Bison News
----------
-Changes in version 2.3a+ (????-??-??):
+Changes in version ?.? (????-??-??):
+
+*
+
+Changes in version 2.4 (2008-11-02):
+
+* %language is an experimental feature.
+
+ We first introduced this feature in test release 2.3b as a cleaner
+ alternative to %skeleton. Since then, we have discussed the possibility of
+ modifying its effect on Bison's output file names. Thus, in this release,
+ we consider %language to be an experimental feature that will likely evolve
+ in future releases.
+
+* Forward compatibility with GNU M4 has been improved.
+
+* Several bugs in the C++ skeleton and the experimental Java skeleton have been
+ fixed.
+
+Changes in version 2.3b (2008-05-27):
+
+* The quotes around NAME that used to be required in the following directive
+ are now deprecated:
+
+ %define NAME "VALUE"
+
+* The directive `%pure-parser' is now deprecated in favor of:
+
+ %define api.pure
+
+ which has the same effect except that Bison is more careful to warn about
+ unreasonable usage in the latter case.
+
+* Push Parsing
+
+ Bison can now generate an LALR(1) parser in C with a push interface. That
+ is, instead of invoking `yyparse', which pulls tokens from `yylex', you can
+ push one token at a time to the parser using `yypush_parse', which will
+ return to the caller after processing each token. By default, the push
+ interface is disabled. Either of the following directives will enable it:
+
+ %define api.push_pull "push" // Just push; does not require yylex.
+ %define api.push_pull "both" // Push and pull; requires yylex.
+
+ See the new section `A Push Parser' in the Bison manual for details.
+
+ The current push parsing interface is experimental and may evolve. More user
+ feedback will help to stabilize it.
* The -g and --graph options now output graphs in Graphviz DOT format,
- not VCG format.
+ not VCG format. Like --graph, -g now also takes an optional FILE argument
+ and thus cannot be bundled with other short options.
+
+* Java
+
+ Bison can now generate an LALR(1) parser in Java. The skeleton is
+ `data/lalr1.java'. Consider using the new %language directive instead of
+ %skeleton to select it.
+
+ See the new section `Java Parsers' in the Bison manual for details.
+
+ The current Java interface is experimental and may evolve. More user
+ feedback will help to stabilize it.
+
+* %language
+
+ This new directive specifies the programming language of the generated
+ parser, which can be C (the default), C++, or Java. Besides the skeleton
+ that Bison uses, the directive affects the names of the generated files if
+ the grammar file's name ends in ".y".
+
+* XML Automaton Report
+
+ Bison can now generate an XML report of the LALR(1) automaton using the new
+ `--xml' option. The current XML schema is experimental and may evolve. More
+ user feedback will help to stabilize it.
* The grammar file may now specify the name of the parser header file using
%defines. For example:
%defines "parser.h"
-* The `=' that used to be required in the following declarations is now
+* When reporting useless rules, useless nonterminals, and unused terminals,
+ Bison now employs the terms "useless in grammar" instead of "useless",
+ "useless in parser" instead of "never reduced", and "unused in grammar"
+ instead of "unused".
+
+* Unreachable State Removal
+
+ Previously, Bison sometimes generated parser tables containing unreachable
+ states. A state can become unreachable during conflict resolution if Bison
+ disables a shift action leading to it from a predecessor state. Bison now:
+
+ 1. Removes unreachable states.
+
+ 2. Does not report any conflicts that appeared in unreachable states.
+ WARNING: As a result, you may need to update %expect and %expect-rr
+ directives in existing grammar files.
+
+ 3. For any rule used only in such states, Bison now reports the rule as
+ "useless in parser due to conflicts".
+
+ This feature can be disabled with the following directive:
+
+ %define lr.keep_unreachable_states
+
+ See the %define entry in the `Bison Declaration Summary' in the Bison manual
+ for further discussion.
+
+* Lookahead Set Correction in the `.output' Report
+
+ When instructed to generate a `.output' file including lookahead sets
+ (using `--report=lookahead', for example), Bison now prints each reduction's
+ lookahead set only next to the associated state's one item that (1) is
+ associated with the same rule as the reduction and (2) has its dot at the end
+ of its RHS. Previously, Bison also erroneously printed the lookahead set
+ next to all of the state's other items associated with the same rule. This
+ bug affected only the `.output' file and not the generated parser source
+ code.
+
+* --report-file=FILE is a new option to override the default `.output' file
+ name.
+
+* The `=' that used to be required in the following directives is now
deprecated:
%file-prefix "parser"
%name-prefix "c_"
%output "parser.c"
+* An Alternative to `%{...%}' -- `%code QUALIFIER {CODE}'
+
+ Bison 2.3a provided a new set of directives as a more flexible alternative to
+ the traditional Yacc prologue blocks. Those have now been consolidated into
+ a single %code directive with an optional qualifier field, which identifies
+ the purpose of the code and thus the location(s) where Bison should generate
+ it:
+
+ 1. `%code {CODE}' replaces `%after-header {CODE}'
+ 2. `%code requires {CODE}' replaces `%start-header {CODE}'
+ 3. `%code provides {CODE}' replaces `%end-header {CODE}'
+ 4. `%code top {CODE}' replaces `%before-header {CODE}'
+
+ See the %code entries in section `Bison Declaration Summary' in the Bison
+ manual for a summary of the new functionality. See the new section `Prologue
+ Alternatives' for a detailed discussion including the advantages of %code
+ over the traditional Yacc prologues.
+
+ The prologue alternatives are experimental. More user feedback will help to
+ determine whether they should become permanent features.
