@value{VERSION}), the @acronym{GNU} parser generator.
Copyright @copyright{} 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1998,
-1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 Free Software
-Foundation, Inc.
+1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 Free
+Software Foundation, Inc.
@quotation
Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
@menu
* Introduction::
* Conditions::
-* Copying:: The @acronym{GNU} General Public License says
- how you can copy and share Bison
+* Copying:: The @acronym{GNU} General Public License says
+ how you can copy and share Bison.
Tutorial sections:
-* Concepts:: Basic concepts for understanding Bison.
-* Examples:: Three simple explained examples of using Bison.
+* Concepts:: Basic concepts for understanding Bison.
+* Examples:: Three simple explained examples of using Bison.
Reference sections:
-* Grammar File:: Writing Bison declarations and rules.
-* Interface:: C-language interface to the parser function @code{yyparse}.
-* Algorithm:: How the Bison parser works at run-time.
-* Error Recovery:: Writing rules for error recovery.
+* Grammar File:: Writing Bison declarations and rules.
+* Interface:: C-language interface to the parser function @code{yyparse}.
+* Algorithm:: How the Bison parser works at run-time.
+* Error Recovery:: Writing rules for error recovery.
* Context Dependency:: What to do if your language syntax is too
- messy for Bison to handle straightforwardly.
-* Debugging:: Understanding or debugging Bison parsers.
-* Invocation:: How to run Bison (to produce the parser source file).
-* Other Languages:: Creating C++ and Java parsers.
-* FAQ:: Frequently Asked Questions
-* Table of Symbols:: All the keywords of the Bison language are explained.
-* Glossary:: Basic concepts are explained.
-* Copying This Manual:: License for copying this manual.
-* Index:: Cross-references to the text.
+ messy for Bison to handle straightforwardly.
+* Debugging:: Understanding or debugging Bison parsers.
+* Invocation:: How to run Bison (to produce the parser source file).
+* Other Languages:: Creating C++ and Java parsers.
+* FAQ:: Frequently Asked Questions
+* Table of Symbols:: All the keywords of the Bison language are explained.
+* Glossary:: Basic concepts are explained.
+* Copying This Manual:: License for copying this manual.
+* Index:: Cross-references to the text.
@detailmenu
--- The Detailed Node Listing ---
The Concepts of Bison
-* Language and Grammar:: Languages and context-free grammars,
- as mathematical ideas.
-* Grammar in Bison:: How we represent grammars for Bison's sake.
-* Semantic Values:: Each token or syntactic grouping can have
- a semantic value (the value of an integer,
- the name of an identifier, etc.).
-* Semantic Actions:: Each rule can have an action containing C code.
-* GLR Parsers:: Writing parsers for general context-free languages.
-* Locations Overview:: Tracking Locations.
-* Bison Parser:: What are Bison's input and output,
- how is the output used?
-* Stages:: Stages in writing and running Bison grammars.
-* Grammar Layout:: Overall structure of a Bison grammar file.
+* Language and Grammar:: Languages and context-free grammars,
+ as mathematical ideas.
+* Grammar in Bison:: How we represent grammars for Bison's sake.
+* Semantic Values:: Each token or syntactic grouping can have
+ a semantic value (the value of an integer,
+ the name of an identifier, etc.).
+* Semantic Actions:: Each rule can have an action containing C code.
+* GLR Parsers:: Writing parsers for general context-free languages.
+* Locations Overview:: Tracking Locations.
+* Bison Parser:: What are Bison's input and output,
+ how is the output used?
+* Stages:: Stages in writing and running Bison grammars.
+* Grammar Layout:: Overall structure of a Bison grammar file.
Writing @acronym{GLR} Parsers
-* Simple GLR Parsers:: Using @acronym{GLR} parsers on unambiguous grammars.
-* Merging GLR Parses:: Using @acronym{GLR} parsers to resolve ambiguities.
-* GLR Semantic Actions:: Deferred semantic actions have special concerns.
-* Compiler Requirements:: @acronym{GLR} parsers require a modern C compiler.
+* Simple GLR Parsers:: Using @acronym{GLR} parsers on unambiguous grammars.
+* Merging GLR Parses:: Using @acronym{GLR} parsers to resolve ambiguities.
+* GLR Semantic Actions:: Deferred semantic actions have special concerns.
+* Compiler Requirements:: @acronym{GLR} parsers require a modern C compiler.
Examples
-* RPN Calc:: Reverse polish notation calculator;
- a first example with no operator precedence.
-* Infix Calc:: Infix (algebraic) notation calculator.
- Operator precedence is introduced.
+* RPN Calc:: Reverse polish notation calculator;
+ a first example with no operator precedence.
+* Infix Calc:: Infix (algebraic) notation calculator.
+ Operator precedence is introduced.
* Simple Error Recovery:: Continuing after syntax errors.
* Location Tracking Calc:: Demonstrating the use of @@@var{n} and @@$.
-* Multi-function Calc:: Calculator with memory and trig functions.
- It uses multiple data-types for semantic values.
-* Exercises:: Ideas for improving the multi-function calculator.
+* Multi-function Calc:: Calculator with memory and trig functions.
+ It uses multiple data-types for semantic values.
+* Exercises:: Ideas for improving the multi-function calculator.
Reverse Polish Notation Calculator
-* Decls: Rpcalc Decls. Prologue (declarations) for rpcalc.
-* Rules: Rpcalc Rules. Grammar Rules for rpcalc, with explanation.
-* Lexer: Rpcalc Lexer. The lexical analyzer.
-* Main: Rpcalc Main. The controlling function.
-* Error: Rpcalc Error. The error reporting function.
-* Gen: Rpcalc Gen. Running Bison on the grammar file.
-* Comp: Rpcalc Compile. Run the C compiler on the output code.
+* Rpcalc Declarations:: Prologue (declarations) for rpcalc.
+* Rpcalc Rules:: Grammar Rules for rpcalc, with explanation.
+* Rpcalc Lexer:: The lexical analyzer.
+* Rpcalc Main:: The controlling function.
+* Rpcalc Error:: The error reporting function.
+* Rpcalc Generate:: Running Bison on the grammar file.
+* Rpcalc Compile:: Run the C compiler on the output code.
Grammar Rules for @code{rpcalc}
Location Tracking Calculator: @code{ltcalc}
-* Decls: Ltcalc Decls. Bison and C declarations for ltcalc.
-* Rules: Ltcalc Rules. Grammar rules for ltcalc, with explanations.
-* Lexer: Ltcalc Lexer. The lexical analyzer.
+* Ltcalc Declarations:: Bison and C declarations for ltcalc.
+* Ltcalc Rules:: Grammar rules for ltcalc, with explanations.
+* Ltcalc Lexer:: The lexical analyzer.
Multi-Function Calculator: @code{mfcalc}
-* Decl: Mfcalc Decl. Bison declarations for multi-function calculator.
-* Rules: Mfcalc Rules. Grammar rules for the calculator.
-* Symtab: Mfcalc Symtab. Symbol table management subroutines.
+* Mfcalc Declarations:: Bison declarations for multi-function calculator.
+* Mfcalc Rules:: Grammar rules for the calculator.
+* Mfcalc Symbol Table:: Symbol table management subroutines.
Bison Grammar Files
Outline of a Bison Grammar
-* Prologue:: Syntax and usage of the prologue.
+* Prologue:: Syntax and usage of the prologue.
* Prologue Alternatives:: Syntax and usage of alternatives to the prologue.
-* Bison Declarations:: Syntax and usage of the Bison declarations section.
-* Grammar Rules:: Syntax and usage of the grammar rules section.
-* Epilogue:: Syntax and usage of the epilogue.
+* Bison Declarations:: Syntax and usage of the Bison declarations section.
+* Grammar Rules:: Syntax and usage of the grammar rules section.
+* Epilogue:: Syntax and usage of the epilogue.
Defining Language Semantics
Parser C-Language Interface
-* Parser Function:: How to call @code{yyparse} and what it returns.
-* Lexical:: You must supply a function @code{yylex}
- which reads tokens.
-* Error Reporting:: You must supply a function @code{yyerror}.
-* Action Features:: Special features for use in actions.
-* Internationalization:: How to let the parser speak in the user's
- native language.
+* Parser Function:: How to call @code{yyparse} and what it returns.
+* Push Parser Function:: How to call @code{yypush_parse} and what it returns.
+* Pull Parser Function:: How to call @code{yypull_parse} and what it returns.
+* Parser Create Function:: How to call @code{yypstate_new} and what it returns.
