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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* Bison now recognizes two separate kinds of default %destructor's and
10 %printer's:
11
12 1. Place `<*>' in a %destructor/%printer symbol list to define a default
13 %destructor/%printer for all grammar symbols for which you have formally
14 declared semantic type tags.
15
16 2. Place `<!>' in a %destructor/%printer symbol list to define a default
17 %destructor/%printer for all grammar symbols without declared semantic
18 type tags.
19
20 Bison no longer supports the `%symbol-default' notation from Bison 2.3a.
21 `<*>' and `<!>' combined achieve the same effect with one exception: Bison no
22 longer applies any %destructor to a mid-rule value if that mid-rule value is
23 not actually ever referenced using either $$ or $n in a semantic action.
24
25 See the section `Freeing Discarded Symbols' in the Bison manual for further
26 details.
27
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28* The Yacc prologue alternatives from Bison 2.3a have been rewritten as the
29 following directives:
30
31 1. %code {CODE}
32
33 Other than semantic actions, this is probably the most common place you
34 should write verbatim code for the parser implementation. For C/C++, it
35 replaces the traditional Yacc prologue, `%{CODE%}', for most purposes.
36 For Java, it inserts your CODE into the parser class. Compare with:
37
38 - `%{CODE%}' appearing after the first `%union {CODE}' in a C/C++
39 based grammar file. While Bison will continue to support `%{CODE%}'
40 for backward compatibility, `%code {CODE}' is cleaner as its
41 functionality does not depend on its position in the grammar file
42 relative to any `%union {CODE}'. Specifically, `%code {CODE}'
43 always inserts your CODE into the parser code file after the usual
44 contents of the parser header file.
45 - `%after-header {CODE}', which only Bison 2.3a supported.
46
47 2. %requires {CODE}
48
49 This is the right place to write dependency code for externally exposed
50 definitions required by Bison. For C/C++, such exposed definitions are
51 those usually appearing in the parser header file. Thus, this is the
52 right place to define types referenced in `%union {CODE}' directives,
53 and it is the right place to override Bison's default YYSTYPE and
54 YYLTYPE definitions. For Java, this is the right place to write import
55 directives. Compare with:
56
57 - `%{CODE%}' appearing before the first `%union {CODE}' in a C/C++
58 based grammar file. Unlike `%{CODE%}', `%requires {CODE}' inserts
59 your CODE both into the parser code file and into the parser header
60 file since Bison's required definitions should depend on it in both
61 places.
62 - `%start-header {CODE}', which only Bison 2.3a supported.
63
64 3. %provides {CODE}
65
66 This is the right place to write additional definitions you would like
67 Bison to expose externally. For C/C++, this directive inserts your CODE
68 both into the parser header file and into the parser code file after
69 Bison's required definitions. For Java, it inserts your CODE into the
70 parser java file after the parser class. Compare with:
71
72 - `%end-header {CODE}', which only Bison 2.3a supported.
73
74 4. %code-top {CODE}
75
76 Occasionally for C/C++ it is desirable to insert code near the top of
77 the parser code file. For example:
78
79 %code-top {
80 #define _GNU_SOURCE
81 #include <stdio.h>
82 }
83
84 For Java, `%code-top {CODE}' is currently unused. Compare with:
85
86 - `%{CODE%}' appearing before the first `%union {CODE}' in a C/C++
87 based grammar file. `%code-top {CODE}' is cleaner as its
88 functionality does not depend on its position in the grammar file
89 relative to any `%union {CODE}'.
90 - `%before-header {CODE}', which only Bison 2.3a supported.
91
92 If you have multiple occurrences of any one of the above four directives,
93 Bison will concatenate the contents in the order they appear in the grammar
94 file.
95
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96 Also see the new section `Prologue Alternatives' in the Bison manual.
97
21fe08ca 98Changes in version 2.3a, 2006-09-13:
742e4900 99
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100* Instead of %union, you can define and use your own union type
101 YYSTYPE if your grammar contains at least one <type> tag.
102 Your YYSTYPE need not be a macro; it can be a typedef.
103 This change is for compatibility with other Yacc implementations,
104 and is required by POSIX.
105
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106* Locations columns and lines start at 1.
