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1Bison News
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4Changes in version 2.3a+ (????-??-??):
5
6* The -g and --graph options now output graphs in Graphviz DOT format,
7 not VCG format.
8
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9* The grammar file may now specify the name of the parser header file using
10 %defines. For example:
11
12 %defines "parser.h"
13
14* The `=' that used to be required in the following declarations is now
15 deprecated:
16
17 %file-prefix "parser"
18 %name-prefix "c_"
19 %output "parser.c"
20
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21* Revised warning: unset or unused mid-rule values
22
23 Since Bison 2.2, Bison has warned about mid-rule values that are set but not
24 used within any of the actions of the parent rule. For example, Bison warns
25 about unused $2 in:
26
27 exp: '1' { $$ = 1; } '+' exp { $$ = $1 + $4; };
28
29 Now, Bison also warns about mid-rule values that are used but not set. For
30 example, Bison warns about unset $$ in the mid-rule action in:
31
32 exp: '1' { $1 = 1; } '+' exp { $$ = $2 + $4; };
33
34 However, Bison now disables both of these warnings by default since they
35 sometimes prove to be false alarms in existing grammars employing the Yacc
36 constructs $0 or $-N (where N is some positive integer).
37
38 To enable these warnings, specify the flag `--warnings=midrule-values' or
39 `-W', which is a synonym for `--warnings=all'.
40
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41* Bison now recognizes two separate kinds of default %destructor's and
42 %printer's:
43
44 1. Place `<*>' in a %destructor/%printer symbol list to define a default
45 %destructor/%printer for all grammar symbols for which you have formally
46 declared semantic type tags.
47
3ebecc24 48 2. Place `<>' in a %destructor/%printer symbol list to define a default
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49 %destructor/%printer for all grammar symbols without declared semantic
50 type tags.
51
52 Bison no longer supports the `%symbol-default' notation from Bison 2.3a.
3ebecc24 53 `<*>' and `<>' combined achieve the same effect with one exception: Bison no
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54 longer applies any %destructor to a mid-rule value if that mid-rule value is
55 not actually ever referenced using either $$ or $n in a semantic action.
56
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57 The default %destructor's and %printer's are experimental. More user
58 feedback will help to determine whether they should become permanent
59 features.
60
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61 See the section `Freeing Discarded Symbols' in the Bison manual for further
62 details.
63
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64* The Yacc prologue alternatives from Bison 2.3a have been rewritten as the
65 following directives:
66
67 1. %code {CODE}
68
69 Other than semantic actions, this is probably the most common place you
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70 should write verbatim code for the parser implementation. It replaces
71 the traditional Yacc prologue, `%{CODE%}', for most purposes. Compare
72 with:
73
74 - `%{CODE%}' appearing after the first `%union {CODE}' in a grammar
75 file. While Bison will continue to support `%{CODE%}' for backward
76 compatibility, `%code {CODE}' is cleaner as its functionality does
77 not depend on its position in the grammar file relative to any
78 `%union {CODE}'. Specifically, `%code {CODE}' always inserts your
79 CODE into the parser code file after the usual contents of the
80 parser header file.
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81 - `%after-header {CODE}', which only Bison 2.3a supported.
82
83 2. %requires {CODE}
84
85 This is the right place to write dependency code for externally exposed
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86 definitions required by Bison. Such exposed definitions are those
87 usually appearing in the parser header file. Thus, this is the right
88 place to define types referenced in `%union {CODE}' directives, and it
89 is the right place to override Bison's default YYSTYPE and YYLTYPE
90 definitions. Compare with:
91
92 - `%{CODE%}' appearing before the first `%union {CODE}' in a grammar
93 file. Unlike `%{CODE%}', `%requires {CODE}' inserts your CODE both
94 into the parser code file and into the parser header file since
95 Bison's required definitions should depend on it in both places.
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96 - `%start-header {CODE}', which only Bison 2.3a supported.
97
98 3. %provides {CODE}
99
100 This is the right place to write additional definitions you would like
85894313 101 Bison to expose externally. That is, this directive inserts your CODE
2cbe6b7f 102 both into the parser header file and into the parser code file after
85894313 103 Bison's required definitions. Compare with:
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104
105 - `%end-header {CODE}', which only Bison 2.3a supported.
106
107 4. %code-top {CODE}
108
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109 Occasionally it is desirable to insert code near the top of the parser
110 code file. For example:
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111
112 %code-top {
113 #define _GNU_SOURCE
114 #include <stdio.h>
115 }
116
85894313 117 Compare with:
2cbe6b7f 118
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119 - `%{CODE%}' appearing before the first `%union {CODE}' in a grammar
120 file. `%code-top {CODE}' is cleaner as its functionality does not
121 depend on its position in the grammar file relative to any
122 `%union {CODE}'.
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123 - `%before-header {CODE}', which only Bison 2.3a supported.
