@cindex @acronym{GLR} parsing
@cindex generalized @acronym{LR} (@acronym{GLR}) parsing
@cindex ambiguous grammars
-@cindex non-deterministic parsing
+@cindex nondeterministic parsing
Parsers for @acronym{LALR}(1) grammars are @dfn{deterministic}, meaning
roughly that the next grammar rule to apply at any point in the input is
(called a @dfn{look-ahead}) of the remaining input. A context-free
grammar can be @dfn{ambiguous}, meaning that there are multiple ways to
apply the grammar rules to get the same inputs. Even unambiguous
-grammars can be @dfn{non-deterministic}, meaning that no fixed
+grammars can be @dfn{nondeterministic}, meaning that no fixed
look-ahead always suffices to determine the next grammar rule to apply.
With the proper declarations, Bison is also able to parse these more
general context-free grammars, using a technique known as @acronym{GLR}
limited syntax above, transparently. In fact, the user does not even
notice when the parser splits.
-So here we have a case where we can use the benefits of @acronym{GLR}, almost
-without disadvantages. Even in simple cases like this, however, there
-are at least two potential problems to beware.
-First, always analyze the conflicts reported by
-Bison to make sure that @acronym{GLR} splitting is only done where it is
-intended. A @acronym{GLR} parser splitting inadvertently may cause
-problems less obvious than an @acronym{LALR} parser statically choosing the
-wrong alternative in a conflict.
-Second, consider interactions with the lexer (@pxref{Semantic Tokens})
-with great care. Since a split parser consumes tokens
-without performing any actions during the split, the lexer cannot
-obtain information via parser actions. Some cases of
-lexer interactions can be eliminated by using @acronym{GLR} to
-shift the complications from the lexer to the parser. You must check
-the remaining cases for correctness.
-
-In our example, it would be safe for the lexer to return tokens
-based on their current meanings in some symbol table, because no new
-symbols are defined in the middle of a type declaration. Though it
-is possible for a parser to define the enumeration
-constants as they are parsed, before the type declaration is
-completed, it actually makes no difference since they cannot be used
-within the same enumerated type declaration.
+So here we have a case where we can use the benefits of @acronym{GLR},
+almost without disadvantages. Even in simple cases like this, however,
+there are at least two potential problems to beware. First, always
+analyze the conflicts reported by Bison to make sure that @acronym{GLR}
+splitting is only done where it is intended. A @acronym{GLR} parser
+splitting inadvertently may cause problems less obvious than an
+@acronym{LALR} parser statically choosing the wrong alternative in a
+conflict. Second, consider interactions with the lexer (@pxref{Semantic
+Tokens}) with great care. Since a split parser consumes tokens without
+performing any actions during the split, the lexer cannot obtain
+information via parser actions. Some cases of lexer interactions can be
+eliminated by using @acronym{GLR} to shift the complications from the
+lexer to the parser. You must check the remaining cases for
+correctness.
+
+In our example, it would be safe for the lexer to return tokens based on
+their current meanings in some symbol table, because no new symbols are
+defined in the middle of a type declaration. Though it is possible for
+a parser to define the enumeration constants as they are parsed, before
+the type declaration is completed, it actually makes no difference since
+they cannot be used within the same enumerated type declaration.
@node Merging GLR Parses
@subsection Using @acronym{GLR} to Resolve Ambiguities
It is easy to add new operators to the infix calculator as long as they are
only single-character literals. The lexical analyzer @code{yylex} passes
-back all nonnumber characters as tokens, so new grammar rules suffice for
+back all nonnumeric characters as tokens, so new grammar rules suffice for
adding a new operator. But we want something more flexible: built-in
functions whose syntax has this form:
The function @code{yylex} must now recognize variables, numeric values, and
the single-character arithmetic operators. Strings of alphanumeric
-characters with a leading non-digit are recognized as either variables or
+characters with a leading letter are recognized as either variables or
functions depending on what the symbol table says about them.