+* Parser Delete Function:: How to call @code{yypstate_delete} and what it returns.
+* Lexical:: You must supply a function @code{yylex}
+ which reads tokens.
+* Error Reporting:: You must supply a function @code{yyerror}.
+* Action Features:: Special features for use in actions.
+* Internationalization:: How to let the parser speak in the user's
+ native language.
The Lexical Analyzer Function @code{yylex}
* Calling Convention:: How @code{yyparse} calls @code{yylex}.
-* Token Values:: How @code{yylex} must return the semantic value
- of the token it has read.
-* Token Locations:: How @code{yylex} must return the text location
- (line number, etc.) of the token, if the
- actions want that.
-* Pure Calling:: How the calling convention differs
- in a pure parser (@pxref{Pure Decl, ,A Pure (Reentrant) Parser}).
+* Token Values:: How @code{yylex} must return the semantic value
+ of the token it has read.
+* Token Locations:: How @code{yylex} must return the text location
+ (line number, etc.) of the token, if the
+ actions want that.
+* Pure Calling:: How the calling convention differs in a pure parser
+ (@pxref{Pure Decl, ,A Pure (Reentrant) Parser}).
The Bison Parser Algorithm
* Contextual Precedence:: When an operator's precedence depends on context.
* Parser States:: The parser is a finite-state-machine with stack.
* Reduce/Reduce:: When two rules are applicable in the same situation.
-* Mystery Conflicts:: Reduce/reduce conflicts that look unjustified.
+* Mystery Conflicts:: Reduce/reduce conflicts that look unjustified.
* Generalized LR Parsing:: Parsing arbitrary context-free grammars.
* Memory Management:: What happens when memory is exhausted. How to avoid it.
Operator Precedence
* Why Precedence:: An example showing why precedence is needed.
-* Using Precedence:: How to specify precedence in Bison grammars.
+* Using Precedence:: How to specify precedence and associativity.
+* Precedence Only:: How to specify precedence only.
* Precedence Examples:: How these features are used in the previous example.
* How Precedence:: How they work.
Java Parsers
-* Java Bison Interface:: Asking for Java parser generation
-* Java Semantic Values:: %type and %token vs. Java
-* Java Location Values:: The position and location classes
-* Java Parser Interface:: Instantiating and running the parser
-* Java Scanner Interface:: Specifying the scanner for the parser
-* Java Action Features:: Special features for use in actions.
-* Java Differences:: Differences between C/C++ and Java Grammars
-* Java Declarations Summary:: List of Bison declarations used with Java
+* Java Bison Interface:: Asking for Java parser generation
+* Java Semantic Values:: %type and %token vs. Java
+* Java Location Values:: The position and location classes
+* Java Parser Interface:: Instantiating and running the parser
+* Java Scanner Interface:: Specifying the scanner for the parser
+* Java Action Features:: Special features for use in actions
+* Java Differences:: Differences between C/C++ and Java Grammars
+* Java Declarations Summary:: List of Bison declarations used with Java
Frequently Asked Questions
-* Memory Exhausted:: Breaking the Stack Limits
-* How Can I Reset the Parser:: @code{yyparse} Keeps some State
-* Strings are Destroyed:: @code{yylval} Loses Track of Strings
-* Implementing Gotos/Loops:: Control Flow in the Calculator
-* Multiple start-symbols:: Factoring closely related grammars
-* Secure? Conform?:: Is Bison @acronym{POSIX} safe?
-* I can't build Bison:: Troubleshooting
-* Where can I find help?:: Troubleshouting
-* Bug Reports:: Troublereporting
-* Other Languages:: Parsers in Java and others
-* Beta Testing:: Experimenting development versions
-* Mailing Lists:: Meeting other Bison users
+* Memory Exhausted:: Breaking the Stack Limits
+* How Can I Reset the Parser:: @code{yyparse} Keeps some State
+* Strings are Destroyed:: @code{yylval} Loses Track of Strings
+* Implementing Gotos/Loops:: Control Flow in the Calculator
+* Multiple start-symbols:: Factoring closely related grammars
+* Secure? Conform?:: Is Bison @acronym{POSIX} safe?
+* I can't build Bison:: Troubleshooting
+* Where can I find help?:: Troubleshouting
+* Bug Reports:: Troublereporting
+* More Languages:: Parsers in C++, Java, and so on
+* Beta Testing:: Experimenting development versions
+* Mailing Lists:: Meeting other Bison users
Copying This Manual
-* Copying This Manual:: License for copying this manual.
+* Copying This Manual:: License for copying this manual.
@end detailmenu
@end menu
@cindex introduction
@dfn{Bison} is a general-purpose parser generator that converts an
-annotated context-free grammar into an @acronym{LALR}(1) or
-@acronym{GLR} parser for that grammar. Once you are proficient with
-Bison, you can use it to develop a wide range of language parsers, from those
-used in simple desk calculators to complex programming languages.
+annotated context-free grammar into a deterministic or @acronym{GLR}
+parser employing @acronym{LALR}(1), @acronym{IELR}(1), or canonical
+@acronym{LR}(1) parser tables.
+Once you are proficient with Bison, you can use it to develop a wide
+range of language parsers, from those used in simple desk calculators to
+complex programming languages.
Bison is upward compatible with Yacc: all properly-written Yacc grammars
ought to work with Bison with no change. Anyone familiar with Yacc
use Bison or Yacc, we suggest you start by reading this chapter carefully.
@menu
-* Language and Grammar:: Languages and context-free grammars,
- as mathematical ideas.
-* Grammar in Bison:: How we represent grammars for Bison's sake.
-* Semantic Values:: Each token or syntactic grouping can have
- a semantic value (the value of an integer,
- the name of an identifier, etc.).
-* Semantic Actions:: Each rule can have an action containing C code.
-* GLR Parsers:: Writing parsers for general context-free languages.
-* Locations Overview:: Tracking Locations.
-* Bison Parser:: What are Bison's input and output,
- how is the output used?
-* Stages:: Stages in writing and running Bison grammars.
-* Grammar Layout:: Overall structure of a Bison grammar file.
+* Language and Grammar:: Languages and context-free grammars,
+ as mathematical ideas.
+* Grammar in Bison:: How we represent grammars for Bison's sake.
+* Semantic Values:: Each token or syntactic grouping can have
+ a semantic value (the value of an integer,
+ the name of an identifier, etc.).
+* Semantic Actions:: Each rule can have an action containing C code.
+* GLR Parsers:: Writing parsers for general context-free languages.
+* Locations Overview:: Tracking Locations.
+* Bison Parser:: What are Bison's input and output,
+ how is the output used?
+* Stages:: Stages in writing and running Bison grammars.
+* Grammar Layout:: Overall structure of a Bison grammar file.
@end menu
@node Language and Grammar
essentially machine-readable @acronym{BNF}.
@cindex @acronym{LALR}(1) grammars
+@cindex @acronym{IELR}(1) grammars
@cindex @acronym{LR}(1) grammars
-There are various important subclasses of context-free grammar. Although it
-can handle almost all context-free grammars, Bison is optimized for what
-are called @acronym{LALR}(1) grammars.
-In brief, in these grammars, it must be possible to
-tell how to parse any portion of an input string with just a single
-token of lookahead. Strictly speaking, that is a description of an
-@acronym{LR}(1) grammar, and @acronym{LALR}(1) involves additional
-restrictions that are
-hard to explain simply; but it is rare in actual practice to find an
-@acronym{LR}(1) grammar that fails to be @acronym{LALR}(1).
+There are various important subclasses of context-free grammars.
+Although it can handle almost all context-free grammars, Bison is
+optimized for what are called @acronym{LR}(1) grammars.
+In brief, in these grammars, it must be possible to tell how to parse
+any portion of an input string with just a single token of lookahead.
+For historical reasons, Bison by default is limited by the additional
+restrictions of @acronym{LALR}(1), which is hard to explain simply.
@xref{Mystery Conflicts, ,Mysterious Reduce/Reduce Conflicts}, for
more information on this.
+To escape these additional restrictions, you can request
+@acronym{IELR}(1) or canonical @acronym{LR}(1) parser tables.
+@xref{Decl Summary,,lr.type}, to learn how.