124
125 If you have multiple occurrences of any one of the above four directives,
126 Bison will concatenate the contents in the order they appear in the grammar
127 file.
128
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129 The prologue alternatives are experimental. More user feedback will help to
130 determine whether they should become permanent features.
131
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132 Also see the new section `Prologue Alternatives' in the Bison manual.
133
21fe08ca 134Changes in version 2.3a, 2006-09-13:
742e4900 135
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136* Instead of %union, you can define and use your own union type
137 YYSTYPE if your grammar contains at least one <type> tag.
138 Your YYSTYPE need not be a macro; it can be a typedef.
139 This change is for compatibility with other Yacc implementations,
140 and is required by POSIX.
141
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142* Locations columns and lines start at 1.
143 In accordance with the GNU Coding Standards and Emacs.
144
b2a0b7ca 145* You may now declare per-type and default %destructor's and %printer's:
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146
147 For example:
148
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149 %union { char *string; }
150 %token <string> STRING1
151 %token <string> STRING2
152 %type <string> string1
153 %type <string> string2
154 %union { char character; }
155 %token <character> CHR
156 %type <character> chr
157 %destructor { free ($$); } %symbol-default
158 %destructor { free ($$); printf ("%d", @$.first_line); } STRING1 string1
159 %destructor { } <character>
160
161 guarantees that, when the parser discards any user-defined symbol that has a
162 semantic type tag other than `<character>', it passes its semantic value to
163 `free'. However, when the parser discards a `STRING1' or a `string1', it
164 also prints its line number to `stdout'. It performs only the second
165 `%destructor' in this case, so it invokes `free' only once.
ec5479ce 166
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167 [Although we failed to mention this here in the 2.3a release, the default
168 %destructor's and %printer's were experimental, and they were rewritten in
169 future versions.]
170
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171* Except for LALR(1) parsers in C with POSIX Yacc emulation enabled (with `-y',
172 `--yacc', or `%yacc'), Bison no longer generates #define statements for
173 associating token numbers with token names. Removing the #define statements
174 helps to sanitize the global namespace during preprocessing, but POSIX Yacc
175 requires them. Bison still generates an enum for token names in all cases.
176
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177* Handling of traditional Yacc prologue blocks is now more consistent but
178 potentially incompatible with previous releases of Bison.
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179
180 As before, you declare prologue blocks in your grammar file with the
181 `%{ ... %}' syntax. To generate the pre-prologue, Bison concatenates all
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182 prologue blocks that you've declared before the first %union. To generate
183 the post-prologue, Bison concatenates all prologue blocks that you've
ddc8ede1 184 declared after the first %union.
9bc0dd67 185
34f98f46 186 Previous releases of Bison inserted the pre-prologue into both the header
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187 file and the code file in all cases except for LALR(1) parsers in C. In the
188 latter case, Bison inserted it only into the code file. For parsers in C++,
189 the point of insertion was before any token definitions (which associate
190 token numbers with names). For parsers in C, the point of insertion was
191 after the token definitions.
192
193 Now, Bison never inserts the pre-prologue into the header file. In the code
194 file, it always inserts it before the token definitions.
195
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196* Bison now provides a more flexible alternative to the traditional Yacc
197 prologue blocks: %before-header, %start-header, %end-header, and
198 %after-header.
199
200 For example, the following declaration order in the grammar file reflects the
201 order in which Bison will output these code blocks. However, you are free to
202 declare these code blocks in your grammar file in whatever order is most
203 convenient for you:
204
205 %before-header {
206 /* Bison treats this block like a pre-prologue block: it inserts it into
207 * the code file before the contents of the header file. It does *not*
208 * insert it into the header file. This is a good place to put
209 * #include's that you want at the top of your code file. A common
210 * example is `#include "system.h"'. */
211 }
212 %start-header {
213 /* Bison inserts this block into both the header file and the code file.
214 * In both files, the point of insertion is before any Bison-generated
215 * token, semantic type, location type, and class definitions. This is a
216 * good place to define %union dependencies, for example. */
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217 }
218 %union {
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219 /* Unlike the traditional Yacc prologue blocks, the output order for the
220 * new %*-header blocks is not affected by their declaration position
221 * relative to any %union in the grammar file. */
9bc0dd67 222 }
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223 %end-header {
224 /* Bison inserts this block into both the header file and the code file.
225 * In both files, the point of insertion is after the Bison-generated
226 * definitions. This is a good place to declare or define public
227 * functions or data structures that depend on the Bison-generated
228 * definitions. */
9bc0dd67 229 }
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230 %after-header {
231 /* Bison treats this block like a post-prologue block: it inserts it into
232 * the code file after the contents of the header file. It does *not*
233 * insert it into the header file. This is a good place to declare or
234 * define internal functions or data structures that depend on the
235 * Bison-generated definitions. */
236 }
237
238 If you have multiple occurrences of any one of the above declarations, Bison
239 will concatenate the contents in declaration order.