107 In accordance with the GNU Coding Standards and Emacs.
108
b2a0b7ca 109* You may now declare per-type and default %destructor's and %printer's:
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110
111 For example:
112
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113 %union { char *string; }
114 %token <string> STRING1
115 %token <string> STRING2
116 %type <string> string1
117 %type <string> string2
118 %union { char character; }
119 %token <character> CHR
120 %type <character> chr
121 %destructor { free ($$); } %symbol-default
122 %destructor { free ($$); printf ("%d", @$.first_line); } STRING1 string1
123 %destructor { } <character>
124
125 guarantees that, when the parser discards any user-defined symbol that has a
126 semantic type tag other than `<character>', it passes its semantic value to
127 `free'. However, when the parser discards a `STRING1' or a `string1', it
128 also prints its line number to `stdout'. It performs only the second
129 `%destructor' in this case, so it invokes `free' only once.
ec5479ce 130
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131* Except for LALR(1) parsers in C with POSIX Yacc emulation enabled (with `-y',
132 `--yacc', or `%yacc'), Bison no longer generates #define statements for
133 associating token numbers with token names. Removing the #define statements
134 helps to sanitize the global namespace during preprocessing, but POSIX Yacc
135 requires them. Bison still generates an enum for token names in all cases.
136
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137* Handling of traditional Yacc prologue blocks is now more consistent but
138 potentially incompatible with previous releases of Bison.
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139
140 As before, you declare prologue blocks in your grammar file with the
141 `%{ ... %}' syntax. To generate the pre-prologue, Bison concatenates all
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142 prologue blocks that you've declared before the first %union. To generate
143 the post-prologue, Bison concatenates all prologue blocks that you've
ddc8ede1 144 declared after the first %union.
9bc0dd67 145
34f98f46 146 Previous releases of Bison inserted the pre-prologue into both the header
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147 file and the code file in all cases except for LALR(1) parsers in C. In the
148 latter case, Bison inserted it only into the code file. For parsers in C++,
149 the point of insertion was before any token definitions (which associate
150 token numbers with names). For parsers in C, the point of insertion was
151 after the token definitions.
152
153 Now, Bison never inserts the pre-prologue into the header file. In the code
154 file, it always inserts it before the token definitions.
155
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156* Bison now provides a more flexible alternative to the traditional Yacc
157 prologue blocks: %before-header, %start-header, %end-header, and
158 %after-header.
159
160 For example, the following declaration order in the grammar file reflects the
161 order in which Bison will output these code blocks. However, you are free to
162 declare these code blocks in your grammar file in whatever order is most
163 convenient for you:
164
165 %before-header {
166 /* Bison treats this block like a pre-prologue block: it inserts it into
167 * the code file before the contents of the header file. It does *not*
168 * insert it into the header file. This is a good place to put
169 * #include's that you want at the top of your code file. A common
170 * example is `#include "system.h"'. */
171 }
172 %start-header {
173 /* Bison inserts this block into both the header file and the code file.
174 * In both files, the point of insertion is before any Bison-generated
175 * token, semantic type, location type, and class definitions. This is a
176 * good place to define %union dependencies, for example. */
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177 }
178 %union {
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179 /* Unlike the traditional Yacc prologue blocks, the output order for the
180 * new %*-header blocks is not affected by their declaration position
181 * relative to any %union in the grammar file. */
9bc0dd67 182 }
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183 %end-header {
184 /* Bison inserts this block into both the header file and the code file.
185 * In both files, the point of insertion is after the Bison-generated
186 * definitions. This is a good place to declare or define public
187 * functions or data structures that depend on the Bison-generated
188 * definitions. */
9bc0dd67 189 }
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190 %after-header {
191 /* Bison treats this block like a post-prologue block: it inserts it into
192 * the code file after the contents of the header file. It does *not*
193 * insert it into the header file. This is a good place to declare or
194 * define internal functions or data structures that depend on the
195 * Bison-generated definitions. */
196 }
197
198 If you have multiple occurrences of any one of the above declarations, Bison
199 will concatenate the contents in declaration order.
9bc0dd67 200
742e4900 201* The option `--report=look-ahead' has been changed to `--report=lookahead'.
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202 The old spelling still works, but is not documented and may be removed
203 in a future release.
742e4900 204
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205Changes in version 2.3, 2006-06-05:
206
207* GLR grammars should now use `YYRECOVERING ()' instead of `YYRECOVERING',
208 for compatibility with LALR(1) grammars.
209
210* It is now documented that any definition of YYSTYPE or YYLTYPE should
211 be to a type name that does not contain parentheses or brackets.
212
ab8d9dc5 213Changes in version 2.2, 2006-05-19:
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214
215* The distribution terms for all Bison-generated parsers now permit
216 using the parsers in nonfree programs. Previously, this permission
217 was granted only for Bison-generated LALR(1) parsers in C.
5f4236a0 218
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219* %name-prefix changes the namespace name in C++ outputs.
220
221* The C++ parsers export their token_type.