@cindex @acronym{GLR} parsing
@cindex generalized @acronym{LR} (@acronym{GLR}) parsing
@cindex ambiguous grammars
@cindex nondeterministic parsing
-Parsers for @acronym{LALR}(1) grammars are @dfn{deterministic}, meaning
+Parsers for @acronym{LR}(1) grammars are @dfn{deterministic}, meaning
roughly that the next grammar rule to apply at any point in the input is
uniquely determined by the preceding input and a fixed, finite portion
(called a @dfn{lookahead}) of the remaining input. A context-free
@cindex shift/reduce conflicts
@cindex reduce/reduce conflicts
-In some grammars, Bison's standard
-@acronym{LALR}(1) parsing algorithm cannot decide whether to apply a
+In some grammars, Bison's deterministic
+@acronym{LR}(1) parsing algorithm cannot decide whether to apply a
certain grammar rule at a given point. That is, it may not be able to
decide (on the basis of the input read so far) which of two possible
reductions (applications of a grammar rule) applies, or whether to apply
(@pxref{Reduce/Reduce}), and @dfn{shift/reduce} conflicts
(@pxref{Shift/Reduce}).
-To use a grammar that is not easily modified to be @acronym{LALR}(1), a
+To use a grammar that is not easily modified to be @acronym{LR}(1), a
more general parsing algorithm is sometimes necessary. If you include
@code{%glr-parser} among the Bison declarations in your file
(@pxref{Grammar Outline}), the result is a Generalized @acronym{LR}
(@acronym{GLR}) parser. These parsers handle Bison grammars that
contain no unresolved conflicts (i.e., after applying precedence
-declarations) identically to @acronym{LALR}(1) parsers. However, when
+declarations) identically to deterministic parsers. However, when
faced with unresolved shift/reduce and reduce/reduce conflicts,
@acronym{GLR} parsers use the simple expedient of doing both,
effectively cloning the parser to follow both possibilities. Each of
merged result.
@menu
-* Simple GLR Parsers:: Using @acronym{GLR} parsers on unambiguous grammars.
-* Merging GLR Parses:: Using @acronym{GLR} parsers to resolve ambiguities.
-* GLR Semantic Actions:: Deferred semantic actions have special concerns.
-* Compiler Requirements:: @acronym{GLR} parsers require a modern C compiler.
+* Simple GLR Parsers:: Using @acronym{GLR} parsers on unambiguous grammars.
+* Merging GLR Parses:: Using @acronym{GLR} parsers to resolve ambiguities.
+* GLR Semantic Actions:: Deferred semantic actions have special concerns.
+* Compiler Requirements:: @acronym{GLR} parsers require a modern C compiler.
@end menu
@node Simple GLR Parsers
@cindex shift/reduce conflicts
In the simplest cases, you can use the @acronym{GLR} algorithm
-to parse grammars that are unambiguous, but fail to be @acronym{LALR}(1).
-Such grammars typically require more than one symbol of lookahead,
-or (in rare cases) fall into the category of grammars in which the
-@acronym{LALR}(1) algorithm throws away too much information (they are in
-@acronym{LR}(1), but not @acronym{LALR}(1), @ref{Mystery Conflicts}).
+to parse grammars that are unambiguous but fail to be @acronym{LR}(1).
+Such grammars typically require more than one symbol of lookahead.
Consider a problem that
arises in the declaration of enumerated and subrange types in the
valid, and more-complicated cases can come up in practical programs.)
These two declarations look identical until the @samp{..} token.
-With normal @acronym{LALR}(1) one-token lookahead it is not
+With normal @acronym{LR}(1) one-token lookahead it is not
possible to decide between the two forms when the identifier
@samp{a} is parsed. It is, however, desirable
for a parser to decide this, since in the latter case
The effect of all this is that the parser seems to ``guess'' the
correct branch to take, or in other words, it seems to use more
-lookahead than the underlying @acronym{LALR}(1) algorithm actually allows
-for. In this example, @acronym{LALR}(2) would suffice, but also some cases
-that are not @acronym{LALR}(@math{k}) for any @math{k} can be handled this way.
+lookahead than the underlying @acronym{LR}(1) algorithm actually allows
+for. In this example, @acronym{LR}(2) would suffice, but also some cases
+that are not @acronym{LR}(@math{k}) for any @math{k} can be handled this way.
In general, a @acronym{GLR} parser can take quadratic or cubic worst-case time,
and the current Bison parser even takes exponential time and space
@end group
@end example
-When used as a normal @acronym{LALR}(1) grammar, Bison correctly complains
+When used as a normal @acronym{LR}(1) grammar, Bison correctly complains
about one reduce/reduce conflict. In the conflicting situation the
parser chooses one of the alternatives, arbitrarily the one
declared first. Therefore the following correct input is not
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
+@acronym{LR} 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
(@pxref{Action Features}), which you can invoke in a semantic action to
initiate error recovery.
During deterministic @acronym{GLR} operation, the effect of @code{YYERROR} is
-the same as its effect in an @acronym{LALR}(1) parser.
+the same as its effect in a deterministic parser.
In a deferred semantic action, its effect is undefined.
@c The effect is probably a syntax error at the split point.
source file to try them.
@menu
-* RPN Calc:: Reverse polish notation calculator;
- a first example with no operator precedence.
-* Infix Calc:: Infix (algebraic) notation calculator.
- Operator precedence is introduced.
+* RPN Calc:: Reverse polish notation calculator;
+ a first example with no operator precedence.
+* Infix Calc:: Infix (algebraic) notation calculator.
+ Operator precedence is introduced.
* Simple Error Recovery:: Continuing after syntax errors.
* Location Tracking Calc:: Demonstrating the use of @@@var{n} and @@$.
-* Multi-function Calc:: Calculator with memory and trig functions.
- It uses multiple data-types for semantic values.
-* Exercises:: Ideas for improving the multi-function calculator.
+* Multi-function Calc:: Calculator with memory and trig functions.
+ It uses multiple data-types for semantic values.
+* Exercises:: Ideas for improving the multi-function calculator.
@end menu
@node RPN Calc
@samp{.y} extension is a convention used for Bison input files.
@menu
-* Decls: Rpcalc Decls. Prologue (declarations) for rpcalc.
-* Rules: Rpcalc Rules. Grammar Rules for rpcalc, with explanation.
-* Lexer: Rpcalc Lexer. The lexical analyzer.
-* Main: Rpcalc Main. The controlling function.
-* Error: Rpcalc Error. The error reporting function.
-* Gen: Rpcalc Gen. Running Bison on the grammar file.
-* Comp: Rpcalc Compile. Run the C compiler on the output code.
+* Rpcalc Declarations:: Prologue (declarations) for rpcalc.
+* Rpcalc Rules:: Grammar Rules for rpcalc, with explanation.
+* Rpcalc Lexer:: The lexical analyzer.
+* Rpcalc Main:: The controlling function.
+* Rpcalc Error:: The error reporting function.
+* Rpcalc Generate:: Running Bison on the grammar file.
+* Rpcalc Compile:: Run the C compiler on the output code.
@end menu
-@node Rpcalc Decls
+@node Rpcalc Declarations
@subsection Declarations for @code{rpcalc}
Here are the C and Bison declarations for the reverse polish notation
The semantic value of the token (if it has one) is stored into the
global variable @code{yylval}, which is where the Bison parser will look
for it. (The C data type of @code{yylval} is @code{YYSTYPE}, which was
-defined at the beginning of the grammar; @pxref{Rpcalc Decls,
+defined at the beginning of the grammar; @pxref{Rpcalc Declarations,
,Declarations for @code{rpcalc}}.)
A token type code of zero is returned if the end-of-input is encountered.
cause the calculator program to exit. This is not clean behavior for a
real calculator, but it is adequate for the first example.
-@node Rpcalc Gen
+@node Rpcalc Generate
@subsection Running Bison to Make the Parser
@cindex running Bison (introduction)
%token NUM
%left '-' '+'
%left '*' '/'
-%left NEG /* negation--unary minus */
-%right '^' /* exponentiation */
+%precedence NEG /* negation--unary minus */
+%right '^' /* exponentiation */
%% /* The grammar follows. */
input: /* empty */
types and says they are left-associative operators. The declarations
@code{%left} and @code{%right} (right associativity) take the place of
@code{%token} which is used to declare a token type name without
-associativity. (These tokens are single-character literals, which
+associativity/precedence. (These tokens are single-character literals, which
ordinarily don't need to be declared. We declare them here to specify
-the associativity.)
+the associativity/precedence.)
Operator precedence is determined by the line ordering of the
declarations; the higher the line number of the declaration (lower on
the page or screen), the higher the precedence. Hence, exponentiation
has the highest precedence, unary minus (@code{NEG}) is next, followed
-by @samp{*} and @samp{/}, and so on. @xref{Precedence, ,Operator
+by @samp{*} and @samp{/}, and so on. Unary minus is not associative,
+only precedence matters (@code{%precedence}. @xref{Precedence, ,Operator
Precedence}.