The string is passed to @code{getsym} for look up in the symbol table. If
@cindex Prologue
@cindex declarations
-The @var{Prologue} section contains macro definitions and
-declarations of functions and variables that are used in the actions in the
-grammar rules. These are copied to the beginning of the parser file so
-that they precede the definition of @code{yyparse}. You can use
-@samp{#include} to get the declarations from a header file. If you don't
-need any C declarations, you may omit the @samp{%@{} and @samp{%@}}
-delimiters that bracket this section.
+The @var{Prologue} section contains macro definitions and declarations
+of functions and variables that are used in the actions in the grammar
+rules. These are copied to the beginning of the parser file so that
+they precede the definition of @code{yyparse}. You can use
+@samp{#include} to get the declarations from a header file. If you
+don't need any C declarations, you may omit the @samp{%@{} and
+@samp{%@}} delimiters that bracket this section.
You may have more than one @var{Prologue} section, intermixed with the
@var{Bison declarations}. This allows you to have C and Bison
If the last section is empty, you may omit the @samp{%%} that separates it
from the grammar rules.
-The Bison parser itself contains many macros and identifiers whose
-names start with @samp{yy} or @samp{YY}, so it is a
-good idea to avoid using any such names (except those documented in this
-manual) in the epilogue of the grammar file.
+The Bison parser itself contains many macros and identifiers whose names
+start with @samp{yy} or @samp{YY}, so it is a good idea to avoid using
+any such names (except those documented in this manual) in the epilogue
+of the grammar file.
@node Symbols
@section Symbols, Terminal and Nonterminal
class of syntactically equivalent tokens. You use the symbol in grammar
rules to mean that a token in that class is allowed. The symbol is
represented in the Bison parser by a numeric code, and the @code{yylex}
-function returns a token type code to indicate what kind of token has been
-read. You don't need to know what the code value is; you can use the
-symbol to stand for it.
+function returns a token type code to indicate what kind of token has
+been read. You don't need to know what the code value is; you can use
+the symbol to stand for it.
-A @dfn{nonterminal symbol} stands for a class of syntactically equivalent
-groupings. The symbol name is used in writing grammar rules. By convention,
-it should be all lower case.
+A @dfn{nonterminal symbol} stands for a class of syntactically
+equivalent groupings. The symbol name is used in writing grammar rules.
+By convention, it should be all lower case.
Symbol names can contain letters, digits (not at the beginning),
underscores and periods. Periods make sense only in nonterminals.
in the other source files that need it. @xref{Invocation, ,Invoking Bison}.
If you want to write a grammar that is portable to any Standard C
-host, you must use only non-null character tokens taken from the basic
+host, you must use only nonnull character tokens taken from the basic
execution character set of Standard C@. This set consists of the ten
digits, the 52 lower- and upper-case English letters, and the
characters in the following C-language string:
"\a\b\t\n\v\f\r !\"#%&'()*+,-./:;<=>?[\\]^_@{|@}~"
@end example
-The @code{yylex} function and Bison must use a consistent character
-set and encoding for character tokens. For example, if you run Bison in an
-@acronym{ASCII} environment, but then compile and run the resulting program
-in an environment that uses an incompatible character set like
-@acronym{EBCDIC}, the resulting program may not work because the
-tables generated by Bison will assume @acronym{ASCII} numeric values for
-character tokens. It is standard
-practice for software distributions to contain C source files that
-were generated by Bison in an @acronym{ASCII} environment, so installers on
-platforms that are incompatible with @acronym{ASCII} must rebuild those
-files before compiling them.
+The @code{yylex} function and Bison must use a consistent character set
+and encoding for character tokens. For example, if you run Bison in an
+@acronym{ASCII} environment, but then compile and run the resulting
+program in an environment that uses an incompatible character set like
+@acronym{EBCDIC}, the resulting program may not work because the tables
+generated by Bison will assume @acronym{ASCII} numeric values for
+character tokens. It is standard practice for software distributions to
+contain C source files that were generated by Bison in an
+@acronym{ASCII} environment, so installers on platforms that are
+incompatible with @acronym{ASCII} must rebuild those files before
+compiling them.