5f4236a0 222
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223* Bison now allows multiple %union declarations, and concatenates
224 their contents together.
225
affac613 226* New warning: unused values
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227 Right-hand side symbols whose values are not used are reported,
228 if the symbols have destructors. For instance:
affac613 229
8f3596a6 230 exp: exp "?" exp ":" exp { $1 ? $1 : $3; }
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231 | exp "+" exp
232 ;
affac613 233
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234 will trigger a warning about $$ and $5 in the first rule, and $3 in
235 the second ($1 is copied to $$ by the default rule). This example
4e26c69e 236 most likely contains three errors, and could be rewritten as:
affac613 237
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238 exp: exp "?" exp ":" exp
239 { $$ = $1 ? $3 : $5; free ($1 ? $5 : $3); free ($1); }
240 | exp "+" exp
241 { $$ = $1 ? $1 : $3; if ($1) free ($3); }
721be13c 242 ;
affac613 243
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244 However, if the original actions were really intended, memory leaks
245 and all, the warnings can be suppressed by letting Bison believe the
246 values are used, e.g.:
721be13c 247
8f3596a6 248 exp: exp "?" exp ":" exp { $1 ? $1 : $3; (void) ($$, $5); }
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249 | exp "+" exp { $$ = $1; (void) $3; }
250 ;
251
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252 If there are mid-rule actions, the warning is issued if no action
253 uses it. The following triggers no warning: $1 and $3 are used.
254
255 exp: exp { push ($1); } '+' exp { push ($3); sum (); };
256
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257 The warning is intended to help catching lost values and memory leaks.
258 If a value is ignored, its associated memory typically is not reclaimed.
affac613 259
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260* %destructor vs. YYABORT, YYACCEPT, and YYERROR.
261 Destructors are now called when user code invokes YYABORT, YYACCEPT,
262 and YYERROR, for all objects on the stack, other than objects
263 corresponding to the right-hand side of the current rule.
a85284cf 264
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265* %expect, %expect-rr
266 Incorrect numbers of expected conflicts are now actual errors,
267 instead of warnings.
268
4b367315 269* GLR, YACC parsers.
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270 The %parse-params are available in the destructors (and the
271 experimental printers) as per the documentation.
4b367315 272
302c0aee 273* Bison now warns if it finds a stray `$' or `@' in an action.
ad6a9b97 274
b50d2359 275* %require "VERSION"
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276 This specifies that the grammar file depends on features implemented
277 in Bison version VERSION or higher.
b50d2359 278
fb9712a9 279* lalr1.cc: The token and value types are now class members.
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280 The tokens were defined as free form enums and cpp macros. YYSTYPE
281 was defined as a free form union. They are now class members:
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282 tokens are enumerations of the `yy::parser::token' struct, and the
283 semantic values have the `yy::parser::semantic_type' type.
284
285 If you do not want or can update to this scheme, the directive
286 `%define "global_tokens_and_yystype" "1"' triggers the global
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287 definition of tokens and YYSTYPE. This change is suitable both
288 for previous releases of Bison, and this one.
fb9712a9 289
b50d2359 290 If you wish to update, then make sure older version of Bison will
ab8d9dc5 291 fail using `%require "2.2"'.
fb9712a9 292
302c0aee 293* DJGPP support added.
193d7c70 294\f
1bd0deda 295Changes in version 2.1, 2005-09-16:
1ce59070 296
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297* The C++ lalr1.cc skeleton supports %lex-param.
298
a7db4add 299* Bison-generated parsers now support the translation of diagnostics like
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300 "syntax error" into languages other than English. The default
301 language is still English. For details, please see the new
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302 Internationalization section of the Bison manual. Software
303 distributors should also see the new PACKAGING file. Thanks to
304 Bruno Haible for this new feature.
1ce59070 305
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306* Wording in the Bison-generated parsers has been changed slightly to
307 simplify translation. In particular, the message "memory exhausted"
308 has replaced "parser stack overflow", as the old message was not
309 always accurate for modern Bison-generated parsers.
310
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311* Destructors are now called when the parser aborts, for all symbols left
312 behind on the stack. Also, the start symbol is now destroyed after a
313 successful parse. In both cases, the behavior was formerly inconsistent.
314
a7db4add 315* When generating verbose diagnostics, Bison-generated parsers no longer
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316 quote the literal strings associated with tokens. For example, for
317 a syntax error associated with '%token NUM "number"' they might
318 print 'syntax error, unexpected number' instead of 'syntax error,
319 unexpected "number"'.