The other important new feature is the @code{%prec} in the grammar
analyzer.
@menu
-* Decls: Ltcalc Decls. Bison and C declarations for ltcalc.
-* Rules: Ltcalc Rules. Grammar rules for ltcalc, with explanations.
-* Lexer: Ltcalc Lexer. The lexical analyzer.
+* Ltcalc Declarations:: Bison and C declarations for ltcalc.
+* Ltcalc Rules:: Grammar rules for ltcalc, with explanations.
+* Ltcalc Lexer:: The lexical analyzer.
@end menu
-@node Ltcalc Decls
+@node Ltcalc Declarations
@subsection Declarations for @code{ltcalc}
The C and Bison declarations for the location tracking calculator are
%left '-' '+'
%left '*' '/'
-%left NEG
+%precedence NEG
%right '^'
%% /* The grammar follows. */
Note that multiple assignment and nested function calls are permitted.
@menu
-* Decl: Mfcalc Decl. Bison declarations for multi-function calculator.
-* Rules: Mfcalc Rules. Grammar rules for the calculator.
-* Symtab: Mfcalc Symtab. Symbol table management subroutines.
+* Mfcalc Declarations:: Bison declarations for multi-function calculator.
+* Mfcalc Rules:: Grammar rules for the calculator.
+* Mfcalc Symbol Table:: Symbol table management subroutines.
@end menu
-@node Mfcalc Decl
+@node Mfcalc Declarations
@subsection Declarations for @code{mfcalc}
Here are the C and Bison declarations for the multi-function calculator.
%right '='
%left '-' '+'
%left '*' '/'
-%left NEG /* negation--unary minus */
-%right '^' /* exponentiation */
+%precedence NEG /* negation--unary minus */
+%right '^' /* exponentiation */
@end group
%% /* The grammar follows. */
@end smallexample
%%
@end smallexample
-@node Mfcalc Symtab
+@node Mfcalc Symbol Table
@subsection The @code{mfcalc} Symbol Table
@cindex symbol table example
continues until end of line.
@menu
-* Prologue:: Syntax and usage of the prologue.
+* Prologue:: Syntax and usage of the prologue.
* Prologue Alternatives:: Syntax and usage of alternatives to the prologue.
-* Bison Declarations:: Syntax and usage of the Bison declarations section.
-* Grammar Rules:: Syntax and usage of the grammar rules section.
-* Epilogue:: Syntax and usage of the epilogue.
+* Bison Declarations:: Syntax and usage of the Bison declarations section.
+* Grammar Rules:: Syntax and usage of the grammar rules section.
+* Epilogue:: Syntax and usage of the epilogue.
@end menu
@node Prologue
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.
+Symbol names can contain letters, underscores, period, and (not at the
+beginning) digits and dashes. Dashes in symbol names are a GNU
+extension, incompatible with @acronym{POSIX} Yacc. Terminal symbols
+that contain periods or dashes make little sense: since they are not
+valid symbols (in most programming languages) they are not exported as
+token names.
There are three ways of writing terminal symbols in the grammar:
the parser, so that the function @code{yylex} (if it is in this file)
can use the name @var{name} to stand for this token type's code.
-Alternatively, you can use @code{%left}, @code{%right}, or
+Alternatively, you can use @code{%left}, @code{%right},
+@code{%precedence}, or
@code{%nonassoc} instead of @code{%token}, if you wish to specify
associativity and precedence. @xref{Precedence Decl, ,Operator
Precedence}.
@cindex declaring operator precedence
@cindex operator precedence, declaring
-Use the @code{%left}, @code{%right} or @code{%nonassoc} declaration to
+Use the @code{%left}, @code{%right}, @code{%nonassoc}, or
+@code{%precedence} declaration to
declare a token and specify its precedence and associativity, all at
once. These are called @dfn{precedence declarations}.
@xref{Precedence, ,Operator Precedence}, for general information on
means that @samp{@var{x} @var{op} @var{y} @var{op} @var{z}} is
considered a syntax error.
+@code{%precedence} gives only precedence to the @var{symbols}, and
+defines no associativity at all. Use this to define precedence only,
+and leave any potential conflict due to associativity enabled.
+
@item
The precedence of an operator determines how it nests with other operators.
All the tokens declared in a single precedence declaration have equal
Bison reports an error if the number of shift/reduce conflicts differs
from @var{n}, or if there are any reduce/reduce conflicts.
-For normal @acronym{LALR}(1) parsers, reduce/reduce conflicts are more
+For deterministic parsers, reduce/reduce conflicts are more
serious, and should be eliminated entirely. Bison will always report
reduce/reduce conflicts for these parsers. With @acronym{GLR}
parsers, however, both kinds of conflicts are routine; otherwise,
@end deffn
@deffn {Directive} %debug
-In the parser file, define the macro @code{YYDEBUG} to 1 if it is not
-already defined, so that the debugging facilities are compiled.
-@end deffn
+Instrument the output parser for traces. Obsoleted by @samp{%define
+parse.trace}.
@xref{Tracing, ,Tracing Your Parser}.
+@end deffn
@deffn {Directive} %define @var{variable}
@deffnx {Directive} %define @var{variable} "@var{value}"
Some of the accepted @var{variable}s are:
-@itemize @bullet
+@table @code
@item api.pure
@findex %define api.pure
@item Default Value: @code{"false"}
@end itemize
+@c api.pure
@item api.push_pull
@findex %define api.push_pull
@itemize @bullet
-@item Language(s): C (LALR(1) only)
+@item Language(s): C (deterministic parsers only)
@item Purpose: Requests a pull parser, a push parser, or both.
@xref{Push Decl, ,A Push Parser}.
@item Default Value: @code{"pull"}
@end itemize
+@c api.push_pull
+
+@item error-verbose
+@findex %define error-verbose
+@itemize
+@item Languages(s):
+all.
+@item Purpose:
+Enable the generation of more verbose error messages than a instead of
+just plain @w{@code{"syntax error"}}. @xref{Error Reporting, ,The Error
+Reporting Function @code{yyerror}}.
+@item Accepted Values:
+Boolean
+@item Default Value:
+@code{false}
+@end itemize
+@c error-verbose
+
+
+@item lr.default_rules
+@cindex default rules
+@findex %define lr.default_rules
+@cindex delayed syntax errors
+@cindex syntax errors delayed
+
+@itemize @bullet
+@item Language(s): all
+
+@item Purpose: Specifies the kind of states that are permitted to
+contain default rules.
+That is, in such a state, Bison declares the rule with the largest
+lookahead set to be the default rule by which to reduce and then removes
+that lookahead set.
+The advantages of default rules are discussed below.
+The disadvantage is that, when the generated parser encounters a
+syntactically unacceptable token, the parser might then perform
+unnecessary reductions by default rules before it can detect the syntax
+error.
+
+(This feature is experimental.
+More user feedback will help to stabilize it.)
+
+@item Accepted Values:
+@itemize
+@item @code{"all"}.
+For @acronym{LALR} and @acronym{IELR} parsers (@pxref{Decl
+Summary,,lr.type}) by default, all states are permitted to contain
+default rules.
+The advantage is that parser table sizes can be significantly reduced.
+The reason Bison does not by default attempt to address the disadvantage
+of delayed syntax error detection is that this disadvantage is already
+inherent in @acronym{LALR} and @acronym{IELR} parser tables.
+That is, unlike a canonical @acronym{LR} state, an @acronym{LALR} or
+@acronym{IELR} state can contain syntactically incorrect tokens in the
+lookahead sets of its rules.
+
+@item @code{"consistent"}.
+@cindex consistent states
+A consistent state is a state that has only one possible action.
+If that action is a reduction, then the parser does not need to request
+a lookahead token from the scanner before performing that action.
+However, the parser only recognizes the ability to ignore the lookahead
+token when such a reduction is encoded as a default rule.
+Thus, if default rules are permitted in and only in consistent states,
+then a canonical @acronym{LR} parser reports a syntax error as soon as
+it @emph{needs} the syntactically unacceptable token from the scanner.
+
+@item @code{"accepting"}.
+@cindex accepting state
+By default, the only default rule permitted in a canonical @acronym{LR}
+parser is the accept rule in the accepting state, which the parser
+reaches only after reading all tokens from the input.
+Thus, the default canonical @acronym{LR} parser reports a syntax error
+as soon as it @emph{reaches} the syntactically unacceptable token
+without performing any extra reductions.