9bc0dd67 240
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241 [Although we failed to mention this here in the 2.3a release, the prologue
242 alternatives were experimental, and they were rewritten in future versions.]
243
742e4900 244* The option `--report=look-ahead' has been changed to `--report=lookahead'.
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245 The old spelling still works, but is not documented and may be removed
246 in a future release.
742e4900 247
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248Changes in version 2.3, 2006-06-05:
249
250* GLR grammars should now use `YYRECOVERING ()' instead of `YYRECOVERING',
251 for compatibility with LALR(1) grammars.
252
253* It is now documented that any definition of YYSTYPE or YYLTYPE should
254 be to a type name that does not contain parentheses or brackets.
255
ab8d9dc5 256Changes in version 2.2, 2006-05-19:
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257
258* The distribution terms for all Bison-generated parsers now permit
259 using the parsers in nonfree programs. Previously, this permission
260 was granted only for Bison-generated LALR(1) parsers in C.
5f4236a0 261
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262* %name-prefix changes the namespace name in C++ outputs.
263
264* The C++ parsers export their token_type.
5f4236a0 265
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266* Bison now allows multiple %union declarations, and concatenates
267 their contents together.
268
affac613 269* New warning: unused values
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270 Right-hand side symbols whose values are not used are reported,
271 if the symbols have destructors. For instance:
affac613 272
8f3596a6 273 exp: exp "?" exp ":" exp { $1 ? $1 : $3; }
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274 | exp "+" exp
275 ;
affac613 276
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277 will trigger a warning about $$ and $5 in the first rule, and $3 in
278 the second ($1 is copied to $$ by the default rule). This example
4e26c69e 279 most likely contains three errors, and could be rewritten as:
affac613 280
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281 exp: exp "?" exp ":" exp
282 { $$ = $1 ? $3 : $5; free ($1 ? $5 : $3); free ($1); }
283 | exp "+" exp
284 { $$ = $1 ? $1 : $3; if ($1) free ($3); }
721be13c 285 ;
affac613 286
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287 However, if the original actions were really intended, memory leaks
288 and all, the warnings can be suppressed by letting Bison believe the
289 values are used, e.g.:
721be13c 290
8f3596a6 291 exp: exp "?" exp ":" exp { $1 ? $1 : $3; (void) ($$, $5); }
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292 | exp "+" exp { $$ = $1; (void) $3; }
293 ;
294
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295 If there are mid-rule actions, the warning is issued if no action
296 uses it. The following triggers no warning: $1 and $3 are used.
297
298 exp: exp { push ($1); } '+' exp { push ($3); sum (); };
299
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300 The warning is intended to help catching lost values and memory leaks.
301 If a value is ignored, its associated memory typically is not reclaimed.
affac613 302
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303* %destructor vs. YYABORT, YYACCEPT, and YYERROR.
304 Destructors are now called when user code invokes YYABORT, YYACCEPT,
305 and YYERROR, for all objects on the stack, other than objects
306 corresponding to the right-hand side of the current rule.
a85284cf 307
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308* %expect, %expect-rr
309 Incorrect numbers of expected conflicts are now actual errors,
310 instead of warnings.
311
4b367315 312* GLR, YACC parsers.
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313 The %parse-params are available in the destructors (and the
314 experimental printers) as per the documentation.
4b367315 315
302c0aee 316* Bison now warns if it finds a stray `$' or `@' in an action.
ad6a9b97 317
b50d2359 318* %require "VERSION"
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319 This specifies that the grammar file depends on features implemented
320 in Bison version VERSION or higher.
b50d2359 321
fb9712a9 322* lalr1.cc: The token and value types are now class members.
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323 The tokens were defined as free form enums and cpp macros. YYSTYPE
324 was defined as a free form union. They are now class members:
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325 tokens are enumerations of the `yy::parser::token' struct, and the
326 semantic values have the `yy::parser::semantic_type' type.
327
328 If you do not want or can update to this scheme, the directive
329 `%define "global_tokens_and_yystype" "1"' triggers the global
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330 definition of tokens and YYSTYPE. This change is suitable both
331 for previous releases of Bison, and this one.
fb9712a9 332
b50d2359 333 If you wish to update, then make sure older version of Bison will
ab8d9dc5 334 fail using `%require "2.2"'.
fb9712a9 335
302c0aee 336* DJGPP support added.
193d7c70 337\f
1bd0deda 338Changes in version 2.1, 2005-09-16:
1ce59070 339
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340* The C++ lalr1.cc skeleton supports %lex-param.