193d7c70 320\f
82de6b0d 321Changes in version 2.0, 2004-12-25:
efeed023 322
82de6b0d 323* Possibly-incompatible changes
d7e14fc0 324
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325 - Bison-generated parsers no longer default to using the alloca function
326 (when available) to extend the parser stack, due to widespread
327 problems in unchecked stack-overflow detection. You can "#define
328 YYSTACK_USE_ALLOCA 1" to require the use of alloca, but please read
329 the manual to determine safe values for YYMAXDEPTH in that case.
8dd162d3 330
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331 - Error token location.
332 During error recovery, the location of the syntax error is updated
333 to cover the whole sequence covered by the error token: it includes
334 the shifted symbols thrown away during the first part of the error
335 recovery, and the lookahead rejected during the second part.
18d192f0 336
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337 - Semicolon changes:
338 . Stray semicolons are no longer allowed at the start of a grammar.
339 . Semicolons are now required after in-grammar declarations.
e342c3be 340
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341 - Unescaped newlines are no longer allowed in character constants or
342 string literals. They were never portable, and GCC 3.4.0 has
343 dropped support for them. Better diagnostics are now generated if
344 forget a closing quote.
8dd162d3 345
82de6b0d 346 - NUL bytes are no longer allowed in Bison string literals, unfortunately.
f74b6f91 347
82de6b0d 348* New features
1452af69 349
82de6b0d 350 - GLR grammars now support locations.
4febdd96 351
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352 - New directive: %initial-action.
353 This directive allows the user to run arbitrary code (including
354 initializing @$) from yyparse before parsing starts.
1452af69 355
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356 - A new directive "%expect-rr N" specifies the expected number of
357 reduce/reduce conflicts in GLR parsers.
1452af69 358
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359 - %token numbers can now be hexadecimal integers, e.g., `%token FOO 0x12d'.
360 This is a GNU extension.
4febdd96 361
82de6b0d 362 - The option `--report=lookahead' was changed to `--report=look-ahead'.
9e6e7ed2 363 [However, this was changed back after 2.3.]
1452af69 364
82de6b0d 365 - Experimental %destructor support has been added to lalr1.cc.
1452af69 366
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367 - New configure option --disable-yacc, to disable installation of the
368 yacc command and -ly library introduced in 1.875 for POSIX conformance.
6040d338 369
82de6b0d 370* Bug fixes
d5a3fe37 371
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372 - For now, %expect-count violations are now just warnings, not errors.
373 This is for compatibility with Bison 1.75 and earlier (when there are
374 reduce/reduce conflicts) and with Bison 1.30 and earlier (when there
375 are too many or too few shift/reduce conflicts). However, in future
376 versions of Bison we plan to improve the %expect machinery so that
377 these violations will become errors again.
3473d0f8 378
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379 - Within Bison itself, numbers (e.g., goto numbers) are no longer
380 arbitrarily limited to 16-bit counts.
d600ee67 381
82de6b0d 382 - Semicolons are now allowed before "|" in grammar rules, as POSIX requires.
d600ee67 383\f
dc546b0f 384Changes in version 1.875, 2003-01-01:
963fcc17 385
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386* The documentation license has been upgraded to version 1.2
387 of the GNU Free Documentation License.
75eb3bc4 388
dc546b0f 389* syntax error processing
75eb3bc4 390
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391 - In Yacc-style parsers YYLLOC_DEFAULT is now used to compute error
392 locations too. This fixes bugs in error-location computation.
75eb3bc4 393
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394 - %destructor
395 It is now possible to reclaim the memory associated to symbols
396 discarded during error recovery. This feature is still experimental.
20daca06 397
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398 - %error-verbose
399 This new directive is preferred over YYERROR_VERBOSE.
74724a70 400
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401 - #defining yyerror to steal internal variables is discouraged.
402 It is not guaranteed to work forever.
d1de5372 403
dc546b0f 404* POSIX conformance
d1de5372 405
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406 - Semicolons are once again optional at the end of grammar rules.
407 This reverts to the behavior of Bison 1.33 and earlier, and improves
408 compatibility with Yacc.
74724a70 409
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410 - `parse error' -> `syntax error'
411 Bison now uniformly uses the term `syntax error'; formerly, the code
412 and manual sometimes used the term `parse error' instead. POSIX
413 requires `syntax error' in diagnostics, and it was thought better to
414 be consistent.
74724a70 415
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416 - The documentation now emphasizes that yylex and yyerror must be
417 declared before use. C99 requires this.
d1de5372 418
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419 - Bison now parses C99 lexical constructs like UCNs and
420 backslash-newline within C escape sequences, as POSIX 1003.1-2001 requires.
d1de5372 421
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422 - File names are properly escaped in C output. E.g., foo\bar.y is
423 output as "foo\\bar.y".