+@end itemize
+
+@item Default Value:
+@itemize
+@item @code{"accepting"} if @code{lr.type} is @code{"canonical LR"}.
+@item @code{"all"} otherwise.
+@end itemize
+@end itemize
@item lr.keep_unreachable_states
@findex %define lr.keep_unreachable_states
However, Bison does not compute which goto actions are useless.
@end itemize
@end itemize
+@c lr.keep_unreachable_states
+
+@item lr.type
+@findex %define lr.type
+@cindex @acronym{LALR}
+@cindex @acronym{IELR}
+@cindex @acronym{LR}
+
+@itemize @bullet
+@item Language(s): all
+
+@item Purpose: Specifies the type of parser tables within the
+@acronym{LR}(1) family.
+(This feature is experimental.
+More user feedback will help to stabilize it.)
+
+@item Accepted Values:
+@itemize
+@item @code{"LALR"}.
+While Bison generates @acronym{LALR} parser tables by default for
+historical reasons, @acronym{IELR} or canonical @acronym{LR} is almost
+always preferable for deterministic parsers.
+The trouble is that @acronym{LALR} parser tables can suffer from
+mysterious conflicts and may not accept the full set of sentences that
+@acronym{IELR} and canonical @acronym{LR} accept.
+@xref{Mystery Conflicts}, for details.
+However, there are at least two scenarios where @acronym{LALR} may be
+worthwhile:
+@itemize
+@cindex @acronym{GLR} with @acronym{LALR}
+@item When employing @acronym{GLR} parsers (@pxref{GLR Parsers}), if you
+do not resolve any conflicts statically (for example, with @code{%left}
+or @code{%prec}), then the parser explores all potential parses of any
+given input.
+Thus, the use of @acronym{LALR} parser tables is guaranteed not to alter
+the language accepted by the parser.
+@acronym{LALR} parser tables are the smallest parser tables Bison can
+currently generate, so they may be preferable.
+
+@item Occasionally during development, an especially malformed grammar
+with a major recurring flaw may severely impede the @acronym{IELR} or
+canonical @acronym{LR} parser table generation algorithm.
+@acronym{LALR} can be a quick way to generate parser tables in order to
+investigate such problems while ignoring the more subtle differences
+from @acronym{IELR} and canonical @acronym{LR}.
+@end itemize
+
+@item @code{"IELR"}.
+@acronym{IELR} is a minimal @acronym{LR} algorithm.
+That is, given any grammar (@acronym{LR} or non-@acronym{LR}),
+@acronym{IELR} and canonical @acronym{LR} always accept exactly the same
+set of sentences.
+However, as for @acronym{LALR}, the number of parser states is often an
+order of magnitude less for @acronym{IELR} than for canonical
+@acronym{LR}.
+More importantly, because canonical @acronym{LR}'s extra parser states
+may contain duplicate conflicts in the case of non-@acronym{LR}
+grammars, the number of conflicts for @acronym{IELR} is often an order
+of magnitude less as well.
+This can significantly reduce the complexity of developing of a grammar.
+
+@item @code{"canonical LR"}.
+@cindex delayed syntax errors
+@cindex syntax errors delayed
+The only advantage of canonical @acronym{LR} over @acronym{IELR} is that
+every canonical @acronym{LR} state encodes that state's exact set of
+syntactically acceptable tokens.
+The only difference in parsing behavior is then that the canonical
+@acronym{LR} parser can report a syntax error as soon as possible
+without performing any unnecessary reductions.
+@xref{Decl Summary,,lr.default_rules}, for further details.
+Even when canonical @acronym{LR} behavior is ultimately desired,
+@acronym{IELR}'s elimination of duplicate conflicts should still
+facilitate the development of a grammar.
+@end itemize
+
+@item Default Value: @code{"LALR"}
+@end itemize
@item namespace
@findex %define namespace
The parser namespace is @code{foo} and @code{yylex} is referenced as
@code{bar::lex}.
@end itemize
+@c namespace
+
+@item parse.assert
+@findex %define parse.assert
+
+@itemize
+@item Languages(s): C++
+
+@item Purpose: Issue runtime assertions to catch invalid uses.
+In C++, when variants are used, symbols must be constructed and
+destroyed properly. This option checks these constraints.
+
+@item Accepted Values: Boolean
+
+@item Default Value: @code{false}
@end itemize
+@c parse.assert
+
+@item parse.trace
+@findex %define parse.trace
+
+@itemize
+@item Languages(s): C, C++
+
+@item Purpose: Require parser instrumentation for tracing.
+In C/C++, define the macro @code{YYDEBUG} to 1 in the parser file if it
+is not already defined, so that the debugging facilities are compiled.
+@xref{Tracing, ,Tracing Your Parser}.
+@item Accepted Values: Boolean
+
+@item Default Value: @code{false}
+@end itemize
+@end table
+@c parse.trace
@end deffn
+@c %define
@deffn {Directive} %defines
Write a header file containing macro definitions for the token type
in the grammar file, you are likely to run into trouble.
@menu
-* Parser Function:: How to call @code{yyparse} and what it returns.
-* Push Parser Function:: How to call @code{yypush_parse} and what it returns.
-* Pull Parser Function:: How to call @code{yypull_parse} and what it returns.
-* Parser Create Function:: How to call @code{yypstate_new} and what it
- returns.
-* Parser Delete Function:: How to call @code{yypstate_delete} and what it
- returns.
-* Lexical:: You must supply a function @code{yylex}
- which reads tokens.
-* Error Reporting:: You must supply a function @code{yyerror}.
-* Action Features:: Special features for use in actions.
-* Internationalization:: How to let the parser speak in the user's
- native language.
+* Parser Function:: How to call @code{yyparse} and what it returns.
+* Push Parser Function:: How to call @code{yypush_parse} and what it returns.
+* Pull Parser Function:: How to call @code{yypull_parse} and what it returns.
+* Parser Create Function:: How to call @code{yypstate_new} and what it returns.
+* Parser Delete Function:: How to call @code{yypstate_delete} and what it returns.
+* Lexical:: You must supply a function @code{yylex}
+ which reads tokens.
+* Error Reporting:: You must supply a function @code{yyerror}.
+* Action Features:: Special features for use in actions.
+* Internationalization:: How to let the parser speak in the user's
+ native language.
@end menu
@node Parser Function
@menu
* Calling Convention:: How @code{yyparse} calls @code{yylex}.
-* Token Values:: How @code{yylex} must return the semantic value
- of the token it has read.
-* Token Locations:: How @code{yylex} must return the text location
- (line number, etc.) of the token, if the
- actions want that.
-* Pure Calling:: How the calling convention differs
- in a pure parser (@pxref{Pure Decl, ,A Pure (Reentrant) Parser}).
+* Token Values:: How @code{yylex} must return the semantic value
+ of the token it has read.
+* Token Locations:: How @code{yylex} must return the text location
+ (line number, etc.) of the token, if the
+ actions want that.
+* Pure Calling:: How the calling convention differs in a pure parser
+ (@pxref{Pure Decl, ,A Pure (Reentrant) Parser}).
@end menu
@node Calling Convention
receives one argument. For a syntax error, the string is normally
@w{@code{"syntax error"}}.
-@findex %error-verbose
-If you invoke the directive @code{%error-verbose} in the Bison
+@findex %define error-verbose
+If you invoke the directive @code{%define error-verbose} in the Bison
declarations section (@pxref{Bison Declarations, ,The Bison Declarations
Section}), then Bison provides a more verbose and specific error message
string instead of just plain @w{@code{"syntax error"}}.
* Contextual Precedence:: When an operator's precedence depends on context.
* Parser States:: The parser is a finite-state-machine with stack.
* Reduce/Reduce:: When two rules are applicable in the same situation.
-* Mystery Conflicts:: Reduce/reduce conflicts that look unjustified.
+* Mystery Conflicts:: Reduce/reduce conflicts that look unjustified.
* Generalized LR Parsing:: Parsing arbitrary context-free grammars.
* Memory Management:: What happens when memory is exhausted. How to avoid it.
@end menu
@menu
* Why Precedence:: An example showing why precedence is needed.
-* Using Precedence:: How to specify precedence in Bison grammars.
+* Using Precedence:: How to specify precedence and associativity.
+* Precedence Only:: How to specify precedence only.
* Precedence Examples:: How these features are used in the previous example.
* How Precedence:: How they work.
@end menu
@node Using Precedence
@subsection Specifying Operator Precedence
@findex %left
-@findex %right
@findex %nonassoc
+@findex %precedence
+@findex %right
Bison allows you to specify these choices with the operator precedence
declarations @code{%left} and @code{%right}. Each such declaration
them right-associative. A third alternative is @code{%nonassoc}, which
declares that it is a syntax error to find the same operator twice ``in a
row''.