The symbol @code{error} is a terminal symbol reserved for error recovery
(@pxref{Error Recovery}); you shouldn't use it for any other purpose.
@section Recursive Rules
@cindex recursive rule
-A rule is called @dfn{recursive} when its @var{result} nonterminal appears
-also on its right hand side. Nearly all Bison grammars need to use
-recursion, because that is the only way to define a sequence of any number
-of a particular thing. Consider this recursive definition of a
+A rule is called @dfn{recursive} when its @var{result} nonterminal
+appears also on its right hand side. Nearly all Bison grammars need to
+use recursion, because that is the only way to define a sequence of any
+number of a particular thing. Consider this recursive definition of a
comma-separated sequence of one or more expressions:
@example
In most programs, you will need different data types for different kinds
of tokens and groupings. For example, a numeric constant may need type
-@code{int} or @code{long int}, while a string constant needs type @code{char *},
-and an identifier might need a pointer to an entry in the symbol table.
+@code{int} or @code{long int}, while a string constant needs type
+@code{char *}, and an identifier might need a pointer to an entry in the
+symbol table.
To use more than one data type for semantic values in one parser, Bison
requires you to do two things:
@cindex freeing discarded symbols
@findex %destructor
-Some symbols can be discarded by the parser. During error recovery
-(@pxref{Error Recovery}), symbols already pushed on the stack and tokens
-coming from the rest of the file are discarded until the parser falls on
-its feet. If the parser runs out of memory, all the symbols on the
-stack must be discarded. Even if the parser succeeds, it must discard
-the start symbol.
+During error recovery (@pxref{Error Recovery}), symbols already pushed
+on the stack and tokens coming from the rest of the file are discarded
+until the parser falls on its feet. If the parser runs out of memory,
+or if it returns via @code{YYABORT} or @code{YYACCEPT}, all the
+symbols on the stack must be discarded. Even if the parser succeeds, it
+must discard the start symbol.
When discarded symbols convey heap based information, this memory is
lost. While this behavior can be tolerable for batch parsers, such as
in traditional compilers, it is unacceptable for programs like shells or
protocol implementations that may parse and execute indefinitely.
-The @code{%destructor} directive defines code that
-is called when a symbol is discarded.
+The @code{%destructor} directive defines code that is called when a
+symbol is automatically discarded.
@deffn {Directive} %destructor @{ @var{code} @} @var{symbols}
@findex %destructor
with the discarded symbol. The additional parser parameters are also
available (@pxref{Parser Function, , The Parser Function
@code{yyparse}}).
-
-@strong{Warning:} as of Bison 2.1, this feature is still
-experimental, as there has not been enough user feedback. In particular,
-the syntax might still change.
@end deffn
For instance:
guarantees that when a @code{STRING} or a @code{string} is discarded,
its associated memory will be freed.
-Note that in the future, Bison might also consider that right hand side
-members that are not mentioned in the action can be destroyed. For
-instance, in:
-
-@smallexample
-comment: "/*" STRING "*/";
-@end smallexample
-
-@noindent
-the parser is entitled to destroy the semantic value of the
-@code{string}. Of course, this will not apply to the default action;
-compare:
-
-@smallexample
-typeless: string; // $$ = $1 does not apply; $1 is destroyed.
-typefull: string; // $$ = $1 applies, $1 is not destroyed.
-@end smallexample
-
@sp 1
@cindex discarded symbols
@item
incoming terminals during the second phase of error recovery,
@item
-the current look-ahead and the entire stack when the parser aborts
-(either via an explicit call to @code{YYABORT}, or as a consequence of
-a failed error recovery or of memory exhaustion), and
+the current look-ahead and the entire stack (except the current
+right-hand side symbols) when the parser returns immediately, and
@item
the start symbol, when the parser succeeds.