6780ca7a 424
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425 - Yacc command and library now available
426 The Bison distribution now installs a `yacc' command, as POSIX requires.
427 Also, Bison now installs a small library liby.a containing
428 implementations of Yacc-compatible yyerror and main functions.
429 This library is normally not useful, but POSIX requires it.
6e649e65 430
dc546b0f 431 - Type clashes now generate warnings, not errors.
6e649e65 432
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433 - If the user does not define YYSTYPE as a macro, Bison now declares it
434 using typedef instead of defining it as a macro.
435 For consistency, YYLTYPE is also declared instead of defined.
9501dc6e 436
dc546b0f 437* Other compatibility issues
886a425c 438
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439 - %union directives can now have a tag before the `{', e.g., the
440 directive `%union foo {...}' now generates the C code
441 `typedef union foo { ... } YYSTYPE;'; this is for Yacc compatibility.
442 The default union tag is `YYSTYPE', for compatibility with Solaris 9 Yacc.
443 For consistency, YYLTYPE's struct tag is now `YYLTYPE' not `yyltype'.
444 This is for compatibility with both Yacc and Bison 1.35.
72f889cc 445
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446 - `;' is output before the terminating `}' of an action, for
447 compatibility with Bison 1.35.
886a425c 448
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449 - Bison now uses a Yacc-style format for conflict reports, e.g.,
450 `conflicts: 2 shift/reduce, 1 reduce/reduce'.
437c2d80 451
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452 - `yystype' and `yyltype' are now obsolescent macros instead of being
453 typedefs or tags; they are no longer documented and are planned to be
454 withdrawn in a future release.
2a8d363a 455
dc546b0f 456* GLR parser notes
2a8d363a 457
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458 - GLR and inline
459 Users of Bison have to decide how they handle the portability of the
460 C keyword `inline'.
959e5f51 461
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462 - `parsing stack overflow...' -> `parser stack overflow'
463 GLR parsers now report `parser stack overflow' as per the Bison manual.
900c5db5 464
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465* Bison now warns if it detects conflicting outputs to the same file,
466 e.g., it generates a warning for `bison -d -o foo.h foo.y' since
467 that command outputs both code and header to foo.h.
6e40b4eb 468
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469* #line in output files
470 - --no-line works properly.
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471
472* Bison can no longer be built by a K&R C compiler; it requires C89 or
473 later to be built. This change originally took place a few versions
474 ago, but nobody noticed until we recently asked someone to try
475 building Bison with a K&R C compiler.
d600ee67 476\f
5c16c6b1 477Changes in version 1.75, 2002-10-14:
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478
479* Bison should now work on 64-bit hosts.
480
b7195100 481* Indonesian translation thanks to Tedi Heriyanto.
7933f2b5 482
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483* GLR parsers
484 Fix spurious parse errors.
485
486* Pure parsers
487 Some people redefine yyerror to steal yyparse' private variables.
488 Reenable this trick until an official feature replaces it.
489
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490* Type Clashes
491 In agreement with POSIX and with other Yaccs, leaving a default
492 action is valid when $$ is untyped, and $1 typed:
493
494 untyped: ... typed;
495
496 but the converse remains an error:
497
498 typed: ... untyped;
499
500* Values of mid-rule actions
501 The following code:
502
503 foo: { ... } { $$ = $1; } ...
504
505 was incorrectly rejected: $1 is defined in the second mid-rule
506 action, and is equal to the $$ of the first mid-rule action.
d600ee67 507\f
420f93c8 508Changes in version 1.50, 2002-10-04:
adc8c848 509
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510* GLR parsing
511 The declaration
512 %glr-parser
513 causes Bison to produce a Generalized LR (GLR) parser, capable of handling
514 almost any context-free grammar, ambiguous or not. The new declarations
e8832397 515 %dprec and %merge on grammar rules allow parse-time resolution of
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516 ambiguities. Contributed by Paul Hilfinger.
517
7933f2b5 518 Unfortunately Bison 1.50 does not work properly on 64-bit hosts
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519 like the Alpha, so please stick to 32-bit hosts for now.
520
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521* Output Directory
522 When not in Yacc compatibility mode, when the output file was not
e88dbdbf 523 specified, running `bison foo/bar.y' created `foo/bar.c'. It
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524 now creates `bar.c'.
525
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526* Undefined token
527 The undefined token was systematically mapped to 2 which prevented
e88dbdbf 528 the use of 2 by the user. This is no longer the case.