341
a7db4add 342* Bison-generated parsers now support the translation of diagnostics like
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343 "syntax error" into languages other than English. The default
344 language is still English. For details, please see the new
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345 Internationalization section of the Bison manual. Software
346 distributors should also see the new PACKAGING file. Thanks to
347 Bruno Haible for this new feature.
1ce59070 348
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349* Wording in the Bison-generated parsers has been changed slightly to
350 simplify translation. In particular, the message "memory exhausted"
351 has replaced "parser stack overflow", as the old message was not
352 always accurate for modern Bison-generated parsers.
353
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354* Destructors are now called when the parser aborts, for all symbols left
355 behind on the stack. Also, the start symbol is now destroyed after a
356 successful parse. In both cases, the behavior was formerly inconsistent.
357
a7db4add 358* When generating verbose diagnostics, Bison-generated parsers no longer
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359 quote the literal strings associated with tokens. For example, for
360 a syntax error associated with '%token NUM "number"' they might
361 print 'syntax error, unexpected number' instead of 'syntax error,
362 unexpected "number"'.
193d7c70 363\f
82de6b0d 364Changes in version 2.0, 2004-12-25:
efeed023 365
82de6b0d 366* Possibly-incompatible changes
d7e14fc0 367
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368 - Bison-generated parsers no longer default to using the alloca function
369 (when available) to extend the parser stack, due to widespread
370 problems in unchecked stack-overflow detection. You can "#define
371 YYSTACK_USE_ALLOCA 1" to require the use of alloca, but please read
372 the manual to determine safe values for YYMAXDEPTH in that case.
8dd162d3 373
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374 - Error token location.
375 During error recovery, the location of the syntax error is updated
376 to cover the whole sequence covered by the error token: it includes
377 the shifted symbols thrown away during the first part of the error
378 recovery, and the lookahead rejected during the second part.
18d192f0 379
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380 - Semicolon changes:
381 . Stray semicolons are no longer allowed at the start of a grammar.
382 . Semicolons are now required after in-grammar declarations.
e342c3be 383
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384 - Unescaped newlines are no longer allowed in character constants or
385 string literals. They were never portable, and GCC 3.4.0 has
386 dropped support for them. Better diagnostics are now generated if
387 forget a closing quote.
8dd162d3 388
82de6b0d 389 - NUL bytes are no longer allowed in Bison string literals, unfortunately.
f74b6f91 390
82de6b0d 391* New features
1452af69 392
82de6b0d 393 - GLR grammars now support locations.
4febdd96 394
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395 - New directive: %initial-action.
396 This directive allows the user to run arbitrary code (including
397 initializing @$) from yyparse before parsing starts.
1452af69 398
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399 - A new directive "%expect-rr N" specifies the expected number of
400 reduce/reduce conflicts in GLR parsers.
1452af69 401
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402 - %token numbers can now be hexadecimal integers, e.g., `%token FOO 0x12d'.
403 This is a GNU extension.
4febdd96 404
82de6b0d 405 - The option `--report=lookahead' was changed to `--report=look-ahead'.
9e6e7ed2 406 [However, this was changed back after 2.3.]
1452af69 407
82de6b0d 408 - Experimental %destructor support has been added to lalr1.cc.
1452af69 409
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410 - New configure option --disable-yacc, to disable installation of the
411 yacc command and -ly library introduced in 1.875 for POSIX conformance.
6040d338 412
82de6b0d 413* Bug fixes
d5a3fe37 414
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415 - For now, %expect-count violations are now just warnings, not errors.
416 This is for compatibility with Bison 1.75 and earlier (when there are
417 reduce/reduce conflicts) and with Bison 1.30 and earlier (when there
418 are too many or too few shift/reduce conflicts). However, in future
419 versions of Bison we plan to improve the %expect machinery so that
420 these violations will become errors again.
3473d0f8 421
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422 - Within Bison itself, numbers (e.g., goto numbers) are no longer
423 arbitrarily limited to 16-bit counts.
d600ee67 424
82de6b0d 425 - Semicolons are now allowed before "|" in grammar rules, as POSIX requires.
d600ee67 426\f
dc546b0f 427Changes in version 1.875, 2003-01-01:
963fcc17 428
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429* The documentation license has been upgraded to version 1.2
430 of the GNU Free Documentation License.
75eb3bc4 431
dc546b0f 432* syntax error processing
75eb3bc4 433
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434 - In Yacc-style parsers YYLLOC_DEFAULT is now used to compute error
435 locations too. This fixes bugs in error-location computation.
75eb3bc4 436
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437 - %destructor
438 It is now possible to reclaim the memory associated to symbols
439 discarded during error recovery. This feature is still experimental.
20daca06 440
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441 - %error-verbose
442 This new directive is preferred over YYERROR_VERBOSE.
74724a70 443
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444 - #defining yyerror to steal internal variables is discouraged.
445 It is not guaranteed to work forever.
d1de5372 446
dc546b0f 447* POSIX conformance
d1de5372 448
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449 - Semicolons are once again optional at the end of grammar rules.