+
* Revised warning: unset or unused mid-rule values
Since Bison 2.2, Bison has warned about mid-rule values that are set but not
sometimes prove to be false alarms in existing grammars employing the Yacc
constructs $0 or $-N (where N is some positive integer).
- To enable these warnings, specify the flag `--warnings=midrule-values' or
+ To enable these warnings, specify the option `--warnings=midrule-values' or
`-W', which is a synonym for `--warnings=all'.
-* Bison now recognizes two separate kinds of default %destructor's and
+* Default %destructor or %printer with `<*>' or `<>'
+
+ Bison now recognizes two separate kinds of default %destructor's and
%printer's:
1. Place `<*>' in a %destructor/%printer symbol list to define a default
longer applies any %destructor to a mid-rule value if that mid-rule value is
not actually ever referenced using either $$ or $n in a semantic action.
+ The default %destructor's and %printer's are experimental. More user
+ feedback will help to determine whether they should become permanent
+ features.
+
See the section `Freeing Discarded Symbols' in the Bison manual for further
details.
-* The Yacc prologue alternatives from Bison 2.3a have been rewritten as the
- following directives:
-
- 1. %code {CODE}
+* %left, %right, and %nonassoc can now declare token numbers. This is required
+ by POSIX. However, see the end of section `Operator Precedence' in the Bison
+ manual for a caveat concerning the treatment of literal strings.
- Other than semantic actions, this is probably the most common place you
- should write verbatim code for the parser implementation. For C/C++, it
- replaces the traditional Yacc prologue, `%{CODE%}', for most purposes.
- For Java, it inserts your CODE into the parser class. Compare with:
-
- - `%{CODE%}' appearing after the first `%union {CODE}' in a C/C++
- based grammar file. While Bison will continue to support `%{CODE%}'
- for backward compatibility, `%code {CODE}' is cleaner as its
- functionality does not depend on its position in the grammar file
- relative to any `%union {CODE}'. Specifically, `%code {CODE}'
- always inserts your CODE into the parser code file after the usual
- contents of the parser header file.
- - `%after-header {CODE}', which only Bison 2.3a supported.
-
- 2. %requires {CODE}
-
- This is the right place to write dependency code for externally exposed
- definitions required by Bison. For C/C++, such exposed definitions are
- those usually appearing in the parser header file. Thus, this is the
- right place to define types referenced in `%union {CODE}' directives,
- and it is the right place to override Bison's default YYSTYPE and
- YYLTYPE definitions. For Java, this is the right place to write import
- directives. Compare with:
-
- - `%{CODE%}' appearing before the first `%union {CODE}' in a C/C++
- based grammar file. Unlike `%{CODE%}', `%requires {CODE}' inserts
- your CODE both into the parser code file and into the parser header
- file since Bison's required definitions should depend on it in both
- places.
- - `%start-header {CODE}', which only Bison 2.3a supported.
-
- 3. %provides {CODE}
-
- This is the right place to write additional definitions you would like
- Bison to expose externally. For C/C++, this directive inserts your CODE
- both into the parser header file and into the parser code file after
- Bison's required definitions. For Java, it inserts your CODE into the
- parser java file after the parser class. Compare with:
-
- - `%end-header {CODE}', which only Bison 2.3a supported.
-
- 4. %code-top {CODE}
-
- Occasionally for C/C++ it is desirable to insert code near the top of
- the parser code file. For example:
-
- %code-top {
- #define _GNU_SOURCE
- #include <stdio.h>
- }
-
- For Java, `%code-top {CODE}' is currently unused. Compare with:
-
- - `%{CODE%}' appearing before the first `%union {CODE}' in a C/C++
- based grammar file. `%code-top {CODE}' is cleaner as its
- functionality does not depend on its position in the grammar file
- relative to any `%union {CODE}'.
- - `%before-header {CODE}', which only Bison 2.3a supported.
-
- If you have multiple occurrences of any one of the above four directives,
- Bison will concatenate the contents in the order they appear in the grammar
- file.
-
- Also see the new section `Prologue Alternatives' in the Bison manual.
+* The nonfunctional --no-parser, -n, and %no-parser options have been
+ completely removed from Bison.
Changes in version 2.3a, 2006-09-13:
also prints its line number to `stdout'. It performs only the second
`%destructor' in this case, so it invokes `free' only once.
+ [Although we failed to mention this here in the 2.3a release, the default
+ %destructor's and %printer's were experimental, and they were rewritten in
+ future versions.]
+
* Except for LALR(1) parsers in C with POSIX Yacc emulation enabled (with `-y',
`--yacc', or `%yacc'), Bison no longer generates #define statements for
associating token numbers with token names. Removing the #define statements
If you have multiple occurrences of any one of the above declarations, Bison
will concatenate the contents in declaration order.
+ [Although we failed to mention this here in the 2.3a release, the prologue
+ alternatives were experimental, and they were rewritten in future versions.]
+
* The option `--report=look-ahead' has been changed to `--report=lookahead'.
The old spelling still works, but is not documented and may be removed
in a future release.
-----
Copyright (C) 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003,
-2004, 2005, 2006 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
+2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
This file is part of Bison, the GNU Compiler Compiler.
-Bison is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
+This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
-the Free Software Foundation; either version 2, or (at your option)
-any later version.
+the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+(at your option) any later version.
-Bison is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the
GNU General Public License for more details.
You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
-along with autoconf; see the file COPYING. If not, write to
-the Free Software Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor,
-Boston, MA 02110-1301, USA.
+along with this program. If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
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