+The last alternative, @code{%precedence}, allows to define only
+precedence and no associativity at all. As a result, any
+associativity-related conflict that remains will be reported as an
+compile-time error. The directive @code{%nonassoc} creates run-time
+error: using the operator in a associative way is a syntax error. The
+directive @code{%precedence} creates compile-time errors: an operator
+@emph{can} be involved in an associativity-related conflict, contrary to
+what expected the grammar author.
The relative precedence of different operators is controlled by the
-order in which they are declared. The first @code{%left} or
-@code{%right} declaration in the file declares the operators whose
+order in which they are declared. The first precedence/associativity
+declaration in the file declares the operators whose
precedence is lowest, the next such declaration declares the operators
whose precedence is a little higher, and so on.
+@node Precedence Only
+@subsection Specifying Precedence Only
+@findex %precedence
+
+Since @acronym{POSIX} Yacc defines only @code{%left}, @code{%right}, and
+@code{%nonassoc}, which all defines precedence and associativity, little
+attention is paid to the fact that precedence cannot be defined without
+defining associativity. Yet, sometimes, when trying to solve a
+conflict, precedence suffices. In such a case, using @code{%left},
+@code{%right}, or @code{%nonassoc} might hide future (associativity
+related) conflicts that would remain hidden.
+
+The dangling @code{else} ambiguity (@pxref{Shift/Reduce, , Shift/Reduce
+Conflicts}) can be solved explictly. This shift/reduce conflicts occurs
+in the following situation, where the period denotes the current parsing
+state:
+
+@example
+if @var{e1} then if @var{e2} then @var{s1} . else @var{s2}
+@end example
+
+The conflict involves the reduction of the rule @samp{IF expr THEN
+stmt}, which precedence is by default that of its last token
+(@code{THEN}), and the shifting of the token @code{ELSE}. The usual
+disambiguation (attach the @code{else} to the closest @code{if}),
+shifting must be preferred, i.e., the precedence of @code{ELSE} must be
+higher than that of @code{THEN}. But neither is expected to be involved
+in an associativity related conflict, which can be specified as follows.
+
+@example
+%precedence THEN
+%precedence ELSE
+@end example
+
+The unary-minus is another typical example where associativity is
+usually over-specified, see @ref{Infix Calc, , Infix Notation
+Calculator: @code{calc}}. The @code{%left} directive is traditionaly
+used to declare the precedence of @code{NEG}, which is more than needed
+since it also defines its associativity. While this is harmless in the
+traditional example, who knows how @code{NEG} might be used in future
+evolutions of the grammar@dots{}
+
@node Precedence Examples
@subsection Precedence Examples
sign typically has a very high precedence as a unary operator, and a
somewhat lower precedence (lower than multiplication) as a binary operator.
-The Bison precedence declarations, @code{%left}, @code{%right} and
-@code{%nonassoc}, can only be used once for a given token; so a token has
+The Bison precedence declarations
+can only be used once for a given token; so a token has
only one precedence declared in this way. For context-dependent
precedence, you need to use an additional mechanism: the @code{%prec}
modifier for rules.
@cindex @acronym{LR}(1)
@cindex @acronym{LALR}(1)
-However, Bison, like most parser generators, cannot actually handle all
-@acronym{LR}(1) grammars. In this grammar, two contexts, that after
-an @code{ID}
-at the beginning of a @code{param_spec} and likewise at the beginning of
-a @code{return_spec}, are similar enough that Bison assumes they are the
-same. They appear similar because the same set of rules would be
+However, for historical reasons, Bison cannot by default handle all
+@acronym{LR}(1) grammars.
+In this grammar, two contexts, that after an @code{ID} at the beginning
+of a @code{param_spec} and likewise at the beginning of a
+@code{return_spec}, are similar enough that Bison assumes they are the
+same.
+They appear similar because the same set of rules would be
active---the rule for reducing to a @code{name} and that for reducing to
a @code{type}. Bison is unable to determine at that stage of processing
that the rules would require different lookahead tokens in the two
the two contexts causes a conflict later. In parser terminology, this
occurrence means that the grammar is not @acronym{LALR}(1).
-In general, it is better to fix deficiencies than to document them. But
-this particular deficiency is intrinsically hard to fix; parser
-generators that can handle @acronym{LR}(1) grammars are hard to write
-and tend to
-produce parsers that are very large. In practice, Bison is more useful
-as it is now.
-
-When the problem arises, you can often fix it by identifying the two
-parser states that are being confused, and adding something to make them
-look distinct. In the above example, adding one rule to
+For many practical grammars (specifically those that fall into the
+non-@acronym{LR}(1) class), the limitations of @acronym{LALR}(1) result in
+difficulties beyond just mysterious reduce/reduce conflicts.
+The best way to fix all these problems is to select a different parser
+table generation algorithm.
+Either @acronym{IELR}(1) or canonical @acronym{LR}(1) would suffice, but
+the former is more efficient and easier to debug during development.
+@xref{Decl Summary,,lr.type}, for details.
+(Bison's @acronym{IELR}(1) and canonical @acronym{LR}(1) implementations
+are experimental.
+More user feedback will help to stabilize them.)
+
+If you instead wish to work around @acronym{LALR}(1)'s limitations, you
+can often fix a mysterious conflict by identifying the two parser states
+that are being confused, and adding something to make them look
+distinct. In the above example, adding one rule to
@code{return_spec} as follows makes the problem go away:
@example
lookahead, since the parser lacks the information necessary to make a
decision at the point it must be made in a shift-reduce parser.
Finally, as previously mentioned (@pxref{Mystery Conflicts}),
-there are languages where Bison's particular choice of how to
+there are languages where Bison's default choice of how to
summarize the input seen so far loses necessary information.
When you use the @samp{%glr-parser} declaration in your grammar file,
stream.
Whenever the parser makes a transition from having multiple
-states to having one, it reverts to the normal @acronym{LALR}(1) parsing
+states to having one, it reverts to the normal deterministic parsing
algorithm, after resolving and executing the saved-up actions.
At this transition, some of the states on the stack will have semantic
values that are sets (actually multisets) of possible actions. The
the result. Otherwise, it reports an ambiguity.
It is possible to use a data structure for the @acronym{GLR} parsing tree that
-permits the processing of any @acronym{LALR}(1) grammar in linear time (in the
+permits the processing of any @acronym{LR}(1) grammar in linear time (in the
size of the input), any unambiguous (not necessarily
-@acronym{LALR}(1)) grammar in
+@acronym{LR}(1)) grammar in
quadratic worst-case time, and any general (possibly ambiguous)
context-free grammar in cubic worst-case time. However, Bison currently
uses a simpler data structure that requires time proportional to the
behaving examples, however, are not generally of practical interest.
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
-Bison parser.
+structure should generally be adequate. On @acronym{LR}(1) portions of a
+grammar, in particular, it is only slightly slower than with the
+deterministic @acronym{LR}(1) Bison parser.
For a more detailed exposition of @acronym{GLR} parsers, please see: Elizabeth
Scott, Adrian Johnstone and Shamsa Sadaf Hussain, Tomita-Style
@vindex YYINITDEPTH
You can control how much stack is allocated initially by defining the
-macro @code{YYINITDEPTH} to a positive integer. For the C
-@acronym{LALR}(1) parser, this value must be a compile-time constant
+macro @code{YYINITDEPTH} to a positive integer. For the deterministic
+parser in C, this value must be a compile-time constant
unless you are assuming C99 or some other target language or compiler
that allows variable-length arrays. The default is 200.
Do not allow @code{YYINITDEPTH} to be greater than @code{YYMAXDEPTH}.
@c FIXME: C++ output.
-Because of semantical differences between C and C++, the
-@acronym{LALR}(1) parsers in C produced by Bison cannot grow when compiled
+Because of semantical differences between C and C++, the deterministic
+parsers in C produced by Bison cannot grow when compiled
by C++ compilers. In this precise case (compiling a C parser as C++) you are
suggested to grow @code{YYINITDEPTH}. The Bison maintainers hope to fix
this deficiency in a future release.
@command{bison} reports:
@example
-calc.y: warning: 1 nonterminal and 1 rule useless in grammar
+tmp.y: warning: 1 nonterminal useless in grammar
+tmp.y: warning: 1 rule useless in grammar
calc.y:11.1-7: warning: nonterminal useless in grammar: useless
calc.y:11.10-12: warning: rule useless in grammar: useless: STR
calc.y: conflicts: 7 shift/reduce
'+' . exp}. Since there is no default action, any other token than
those listed above will trigger a syntax error.