@end itemize
+The parser can @dfn{return immediately} because of an explicit call to
+@code{YYABORT} or @code{YYACCEPT}, or failed error recovery, or memory
+exhaustion.
+
+Right-hand size symbols of a rule that explicitly triggers a syntax
+error via @code{YYERROR} are not discarded automatically. As a rule
+of thumb, destructors are invoked only when user actions cannot manage
+the memory.
@node Expect Decl
@subsection Suppressing Conflict Warnings
A @dfn{reentrant} program is one which does not alter in the course of
execution; in other words, it consists entirely of @dfn{pure} (read-only)
code. Reentrancy is important whenever asynchronous execution is possible;
-for example, a non-reentrant program may not be safe to call from a signal
-handler. In systems with multiple threads of control, a non-reentrant
+for example, a nonreentrant program may not be safe to call from a signal
+handler. In systems with multiple threads of control, a nonreentrant
program must be called only within interlocks.
Normally, Bison generates a parser which is not reentrant. This is
Unless @code{YYSTYPE} is already defined as a macro, the output header
declares @code{YYSTYPE}. Therefore, if you are using a @code{%union}
-(@pxref{Multiple Types, ,More Than One Value Type}) with components
-that require other definitions, or if you have defined a
-@code{YYSTYPE} macro (@pxref{Value Type, ,Data Types of Semantic
-Values}), you need to arrange for these definitions to be propagated to
-all modules, e.g., by putting them in a
-prerequisite header that is included both by your parser and by any
-other module that needs @code{YYSTYPE}.
+(@pxref{Multiple Types, ,More Than One Value Type}) with components that
+require other definitions, or if you have defined a @code{YYSTYPE} macro
+(@pxref{Value Type, ,Data Types of Semantic Values}), you need to
+arrange for these definitions to be propagated to all modules, e.g., by
+putting them in a prerequisite header that is included both by your
+parser and by any other module that needs @code{YYSTYPE}.
Unless your parser is pure, the output header declares @code{yylval}
as an external variable. @xref{Pure Decl, ,A Pure (Reentrant)
@code{YYSTYPE} and @code{yylval}. @xref{Locations, ,Tracking
Locations}.
-This output file is normally essential if you wish to put the
-definition of @code{yylex} in a separate source file, because
-@code{yylex} typically needs to be able to refer to the
-above-mentioned declarations and to the token type codes.
-@xref{Token Values, ,Semantic Values of Tokens}.
+This output file is normally essential if you wish to put the definition
+of @code{yylex} in a separate source file, because @code{yylex}
+typically needs to be able to refer to the above-mentioned declarations
+and to the token type codes. @xref{Token Values, ,Semantic Values of
+Tokens}.
@end deffn
@deffn {Directive} %destructor
@subsection Semantic Values of Tokens
@vindex yylval
-In an ordinary (non-reentrant) parser, the semantic value of the token must
+In an ordinary (nonreentrant) parser, the semantic value of the token must
be stored into the global variable @code{yylval}. When you are using
just one data type for semantic values, @code{yylval} has that type.
Thus, if the type is @code{int} (the default), you might write this in
@vindex yylloc
If you are using the @samp{@@@var{n}}-feature (@pxref{Locations, ,
-Tracking Locations}) in actions to keep track of the
-textual locations of tokens and groupings, then you must provide this
-information in @code{yylex}. The function @code{yyparse} expects to
-find the textual location of a token just parsed in the global variable
-@code{yylloc}. So @code{yylex} must store the proper data in that
-variable.
+Tracking Locations}) in actions to keep track of the textual locations
+of tokens and groupings, then you must provide this information in
+@code{yylex}. The function @code{yyparse} expects to find the textual
+location of a token just parsed in the global variable @code{yylloc}.
+So @code{yylex} must store the proper data in that variable.
By default, the value of @code{yylloc} is a structure and you need only
initialize the members that are going to be used by the actions. The
A Bison-generated parser can print diagnostics, including error and
tracing messages. By default, they appear in English. However, Bison
-also supports outputting diagnostics in the user's native language.
