@cindex freeing discarded symbols
@findex %destructor
-Some symbols can be discarded by the parser. For instance, during error
-recovery (@pxref{Error Recovery}), embarrassing symbols already pushed
-on the stack, and embarrassing tokens coming from the rest of the file
-are thrown away until the parser falls on its feet. If these symbols
-convey heap based information, this memory is lost. While this behavior
-can be tolerable for batch parsers, such as in compilers, it is not for
-possibly ``never ending'' parsers such as shells, or implementations of
-communication protocols.
-
-The @code{%destructor} directive allows for the definition of code that
-is called when a symbol is thrown away.
+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.
+
+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.
@deffn {Directive} %destructor @{ @var{code} @} @var{symbols}
@findex %destructor
-Declare that the @var{code} must be invoked for each of the
-@var{symbols} that will be discarded by the parser. The @var{code}
-should use @code{$$} to designate the semantic value associated to the
-@var{symbols}. The additional parser parameters are also available
+Invoke @var{code} whenever the parser discards one of the
+@var{symbols}. Within @var{code}, @code{$$} designates the semantic
+value associated with the discarded symbol. The additional
+parser parameters are also available
(@pxref{Parser Function, , The Parser Function @code{yyparse}}).
-@strong{Warning:} as of Bison 1.875, this feature is still considered as
-experimental, as there was not enough user feedback. In particular,
+@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
@end smallexample
@noindent
-guarantees that when a @code{STRING} or a @code{string} will be discarded,
+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
@item
incoming terminals during the second phase of error recovery,
@item
-the current look-ahead when the parser aborts (either via an explicit
-call to @code{YYABORT}, or as a consequence of a failed error recovery).
+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
+@item
+the start symbol, when the parser succeeds.
@end itemize
@end deffn
@deffn {Directive} %destructor
-Specifying how the parser should reclaim the memory associated to
+Specify how the parser should reclaim the memory associated to
discarded symbols. @xref{Destructor Decl, , Freeing Discarded Symbols}.
@end deffn
@code{"error"}, and @code{"$undefined"}; after these come the symbols
defined in the grammar file.
-For single-character literal tokens and literal string tokens, the name
-in the table includes the single-quote or double-quote characters: for
-example, @code{"'+'"} is a single-character literal and @code{"\"<=\""}
-is a literal string token. All the characters of the literal string
-token appear verbatim in the string found in the table; even
-double-quote characters are not escaped. For example, if the token
-consists of three characters @samp{*"*}, its string in @code{yytname}
-contains @samp{"*"*"}. (In C, that would be written as
-@code{"\"*\"*\""}).
+The name in the table includes all the characters needed to represent
+the token in Bison. For single-character literals and literal
+strings, this includes the surrounding quoting characters and any
+escape sequences. For example, the Bison single-character literal
+@code{'+'} corresponds to a three-character name, represented in C as
+@code{"'+'"}; and the Bison two-character literal string @code{"\\/"}
+corresponds to a five-character name, represented in C as
+@code{"\"\\\\/\""}.
When you specify @code{%token-table}, Bison also generates macro
definitions for macros @code{YYNTOKENS}, @code{YYNNTS}, and
table. The index of the token in the table is the token type's code.
The name of a multicharacter token is recorded in @code{yytname} with a
double-quote, the token's characters, and another double-quote. The
-token's characters are not escaped in any way; they appear verbatim in
-the contents of the string in the table.
+token's characters are escaped as necessary to be suitable as input
+to Bison.
-Here's code for looking up a token in @code{yytname}, assuming that the
-characters of the token are stored in @code{token_buffer}.
+Here's code for looking up a multicharacter token in @code{yytname},
+assuming that the characters of the token are stored in
+@code{token_buffer}, and assuming that the token does not contain any
+characters like @samp{"} that require escaping.
@smallexample
for (i = 0; i < YYNTOKENS; i++)
@end deffn
@deffn {Directive} %destructor
-Specifying how the parser should reclaim the memory associated to
+Specify how the parser should reclaim the memory associated to
discarded symbols. @xref{Destructor Decl, , Freeing Discarded Symbols}.
@end deffn
projects / bison.git / blobdiff