+@cindex accepting state
The state 3 is named the @dfn{final state}, or the @dfn{accepting
state}:
NUM)}, which corresponds to shifting @samp{/}, or as @samp{(NUM + NUM) /
NUM}, which corresponds to reducing rule 1.
-Because in @acronym{LALR}(1) parsing a single decision can be made, Bison
+Because in deterministic parsing a single decision can be made, Bison
arbitrarily chose to disable the reduction, see @ref{Shift/Reduce, ,
Shift/Reduce Conflicts}. Discarded actions are reported in between
square brackets.
@item the directive @samp{%debug}
@findex %debug
-Add the @code{%debug} directive (@pxref{Decl Summary, ,Bison
-Declaration Summary}). This is a Bison extension, which will prove
-useful when Bison will output parsers for languages that don't use a
-preprocessor. Unless @acronym{POSIX} and Yacc portability matter to
-you, this is
-the preferred solution.
+Add the @code{%debug} directive (@pxref{Decl Summary, ,Bison Declaration
+Summary}). This Bison extension is maintained for backward
+compatibility with previous versions of Bison.
+
+@item the variable @samp{parse.trace}
+@findex %define parse.trace
+Add the @samp{%define parse.trace} directive (@pxref{Decl Summary,
+,Bison Declaration Summary}), or pass the @option{-Dparse.trace} option
+(@pxref{Bison Options}). This is a Bison extension, which is especially
+useful for languages that don't use a preprocessor. Unless
+@acronym{POSIX} and Yacc portability matter to you, this is the
+preferred solution.
@end table
-We suggest that you always enable the debug option so that debugging is
+We suggest that you always enable the trace option so that debugging is
always possible.
The trace facility outputs messages with macro calls of the form
value (from @code{yylval}).
Here is an example of @code{YYPRINT} suitable for the multi-function
-calculator (@pxref{Mfcalc Decl, ,Declarations for @code{mfcalc}}):
+calculator (@pxref{Mfcalc Declarations, ,Declarations for @code{mfcalc}}):
@smallexample
%@{
file name conventions, so that the parser output file is called
@file{y.tab.c}, and the other outputs are called @file{y.output} and
@file{y.tab.h}.
-Also, if generating an @acronym{LALR}(1) parser in C, generate @code{#define}
+Also, if generating a deterministic parser in C, generate @code{#define}
statements in addition to an @code{enum} to associate token numbers with token
names.
Thus, the following shell script can substitute for Yacc, and the Bison
like @samp{%glr-parser}, Bison might not be Yacc-compatible even if
this option is specified.
-@item -W
-@itemx --warnings
+@item -W [@var{category}]
+@itemx --warnings[=@var{category}]
Output warnings falling in @var{category}. @var{category} can be one
of:
@table @code
@table @code
@item state
Description of the grammar, conflicts (resolved and unresolved), and
-@acronym{LALR} automaton.
+parser's automaton.
@item lookahead
Implies @code{state} and augments the description of the automaton with
The other output files' names are constructed from @var{file} as
described under the @samp{-v} and @samp{-d} options.
-@item -g[@var{file}]
+@item -g [@var{file}]
@itemx --graph[=@var{file}]
-Output a graphical representation of the @acronym{LALR}(1) grammar
+Output a graphical representation of the parser's
automaton computed by Bison, in @uref{http://www.graphviz.org/, Graphviz}
@uref{http://www.graphviz.org/doc/info/lang.html, @acronym{DOT}} format.
@code{@var{file}} is optional.
If omitted and the grammar file is @file{foo.y}, the output file will be
@file{foo.dot}.
-@item -x[@var{file}]
+@item -x [@var{file}]
@itemx --xml[=@var{file}]
-Output an XML report of the @acronym{LALR}(1) automaton computed by Bison.
+Output an XML report of the parser's automaton computed by Bison.
@code{@var{file}} is optional.
If omitted and the grammar file is @file{foo.y}, the output file will be
@file{foo.xml}.
@node Option Cross Key
@section Option Cross Key
-@c FIXME: How about putting the directives too?
Here is a list of options, alphabetized by long option, to help you find
the corresponding short option.
-@multitable {@option{--defines=@var{defines-file}}} {@option{-b @var{file-prefix}XXX}}
-@headitem Long Option @tab Short Option
+@multitable {@option{--defines=@var{defines-file}}} {@option{-D @var{name}[=@var{value}]}} {@code{%nondeterministic-parser}}
+@headitem Long Option @tab Short Option @tab Bison Directive
@include cross-options.texi
@end multitable
@c - Always pure
@c - initial action
-The C++ @acronym{LALR}(1) parser is selected using the skeleton directive,
+The C++ deterministic parser is selected using the skeleton directive,
@samp{%skeleton "lalr1.c"}, or the synonymous command-line option
@option{--skeleton=lalr1.c}.
@xref{Decl Summary}.
@subsubsection Calc++ Parser
The parser definition file @file{calc++-parser.yy} starts by asking for
-the C++ LALR(1) skeleton, the creation of the parser header file, and
-specifies the name of the parser class. Because the C++ skeleton
-changed several times, it is safer to require the version you designed
-the grammar for.
+the C++ deterministic parser skeleton, the creation of the parser header
+file, and specifies the name of the parser class.
+Because the C++ skeleton changed several times, it is safer to require
+the version you designed the grammar for.
@comment file: calc++-parser.yy
@example
@comment file: calc++-parser.yy
@example
-%debug
-%error-verbose
+%define parse.trace
+%define error-verbose
@end example
@noindent
| exp '-' exp @{ $$ = $1 - $3; @}
| exp '*' exp @{ $$ = $1 * $3; @}
| exp '/' exp @{ $$ = $1 / $3; @}
+ | '(' exp ')' @{ $$ = $2; @}
| "identifier" @{ $$ = driver.variables[*$1]; delete $1; @}
| "number" @{ $$ = $1; @};
%%
typedef yy::calcxx_parser::token token;
%@}
/* Convert ints to the actual type of tokens. */
-[-+*/] return yy::calcxx_parser::token_type (yytext[0]);
+[-+*/()] return yy::calcxx_parser::token_type (yytext[0]);
":=" return token::ASSIGN;
@{int@} @{
errno = 0;
@section Java Parsers
@menu
-* Java Bison Interface:: Asking for Java parser generation
-* Java Semantic Values:: %type and %token vs. Java
-* Java Location Values:: The position and location classes
-* Java Parser Interface:: Instantiating and running the parser
-* Java Scanner Interface:: Specifying the scanner for the parser
-* Java Action Features:: Special features for use in actions.
-* Java Differences:: Differences between C/C++ and Java Grammars
-* Java Declarations Summary:: List of Bison declarations used with Java
+* Java Bison Interface:: Asking for Java parser generation
+* Java Semantic Values:: %type and %token vs. Java
+* Java Location Values:: The position and location classes
+* Java Parser Interface:: Instantiating and running the parser
+* Java Scanner Interface:: Specifying the scanner for the parser
+* Java Action Features:: Special features for use in actions
+* Java Differences:: Differences between C/C++ and Java Grammars
+* Java Declarations Summary:: List of Bison declarations used with Java
@end menu
@node Java Bison Interface
@code{%defines} directive or the @option{-d}/@option{--defines} options.
@c FIXME: Possible code change.
-Currently, support for debugging and verbose errors are always compiled
-in. Thus the @code{%debug} and @code{%token-table} directives and the
+Currently, support for tracing is always compiled
+in. Thus the @samp{%define parse.trace} and @samp{%token-table}
+directives and the
@option{-t}/@option{--debug} and @option{-k}/@option{--token-table}
options have no effect. This may change in the future to eliminate
-unused code in the generated parser, so use @code{%debug} and
-@code{%verbose-error} explicitly if needed. Also, in the future the
+unused code in the generated parser, so use @samp{%define parse.trace}
+explicitly
+if needed. Also, in the future the
@code{%token-table} directive might enable a public interface to
access the token names and codes.
+Getting a ``code too large'' error from the Java compiler means the code
+hit the 64KB bytecode per method limination of the Java class file.
+Try reducing the amount of code in actions and static initializers;
+otherwise, report a bug so that the parser skeleton will be improved.
+
+
@node Java Semantic Values
@subsection Java Semantic Values
@c - No %union, specify type in %type/%token.