007a50a4 529
77714df2 530* Unknown token numbers
e88dbdbf 531 If yylex returned an out of range value, yyparse could die. This is
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532 no longer the case.
533
23c5a174 534* Error token
e88dbdbf 535 According to POSIX, the error token must be 256.
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536 Bison extends this requirement by making it a preference: *if* the
537 user specified that one of her tokens is numbered 256, then error
538 will be mapped onto another number.
539
217598da 540* Verbose error messages
e88dbdbf 541 They no longer report `..., expecting error or...' for states where
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542 error recovery is possible.
543
544* End token
545 Defaults to `$end' instead of `$'.
546
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547* Error recovery now conforms to documentation and to POSIX
548 When a Bison-generated parser encounters a syntax error, it now pops
549 the stack until it finds a state that allows shifting the error
550 token. Formerly, it popped the stack until it found a state that
551 allowed some non-error action other than a default reduction on the
552 error token. The new behavior has long been the documented behavior,
553 and has long been required by POSIX. For more details, please see
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554 Paul Eggert, "Reductions during Bison error handling" (2002-05-20)
555 <http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/bug-bison/2002-05/msg00038.html>.
68cd8af3 556
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557* Traces
558 Popped tokens and nonterminals are now reported.
559
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560* Larger grammars
561 Larger grammars are now supported (larger token numbers, larger grammar
562 size (= sum of the LHS and RHS lengths), larger LALR tables).
563 Formerly, many of these numbers ran afoul of 16-bit limits;
564 now these limits are 32 bits on most hosts.
355e7c1c 565
77714df2 566* Explicit initial rule
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567 Bison used to play hacks with the initial rule, which the user does
568 not write. It is now explicit, and visible in the reports and
569 graphs as rule 0.
23c5a174 570
77714df2 571* Useless rules
643a5994 572 Before, Bison reported the useless rules, but, although not used,
77714df2 573 included them in the parsers. They are now actually removed.
23c5a174 574
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575* Useless rules, useless nonterminals
576 They are now reported, as a warning, with their locations.
577
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578* Rules never reduced
579 Rules that can never be reduced because of conflicts are now
580 reported.
581
77714df2 582* Incorrect `Token not used'
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583 On a grammar such as
584
585 %token useless useful
586 %%
587 exp: '0' %prec useful;
588
589 where a token was used to set the precedence of the last rule,
590 bison reported both `useful' and `useless' as useless tokens.
591
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592* Revert the C++ namespace changes introduced in 1.31
593 as they caused too many portability hassles.
0179dd65 594
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595* Default locations
596 By an accident of design, the default computation of @$ was
597 performed after another default computation was performed: @$ = @1.
598 The latter is now removed: YYLLOC_DEFAULT is fully responsible of
599 the computation of @$.
adc8c848 600
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601* Token end-of-file
602 The token end of file may be specified by the user, in which case,
603 the user symbol is used in the reports, the graphs, and the verbose
a861a339 604 error messages instead of `$end', which remains being the default.
b7c49edf 605 For instance
7bd6c77e 606 %token MYEOF 0
b7c49edf 607 or
7bd6c77e 608 %token MYEOF 0 "end of file"
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609
610* Semantic parser
611 This old option, which has been broken for ages, is removed.
612
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613* New translations
614 Brazilian Portuguese, thanks to Alexandre Folle de Menezes.
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615 Croatian, thanks to Denis Lackovic.
616
77714df2 617* Incorrect token definitions
e88dbdbf 618 When given `%token 'a' "A"', Bison used to output `#define 'a' 65'.
b87f8b21 619
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620* Token definitions as enums
621 Tokens are output both as the traditional #define's, and, provided
622 the compiler supports ANSI C or is a C++ compiler, as enums.
e88dbdbf 623 This lets debuggers display names instead of integers.
77714df2 624
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625* Reports
626 In addition to --verbose, bison supports --report=THINGS, which
627 produces additional information:
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628 - itemset
629 complete the core item sets with their closure
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630 - lookahead [changed to `look-ahead' in 1.875e through 2.3, but changed back]
631 explicitly associate lookahead tokens to items
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632 - solved
633 describe shift/reduce conflicts solving.
634 Bison used to systematically output this information on top of
635 the report. Solved conflicts are now attached to their states.
ec3bc396 636
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637* Type clashes
638 Previous versions don't complain when there is a type clash on
639 the default action if the rule has a mid-rule action, such as in:
640
641 %type <foo> bar
642 %%
643 bar: '0' {} '0';
644
645 This is fixed.
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646
647* GNU M4 is now required when using Bison.
f987e9d2 648\f
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649Changes in version 1.35, 2002-03-25:
650
651* C Skeleton
652 Some projects use Bison's C parser with C++ compilers, and define
653 YYSTYPE as a class. The recent adjustment of C parsers for data
654 alignment and 64 bit architectures made this impossible.