450 This reverts to the behavior of Bison 1.33 and earlier, and improves
451 compatibility with Yacc.
74724a70 452
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453 - `parse error' -> `syntax error'
454 Bison now uniformly uses the term `syntax error'; formerly, the code
455 and manual sometimes used the term `parse error' instead. POSIX
456 requires `syntax error' in diagnostics, and it was thought better to
457 be consistent.
74724a70 458
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459 - The documentation now emphasizes that yylex and yyerror must be
460 declared before use. C99 requires this.
d1de5372 461
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462 - Bison now parses C99 lexical constructs like UCNs and
463 backslash-newline within C escape sequences, as POSIX 1003.1-2001 requires.
d1de5372 464
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465 - File names are properly escaped in C output. E.g., foo\bar.y is
466 output as "foo\\bar.y".
6780ca7a 467
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468 - Yacc command and library now available
469 The Bison distribution now installs a `yacc' command, as POSIX requires.
470 Also, Bison now installs a small library liby.a containing
471 implementations of Yacc-compatible yyerror and main functions.
472 This library is normally not useful, but POSIX requires it.
6e649e65 473
dc546b0f 474 - Type clashes now generate warnings, not errors.
6e649e65 475
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476 - If the user does not define YYSTYPE as a macro, Bison now declares it
477 using typedef instead of defining it as a macro.
478 For consistency, YYLTYPE is also declared instead of defined.
9501dc6e 479
dc546b0f 480* Other compatibility issues
886a425c 481
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482 - %union directives can now have a tag before the `{', e.g., the
483 directive `%union foo {...}' now generates the C code
484 `typedef union foo { ... } YYSTYPE;'; this is for Yacc compatibility.
485 The default union tag is `YYSTYPE', for compatibility with Solaris 9 Yacc.
486 For consistency, YYLTYPE's struct tag is now `YYLTYPE' not `yyltype'.
487 This is for compatibility with both Yacc and Bison 1.35.
72f889cc 488
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489 - `;' is output before the terminating `}' of an action, for
490 compatibility with Bison 1.35.
886a425c 491
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492 - Bison now uses a Yacc-style format for conflict reports, e.g.,
493 `conflicts: 2 shift/reduce, 1 reduce/reduce'.
437c2d80 494
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495 - `yystype' and `yyltype' are now obsolescent macros instead of being
496 typedefs or tags; they are no longer documented and are planned to be
497 withdrawn in a future release.
2a8d363a 498
dc546b0f 499* GLR parser notes
2a8d363a 500
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501 - GLR and inline
502 Users of Bison have to decide how they handle the portability of the
503 C keyword `inline'.
959e5f51 504
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505 - `parsing stack overflow...' -> `parser stack overflow'
506 GLR parsers now report `parser stack overflow' as per the Bison manual.
900c5db5 507
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508* Bison now warns if it detects conflicting outputs to the same file,
509 e.g., it generates a warning for `bison -d -o foo.h foo.y' since
510 that command outputs both code and header to foo.h.
6e40b4eb 511
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512* #line in output files
513 - --no-line works properly.
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514
515* Bison can no longer be built by a K&R C compiler; it requires C89 or
516 later to be built. This change originally took place a few versions
517 ago, but nobody noticed until we recently asked someone to try
518 building Bison with a K&R C compiler.
d600ee67 519\f
5c16c6b1 520Changes in version 1.75, 2002-10-14:
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521
522* Bison should now work on 64-bit hosts.
523
b7195100 524* Indonesian translation thanks to Tedi Heriyanto.
7933f2b5 525
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526* GLR parsers
527 Fix spurious parse errors.
528
529* Pure parsers
530 Some people redefine yyerror to steal yyparse' private variables.
531 Reenable this trick until an official feature replaces it.
532
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533* Type Clashes
534 In agreement with POSIX and with other Yaccs, leaving a default
535 action is valid when $$ is untyped, and $1 typed:
536
537 untyped: ... typed;
538
539 but the converse remains an error:
540
541 typed: ... untyped;
542
543* Values of mid-rule actions
544 The following code:
545
546 foo: { ... } { $$ = $1; } ...
547
548 was incorrectly rejected: $1 is defined in the second mid-rule
549 action, and is equal to the $$ of the first mid-rule action.
d600ee67 550\f
420f93c8 551Changes in version 1.50, 2002-10-04:
adc8c848 552
676385e2
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553* GLR parsing
554 The declaration
555 %glr-parser
556 causes Bison to produce a Generalized LR (GLR) parser, capable of handling
557 almost any context-free grammar, ambiguous or not. The new declarations
e8832397 558 %dprec and %merge on grammar rules allow parse-time resolution of
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559 ambiguities. Contributed by Paul Hilfinger.
