impressed with either of the two textbooks I've had on the topic. Many people recommend "Compilers: Principles, Techniques, and Tools" (http://dragonbook.stanford.edu/) also referred to as just the dragon book. If you're not averse to textbooks, you may also want to check out Michael Scott's "Programming Language Pragmatics" (http://www.cs.rochester.edu/~scott/pragmatics/).

http://compilers.iecc.com/crenshaw/

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1727004

https://code.google.com/p/letsbuildacompiler/

(It looks like there are several more or less complete C versions.)

http://linker.iecc.com/

http://www.iecc.com/linker/