655
656 Because for the time being no real solution for C++ parser
657 generation exists, kludges were implemented in the parser to
658 maintain this use. In the future, when Bison has C++ parsers, this
659 kludge will be disabled.
660
661 This kludge also addresses some C++ problems when the stack was
662 extended.
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663\f
664Changes in version 1.34, 2002-03-12:
665
666* File name clashes are detected
667 $ bison foo.y -d -o foo.x
668 fatal error: header and parser would both be named `foo.x'
669
670* A missing `;' at the end of a rule triggers a warning
671 In accordance with POSIX, and in agreement with other
672 Yacc implementations, Bison will mandate this semicolon in the near
673 future. This eases the implementation of a Bison parser of Bison
674 grammars by making this grammar LALR(1) instead of LR(2). To
675 facilitate the transition, this release introduces a warning.
676
677* Revert the C++ namespace changes introduced in 1.31, as they caused too
678 many portability hassles.
679
680* DJGPP support added.
681
682* Fix test suite portability problems.
683\f
684Changes in version 1.33, 2002-02-07:
685
686* Fix C++ issues
687 Groff could not be compiled for the definition of size_t was lacking
688 under some conditions.
689
690* Catch invalid @n
691 As is done with $n.
692\f
693Changes in version 1.32, 2002-01-23:
694
695* Fix Yacc output file names
696
697* Portability fixes
698
699* Italian, Dutch translations
700\f
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701Changes in version 1.31, 2002-01-14:
702
703* Many Bug Fixes
704
705* GNU Gettext and %expect
706 GNU Gettext asserts 10 s/r conflicts, but there are 7. Now that
707 Bison dies on incorrect %expectations, we fear there will be
708 too many bug reports for Gettext, so _for the time being_, %expect
709 does not trigger an error when the input file is named `plural.y'.
710
711* Use of alloca in parsers
712 If YYSTACK_USE_ALLOCA is defined to 0, then the parsers will use
713 malloc exclusively. Since 1.29, but was not NEWS'ed.
714
715 alloca is used only when compiled with GCC, to avoid portability
716 problems as on AIX.
717
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718* yyparse now returns 2 if memory is exhausted; formerly it dumped core.
719
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720* When the generated parser lacks debugging code, YYDEBUG is now 0
721 (as POSIX requires) instead of being undefined.
722
723* User Actions
724 Bison has always permitted actions such as { $$ = $1 }: it adds the
725 ending semicolon. Now if in Yacc compatibility mode, the semicolon
726 is no longer output: one has to write { $$ = $1; }.
727
728* Better C++ compliance
729 The output parsers try to respect C++ namespaces.
76551463 730 [This turned out to be a failed experiment, and it was reverted later.]
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731
732* Reduced Grammars
733 Fixed bugs when reporting useless nonterminals.
734
735* 64 bit hosts
736 The parsers work properly on 64 bit hosts.
737
738* Error messages
739 Some calls to strerror resulted in scrambled or missing error messages.
740
741* %expect
742 When the number of shift/reduce conflicts is correct, don't issue
743 any warning.
744
745* The verbose report includes the rule line numbers.
746
747* Rule line numbers are fixed in traces.
748
749* Swedish translation
750
751* Parse errors
752 Verbose parse error messages from the parsers are better looking.
753 Before: parse error: unexpected `'/'', expecting `"number"' or `'-'' or `'(''
754 Now: parse error: unexpected '/', expecting "number" or '-' or '('
755
756* Fixed parser memory leaks.
757 When the generated parser was using malloc to extend its stacks, the
758 previous allocations were not freed.
759
760* Fixed verbose output file.
761 Some newlines were missing.
762 Some conflicts in state descriptions were missing.
763
764* Fixed conflict report.
765 Option -v was needed to get the result.
766
767* %expect
768 Was not used.
769 Mismatches are errors, not warnings.
770
771* Fixed incorrect processing of some invalid input.
772
773* Fixed CPP guards: 9foo.h uses BISON_9FOO_H instead of 9FOO_H.
774
775* Fixed some typos in the documentation.
776
777* %token MY_EOF 0 is supported.
778 Before, MY_EOF was silently renumbered as 257.
779
780* doc/refcard.tex is updated.
781
782* %output, %file-prefix, %name-prefix.