560
7933f2b5 561 Unfortunately Bison 1.50 does not work properly on 64-bit hosts
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562 like the Alpha, so please stick to 32-bit hosts for now.
563
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564* Output Directory
565 When not in Yacc compatibility mode, when the output file was not
e88dbdbf 566 specified, running `bison foo/bar.y' created `foo/bar.c'. It
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567 now creates `bar.c'.
568
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569* Undefined token
570 The undefined token was systematically mapped to 2 which prevented
e88dbdbf 571 the use of 2 by the user. This is no longer the case.
007a50a4 572
77714df2 573* Unknown token numbers
e88dbdbf 574 If yylex returned an out of range value, yyparse could die. This is
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575 no longer the case.
576
23c5a174 577* Error token
e88dbdbf 578 According to POSIX, the error token must be 256.
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579 Bison extends this requirement by making it a preference: *if* the
580 user specified that one of her tokens is numbered 256, then error
581 will be mapped onto another number.
582
217598da 583* Verbose error messages
e88dbdbf 584 They no longer report `..., expecting error or...' for states where
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585 error recovery is possible.
586
587* End token
588 Defaults to `$end' instead of `$'.
589
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590* Error recovery now conforms to documentation and to POSIX
591 When a Bison-generated parser encounters a syntax error, it now pops
592 the stack until it finds a state that allows shifting the error
593 token. Formerly, it popped the stack until it found a state that
594 allowed some non-error action other than a default reduction on the
595 error token. The new behavior has long been the documented behavior,
596 and has long been required by POSIX. For more details, please see
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597 Paul Eggert, "Reductions during Bison error handling" (2002-05-20)
598 <http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/bug-bison/2002-05/msg00038.html>.
68cd8af3 599
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600* Traces
601 Popped tokens and nonterminals are now reported.
602
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603* Larger grammars
604 Larger grammars are now supported (larger token numbers, larger grammar
605 size (= sum of the LHS and RHS lengths), larger LALR tables).
606 Formerly, many of these numbers ran afoul of 16-bit limits;
607 now these limits are 32 bits on most hosts.
355e7c1c 608
77714df2 609* Explicit initial rule
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610 Bison used to play hacks with the initial rule, which the user does
611 not write. It is now explicit, and visible in the reports and
612 graphs as rule 0.
23c5a174 613
77714df2 614* Useless rules
643a5994 615 Before, Bison reported the useless rules, but, although not used,
77714df2 616 included them in the parsers. They are now actually removed.
23c5a174 617
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618* Useless rules, useless nonterminals
619 They are now reported, as a warning, with their locations.
620
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621* Rules never reduced
622 Rules that can never be reduced because of conflicts are now
623 reported.
624
77714df2 625* Incorrect `Token not used'
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626 On a grammar such as
627
628 %token useless useful
629 %%
630 exp: '0' %prec useful;
631
632 where a token was used to set the precedence of the last rule,
633 bison reported both `useful' and `useless' as useless tokens.
634
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635* Revert the C++ namespace changes introduced in 1.31
636 as they caused too many portability hassles.
0179dd65 637
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638* Default locations
639 By an accident of design, the default computation of @$ was
640 performed after another default computation was performed: @$ = @1.
641 The latter is now removed: YYLLOC_DEFAULT is fully responsible of
642 the computation of @$.
adc8c848 643
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644* Token end-of-file
645 The token end of file may be specified by the user, in which case,
646 the user symbol is used in the reports, the graphs, and the verbose
a861a339 647 error messages instead of `$end', which remains being the default.
b7c49edf 648 For instance
7bd6c77e 649 %token MYEOF 0
b7c49edf 650 or
7bd6c77e 651 %token MYEOF 0 "end of file"
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652
653* Semantic parser
654 This old option, which has been broken for ages, is removed.
655
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656* New translations
657 Brazilian Portuguese, thanks to Alexandre Folle de Menezes.
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658 Croatian, thanks to Denis Lackovic.
659
77714df2 660* Incorrect token definitions
e88dbdbf 661 When given `%token 'a' "A"', Bison used to output `#define 'a' 65'.
b87f8b21 662
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663* Token definitions as enums
664 Tokens are output both as the traditional #define's, and, provided
665 the compiler supports ANSI C or is a C++ compiler, as enums.
e88dbdbf 666 This lets debuggers display names instead of integers.
77714df2 667
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668* Reports
669 In addition to --verbose, bison supports --report=THINGS, which
670 produces additional information:
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671 - itemset
672 complete the core item sets with their closure
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673 - lookahead [changed to `look-ahead' in 1.875e through 2.3, but changed back]
674 explicitly associate lookahead tokens to items
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675 - solved
676 describe shift/reduce conflicts solving.