-To make this work, the user should set the usual environment
-variables. @xref{Users, , The User's View, gettext, GNU
-@code{gettext} utilities}. For
-example, the shell command @samp{export LC_ALL=fr_CA.UTF-8} might set
-the user's locale to French Canadian using the @acronym{UTF}-8
+also supports outputting diagnostics in the user's native language. To
+make this work, the user should set the usual environment variables.
+@xref{Users, , The User's View, gettext, GNU @code{gettext} utilities}.
+For example, the shell command @samp{export LC_ALL=fr_CA.UTF-8} might
+set the user's locale to French Canadian using the @acronym{UTF}-8
encoding. The exact set of available locales depends on the user's
installation.
@cindex @acronym{GLR} parsing
@cindex generalized @acronym{LR} (@acronym{GLR}) parsing
@cindex ambiguous grammars
-@cindex non-deterministic parsing
+@cindex nondeterministic parsing
Bison produces @emph{deterministic} parsers that choose uniquely
when to reduce and which reduction to apply
context-free grammar in cubic worst-case time. However, Bison currently
uses a simpler data structure that requires time proportional to the
length of the input times the maximum number of stacks required for any
-prefix of the input. Thus, really ambiguous or non-deterministic
+prefix of the input. Thus, really ambiguous or nondeterministic
grammars can require exponential time and space to process. Such badly
behaving examples, however, are not generally of practical interest.
-Usually, non-determinism in a grammar is local---the parser is ``in
+Usually, nondeterminism in a grammar is local---the parser is ``in
doubt'' only for a few tokens at a time. Therefore, the current data
structure should generally be adequate. On @acronym{LALR}(1) portions of a
grammar, in particular, it is only slightly slower than with the default
declare and define the parser class in the namespace @code{yy}. The
class name defaults to @code{parser}, but may be changed using
@samp{%define "parser_class_name" "@var{name}"}. The interface of
-this class is detailled below. It can be extended using the
+this class is detailed below. It can be extended using the
@code{%parse-param} feature: its semantics is slightly changed since
it describes an additional member of the parser class, and an
additional argument for its constructor.
@deftypemethod {parser} {debug_level_type} debug_level ()
@deftypemethodx {parser} {void} set_debug_level (debug_level @var{l})
Get or set the tracing level. Currently its value is either 0, no trace,
-or non-zero, full tracing.
+or nonzero, full tracing.
@end deftypemethod
@deftypemethod {parser} {void} error (const location_type& @var{l}, const std::string& @var{m})
@subsection Calc++ --- C++ Calculator
Of course the grammar is dedicated to arithmetics, a single
-expression, possibily preceded by variable assignments. An
+expression, possibly preceded by variable assignments. An
environment containing possibly predefined variables such as
@code{one} and @code{two}, is exchanged with the parser. An example
of valid input follows.
unit: assignments exp @{ driver.result = $2; @};
assignments: assignments assignment @{@}
- | /* Nothing. */ @{@};
+ | /* Nothing. */ @{@};
assignment: "identifier" ":=" exp @{ driver.variables[*$1] = $3; @};
@end example
@noindent
-The following paragraph suffices to track locations acurately. Each
+The following paragraph suffices to track locations accurately. Each
time @code{yylex} is invoked, the begin position is moved onto the end
position. Then when a pattern is matched, the end position is
advanced of its width. In case it matched ends of lines, the end
The rules are simple, just note the use of the driver to report errors.
It is convenient to use a typedef to shorten
@code{yy::calcxx_parser::token::identifier} into
-@code{token::identifier} for isntance.
+@code{token::identifier} for instance.
@comment file: calc++-scanner.ll
@example
@end deffn
@deffn {Directive} %nonassoc
-Bison declaration to assign non-associativity to token(s).
+Bison declaration to assign nonassociativity to token(s).
@xref{Precedence Decl, ,Operator Precedence}.
@end deffn
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