783 New.
784
785* --output
786 New, aliasing `--output-file'.
787\f
76551463 788Changes in version 1.30, 2001-10-26:
342b8b6e 789
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790* `--defines' and `--graph' have now an optional argument which is the
791 output file name. `-d' and `-g' do not change; they do not take any
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792 argument.
793
794* `%source_extension' and `%header_extension' are removed, failed
795 experiment.
796
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797* Portability fixes.
798\f
9f4503d6 799Changes in version 1.29, 2001-09-07:
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800
801* The output file does not define const, as this caused problems when used
802 with common autoconfiguration schemes. If you still use ancient compilers
803 that lack const, compile with the equivalent of the C compiler option
804 `-Dconst='. autoconf's AC_C_CONST macro provides one way to do this.
805
806* Added `-g' and `--graph'.
f87a2205 807
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808* The Bison manual is now distributed under the terms of the GNU FDL.
809
f1c63ced 810* The input and the output files has automatically a similar extension.
234a3be3 811
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812* Russian translation added.
813
814* NLS support updated; should hopefully be less troublesome.
815
816* Added the old Bison reference card.
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817
818* Added `--locations' and `%locations'.
6deb4447 819
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820* Added `-S' and `--skeleton'.
821
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822* `%raw', `-r', `--raw' is disabled.
823
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824* Special characters are escaped when output. This solves the problems
825 of the #line lines with path names including backslashes.
826
6deb4447 827* New directives.
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828 `%yacc', `%fixed_output_files', `%defines', `%no_parser', `%verbose',
829 `%debug', `%source_extension' and `%header_extension'.
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830
831* @$
832 Automatic location tracking.
f87a2205 833\f
9f4503d6 834Changes in version 1.28, 1999-07-06:
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835
836* Should compile better now with K&R compilers.
837
838* Added NLS.
839
840* Fixed a problem with escaping the double quote character.
841
842* There is now a FAQ.
843\f
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844Changes in version 1.27:
845
846* The make rule which prevented bison.simple from being created on
847 some systems has been fixed.
848\f
849Changes in version 1.26:
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850
851* Bison now uses automake.
852
853* New mailing lists: <bug-bison@gnu.org> and <help-bison@gnu.org>.
854
855* Token numbers now start at 257 as previously documented, not 258.
856
857* Bison honors the TMPDIR environment variable.
858
859* A couple of buffer overruns have been fixed.
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860
861* Problems when closing files should now be reported.
862
863* Generated parsers should now work even on operating systems which do
864 not provide alloca().
4be07551 865\f
9f4503d6 866Changes in version 1.25, 1995-10-16:
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867
868* Errors in the input grammar are not fatal; Bison keeps reading
869the grammar file, and reports all the errors found in it.
8c44d3ec 870
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871* Tokens can now be specified as multiple-character strings: for
872example, you could use "<=" for a token which looks like <=, instead
873of chosing a name like LESSEQ.
874
875* The %token_table declaration says to write a table of tokens (names
876and numbers) into the parser file. The yylex function can use this
877table to recognize multiple-character string tokens, or for other
878purposes.
879
880* The %no_lines declaration says not to generate any #line preprocessor
881directives in the parser file.
882
883* The %raw declaration says to use internal Bison token numbers, not
884Yacc-compatible token numbers, when token names are defined as macros.
885
886* The --no-parser option produces the parser tables without including
887the parser engine; a project can now use its own parser engine.
888The actions go into a separate file called NAME.act, in the form of
889a switch statement body.
890\f
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891Changes in version 1.23:
892
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893The user can define YYPARSE_PARAM as the name of an argument to be
894passed into yyparse. The argument should have type void *. It should
895actually point to an object. Grammar actions can access the variable
896by casting it to the proper pointer type.
6780ca7a 897
6780ca7a 898Line numbers in output file corrected.
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899\f
900Changes in version 1.22:
901
902--help option added.
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903\f
904Changes in version 1.20:
905
906Output file does not redefine const for C++.
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907
908Local Variables:
909mode: outline
910End:
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911
912-----
913
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914Copyright (C) 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003,
9152004, 2005, 2006 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
76551463 916
75eb3bc4 917This file is part of Bison, the GNU Compiler Compiler.
76551463 918
75eb3bc4 919Bison is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
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920it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
921the Free Software Foundation; either version 2, or (at your option)
922any later version.
923
75eb3bc4 924Bison is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
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925but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
926MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the
927GNU General Public License for more details.
928
929You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
930along with autoconf; see the file COPYING. If not, write to
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931the Free Software Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor,
932Boston, MA 02110-1301, USA.