677 Bison used to systematically output this information on top of
678 the report. Solved conflicts are now attached to their states.
ec3bc396 679
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680* Type clashes
681 Previous versions don't complain when there is a type clash on
682 the default action if the rule has a mid-rule action, such as in:
683
684 %type <foo> bar
685 %%
686 bar: '0' {} '0';
687
688 This is fixed.
a861a339
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689
690* GNU M4 is now required when using Bison.
f987e9d2 691\f
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692Changes in version 1.35, 2002-03-25:
693
694* C Skeleton
695 Some projects use Bison's C parser with C++ compilers, and define
696 YYSTYPE as a class. The recent adjustment of C parsers for data
697 alignment and 64 bit architectures made this impossible.
698
699 Because for the time being no real solution for C++ parser
700 generation exists, kludges were implemented in the parser to
701 maintain this use. In the future, when Bison has C++ parsers, this
702 kludge will be disabled.
703
704 This kludge also addresses some C++ problems when the stack was
705 extended.
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706\f
707Changes in version 1.34, 2002-03-12:
708
709* File name clashes are detected
710 $ bison foo.y -d -o foo.x
711 fatal error: header and parser would both be named `foo.x'
712
713* A missing `;' at the end of a rule triggers a warning
714 In accordance with POSIX, and in agreement with other
715 Yacc implementations, Bison will mandate this semicolon in the near
716 future. This eases the implementation of a Bison parser of Bison
717 grammars by making this grammar LALR(1) instead of LR(2). To
718 facilitate the transition, this release introduces a warning.
719
720* Revert the C++ namespace changes introduced in 1.31, as they caused too
721 many portability hassles.
722
723* DJGPP support added.
724
725* Fix test suite portability problems.
726\f
727Changes in version 1.33, 2002-02-07:
728
729* Fix C++ issues
730 Groff could not be compiled for the definition of size_t was lacking
731 under some conditions.
732
733* Catch invalid @n
734 As is done with $n.
735\f
736Changes in version 1.32, 2002-01-23:
737
738* Fix Yacc output file names
739
740* Portability fixes
741
742* Italian, Dutch translations
743\f
52d1aeee
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744Changes in version 1.31, 2002-01-14:
745
746* Many Bug Fixes
747
748* GNU Gettext and %expect
749 GNU Gettext asserts 10 s/r conflicts, but there are 7. Now that
750 Bison dies on incorrect %expectations, we fear there will be
751 too many bug reports for Gettext, so _for the time being_, %expect
752 does not trigger an error when the input file is named `plural.y'.
753
754* Use of alloca in parsers
755 If YYSTACK_USE_ALLOCA is defined to 0, then the parsers will use
756 malloc exclusively. Since 1.29, but was not NEWS'ed.
757
758 alloca is used only when compiled with GCC, to avoid portability
759 problems as on AIX.
760
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761* yyparse now returns 2 if memory is exhausted; formerly it dumped core.
762
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763* When the generated parser lacks debugging code, YYDEBUG is now 0
764 (as POSIX requires) instead of being undefined.
765
766* User Actions
767 Bison has always permitted actions such as { $$ = $1 }: it adds the
768 ending semicolon. Now if in Yacc compatibility mode, the semicolon
769 is no longer output: one has to write { $$ = $1; }.
770
771* Better C++ compliance
772 The output parsers try to respect C++ namespaces.
76551463 773 [This turned out to be a failed experiment, and it was reverted later.]
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774
775* Reduced Grammars
776 Fixed bugs when reporting useless nonterminals.
777
778* 64 bit hosts
779 The parsers work properly on 64 bit hosts.
780
781* Error messages
782 Some calls to strerror resulted in scrambled or missing error messages.
783
784* %expect
785 When the number of shift/reduce conflicts is correct, don't issue
786 any warning.
787
788* The verbose report includes the rule line numbers.
789
790* Rule line numbers are fixed in traces.
791
792* Swedish translation
793
794* Parse errors
795 Verbose parse error messages from the parsers are better looking.
796 Before: parse error: unexpected `'/'', expecting `"number"' or `'-'' or `'(''
797 Now: parse error: unexpected '/', expecting "number" or '-' or '('
798
799* Fixed parser memory leaks.
800 When the generated parser was using malloc to extend its stacks, the
801 previous allocations were not freed.
802
803* Fixed verbose output file.
804 Some newlines were missing.
805 Some conflicts in state descriptions were missing.
806
807* Fixed conflict report.
808 Option -v was needed to get the result.
809
810* %expect
811 Was not used.
812 Mismatches are errors, not warnings.
813
814* Fixed incorrect processing of some invalid input.
815
816* Fixed CPP guards: 9foo.h uses BISON_9FOO_H instead of 9FOO_H.
817
818* Fixed some typos in the documentation.
819
820* %token MY_EOF 0 is supported.
821 Before, MY_EOF was silently renumbered as 257.
822
823* doc/refcard.tex is updated.
824
825* %output, %file-prefix, %name-prefix.
826 New.
827
828* --output
829 New, aliasing `--output-file'.
830\f
76551463 831Changes in version 1.30, 2001-10-26:
342b8b6e 832
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833* `--defines' and `--graph' have now an optional argument which is the
834 output file name. `-d' and `-g' do not change; they do not take any
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835 argument.
836
837* `%source_extension' and `%header_extension' are removed, failed
838 experiment.
839
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840* Portability fixes.
841\f
9f4503d6 842Changes in version 1.29, 2001-09-07:
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843
844* The output file does not define const, as this caused problems when used
845 with common autoconfiguration schemes. If you still use ancient compilers
846 that lack const, compile with the equivalent of the C compiler option
847 `-Dconst='. autoconf's AC_C_CONST macro provides one way to do this.
848
849* Added `-g' and `--graph'.
f87a2205 850
f2b5126e
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851* The Bison manual is now distributed under the terms of the GNU FDL.
852
f1c63ced 853* The input and the output files has automatically a similar extension.
234a3be3 854
f87a2205
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855* Russian translation added.
856
857* NLS support updated; should hopefully be less troublesome.
858
859* Added the old Bison reference card.
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860
861* Added `--locations' and `%locations'.
6deb4447 862
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863* Added `-S' and `--skeleton'.
864
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865* `%raw', `-r', `--raw' is disabled.
866
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867* Special characters are escaped when output. This solves the problems
868 of the #line lines with path names including backslashes.
869
6deb4447 870* New directives.
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871 `%yacc', `%fixed_output_files', `%defines', `%no_parser', `%verbose',
872 `%debug', `%source_extension' and `%header_extension'.
f987e9d2
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873
874* @$
875 Automatic location tracking.
f87a2205 876\f
9f4503d6 877Changes in version 1.28, 1999-07-06:
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878
879* Should compile better now with K&R compilers.
880
881* Added NLS.
882
883* Fixed a problem with escaping the double quote character.
884
885* There is now a FAQ.
886\f
5c31c3c2
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887Changes in version 1.27:
888
889* The make rule which prevented bison.simple from being created on
890 some systems has been fixed.
891\f
892Changes in version 1.26:
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893
894* Bison now uses automake.
895
896* New mailing lists: <bug-bison@gnu.org> and <help-bison@gnu.org>.
897
898* Token numbers now start at 257 as previously documented, not 258.
899
900* Bison honors the TMPDIR environment variable.
901
902* A couple of buffer overruns have been fixed.
f51dbca1
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903
904* Problems when closing files should now be reported.
905
906* Generated parsers should now work even on operating systems which do
907 not provide alloca().
4be07551 908\f
9f4503d6 909Changes in version 1.25, 1995-10-16:
df8878c5
RS
910
911* Errors in the input grammar are not fatal; Bison keeps reading
912the grammar file, and reports all the errors found in it.
8c44d3ec 913
df8878c5
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914* Tokens can now be specified as multiple-character strings: for
915example, you could use "<=" for a token which looks like <=, instead
916of chosing a name like LESSEQ.
917
918* The %token_table declaration says to write a table of tokens (names
919and numbers) into the parser file. The yylex function can use this
920table to recognize multiple-character string tokens, or for other
921purposes.
922
923* The %no_lines declaration says not to generate any #line preprocessor
924directives in the parser file.
925
926* The %raw declaration says to use internal Bison token numbers, not
927Yacc-compatible token numbers, when token names are defined as macros.
928
929* The --no-parser option produces the parser tables without including
930the parser engine; a project can now use its own parser engine.
931The actions go into a separate file called NAME.act, in the form of
932a switch statement body.
933\f
6780ca7a
DM
934Changes in version 1.23:
935
4d019228
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936The user can define YYPARSE_PARAM as the name of an argument to be
937passed into yyparse. The argument should have type void *. It should
938actually point to an object. Grammar actions can access the variable
939by casting it to the proper pointer type.
6780ca7a 940
6780ca7a 941Line numbers in output file corrected.
6780ca7a
DM
942\f
943Changes in version 1.22:
944
945--help option added.
6780ca7a
DM
946\f
947Changes in version 1.20:
948
949Output file does not redefine const for C++.
9f4503d6
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950
951Local Variables:
952mode: outline
953End:
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954
955-----
956
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957Copyright (C) 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003,
9582004, 2005, 2006 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
76551463 959
75eb3bc4 960This file is part of Bison, the GNU Compiler Compiler.
76551463 961
75eb3bc4 962Bison is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
76551463
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963it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
964the Free Software Foundation; either version 2, or (at your option)
965any later version.
966
75eb3bc4 967Bison is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
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968but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
969MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the
970GNU General Public License for more details.
971
972You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
973along with autoconf; see the file COPYING. If not, write to
0fb669f9
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974the Free Software Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor,
975Boston, MA 02110-1301, USA.