@end deftypeivar
@deftypeop {Constructor} {Location} {} Location (Position @var{loc})
-Create a @code{Location} denoting an empty range located at a given point.
+Create a @code{Location} denoting an empty range located at a given point.
@end deftypeop
@deftypeop {Constructor} {Location} {} Location (Position @var{begin}, Position @var{end})
file should match the name of the class in this case. Similarly, you can
use @code{abstract}, @code{final} and @code{strictfp} with the
@code{%define} declaration to add other modifiers to the parser class.
+A single @code{%define annotations "@var{annotations}"} directive can
+be used to add any number of annotations to the parser class.
The Java package name of the parser class can be specified using the
@code{%define package} directive. The superclass and the implemented
below, all the other members and fields are preceded with a @code{yy} or
@code{YY} prefix to avoid clashes with user code.
-@c FIXME: The following constants and variables are still undocumented:
-@c @code{bisonVersion}, @code{bisonSkeleton} and @code{errorVerbose}.
-
The parser class can be extended using the @code{%parse-param}
directive. Each occurrence of the directive will add a @code{protected
final} field to the parser class, and an argument to its constructor,
which initialize them automatically.
-Token names defined by @code{%token} and the predefined @code{EOF} token
-name are added as constant fields to the parser class.
-
@deftypeop {Constructor} {YYParser} {} YYParser (@var{lex_param}, @dots{}, @var{parse_param}, @dots{})
Build a new parser object with embedded @code{%code lexer}. There are
no parameters, unless @code{%parse-param}s and/or @code{%lex-param}s are
used.
+
+Use @code{%code init} for code added to the start of the constructor
+body. This is especially useful to initialize superclasses. Use
+@code{%define init_throws} to specify any uncatch exceptions.
@end deftypeop
@deftypeop {Constructor} {YYParser} {} YYParser (Lexer @var{lexer}, @var{parse_param}, @dots{})
If the scanner is defined by @code{%code lexer}, this constructor is
declared @code{protected} and is called automatically with a scanner
created with the correct @code{%lex-param}s.
+
+Use @code{%code init} for code added to the start of the constructor
+body. This is especially useful to initialize superclasses. Use
+@code{%define init_throws} to specify any uncatch exceptions.
@end deftypeop
@deftypemethod {YYParser} {boolean} parse ()
@code{false} otherwise.
@end deftypemethod
+@deftypemethod {YYParser} {boolean} getErrorVerbose ()
+@deftypemethodx {YYParser} {void} setErrorVerbose (boolean @var{verbose})
+Get or set the option to produce verbose error messages. These are only
+available with the @code{%define error-verbose} directive, which also turn on
+verbose error messages.
+@end deftypemethod
+
+@deftypemethod {YYParser} {void} yyerror (String @var{msg})
+@deftypemethodx {YYParser} {void} yyerror (Position @var{pos}, String @var{msg})
+@deftypemethodx {YYParser} {void} yyerror (Location @var{loc}, String @var{msg})
+Print an error message using the @code{yyerror} method of the scanner
+instance in use. The @code{Location} and @code{Position} parameters are
+available only if location tracking is active.
+@end deftypemethod
+
@deftypemethod {YYParser} {boolean} recovering ()
During the syntactic analysis, return @code{true} if recovering
from a syntax error.
or nonzero, full tracing.
@end deftypemethod
+@deftypecv {Constant} {YYParser} {String} {bisonVersion}
+@deftypecvx {Constant} {YYParser} {String} {bisonSkeleton}
+Identify the Bison version and skeleton used to generate this parser.
+@end deftypecv
+
@node Java Scanner Interface
@subsection Java Scanner Interface
There are two possible ways to interface a Bison-generated Java parser
with a scanner: the scanner may be defined by @code{%code lexer}, or
defined elsewhere. In either case, the scanner has to implement the
-@code{Lexer} inner interface of the parser class.
+@code{Lexer} inner interface of the parser class. This interface also
+contain constants for all user-defined token names and the predefined
+@code{EOF} token.
In the first case, the body of the scanner class is placed in
@code{%code lexer} blocks. If you want to pass parameters from the
@end deffn
@deffn {Statement} {return YYERROR;}
-Start error recovery without printing an error message.
+Start error recovery without printing an error message.
@xref{Error Recovery}.
@end deffn
@deffn {Statement} {return YYFAIL;}
-Print an error message and start error recovery.
+Print an error message and start error recovery.
@xref{Error Recovery}.
@end deffn
@xref{Error Recovery}.
@end deftypefn
-@deftypefn {Function} {protected void} yyerror (String msg)
-@deftypefnx {Function} {protected void} yyerror (Position pos, String msg)
-@deftypefnx {Function} {protected void} yyerror (Location loc, String msg)
+@deftypefn {Function} {void} yyerror (String @var{msg})
+@deftypefnx {Function} {void} yyerror (Position @var{loc}, String @var{msg})
+@deftypefnx {Function} {void} yyerror (Location @var{loc}, String @var{msg})
Print an error message using the @code{yyerror} method of the scanner
-instance in use.
+instance in use. The @code{Location} and @code{Position} parameters are
+available only if location tracking is active.
@end deftypefn
@xref{Java Differences}.
@end deffn
+@deffn {Directive} {%code init} @{ @var{code} @dots{} @}
+Code inserted at the beginning of the parser constructor body.
+@xref{Java Parser Interface}.
+@end deffn
+
@deffn {Directive} {%code lexer} @{ @var{code} @dots{} @}
Code added to the body of a inner lexer class within the parser class.
@xref{Java Scanner Interface}.
@end deffn
@deffn {Directive} %@{ @var{code} @dots{} %@}
-Not supported. Use @code{%code import} instead.
+Not supported. Use @code{%code imports} instead.
@xref{Java Differences}.
@end deffn
@xref{Java Bison Interface}.
@end deffn
+@deffn {Directive} {%define annotations} "@var{annotations}"
+The Java annotations for the parser class. Default is none.
+@xref{Java Bison Interface}.
+@end deffn
+
@deffn {Directive} {%define extends} "@var{superclass}"
The superclass of the parser class. Default is none.
@xref{Java Bison Interface}.
@xref{Java Bison Interface}.
@end deffn
+@deffn {Directive} {%define init_throws} "@var{exceptions}"
+The exceptions thrown by @code{%code init} from the parser class
+constructor. Default is none.
+@xref{Java Parser Interface}.
+@end deffn
+
@deffn {Directive} {%define lex_throws} "@var{exceptions}"
The exceptions thrown by the @code{yylex} method of the lexer, a
comma-separated list. Default is @code{java.io.IOException}.
Equip the parser for debugging. @xref{Decl Summary}.
@end deffn
-@deffn {Directive} %debug
-Equip the parser for debugging. @xref{Decl Summary}.
-@end deffn
-
@ifset defaultprec
@deffn {Directive} %default-prec
Assign a precedence to rules that lack an explicit @samp{%prec}
@end deffn
@deffn {Directive} %error-verbose
-Bison declaration to request verbose, specific error message strings
-when @code{yyerror} is called.
+An obsolete directive standing for @samp{%define error-verbose}.
@end deffn
@deffn {Directive} %file-prefix "@var{prefix}"
@end deffn
@deffn {Directive} %left
-Bison declaration to assign left associativity to token(s).
+Bison declaration to assign precedence and left associativity to token(s).
@xref{Precedence Decl, ,Operator Precedence}.
@end deffn
@end deffn
@deffn {Directive} %nonassoc
-Bison declaration to assign nonassociativity to token(s).
+Bison declaration to assign precedence and nonassociativity to token(s).
@xref{Precedence Decl, ,Operator Precedence}.
@end deffn
@xref{Contextual Precedence, ,Context-Dependent Precedence}.
@end deffn
+@deffn {Directive} %precedence
+Bison declaration to assign precedence to token(s), but no associativity
+@xref{Precedence Decl, ,Operator Precedence}.
+@end deffn
+
@deffn {Directive} %pure-parser
Deprecated version of @code{%define api.pure} (@pxref{Decl Summary, ,%define}),
for which Bison is more careful to warn about unreasonable usage.
@end deffn
@deffn {Directive} %right
-Bison declaration to assign right associativity to token(s).
+Bison declaration to assign precedence and right associativity to token(s).
@xref{Precedence Decl, ,Operator Precedence}.
@end deffn
@deffn {Function} yyerror
User-supplied function to be called by @code{yyparse} on error.
-@xref{Error Reporting, ,The Error
-Reporting Function @code{yyerror}}.
+@xref{Error Reporting, ,The Error Reporting Function @code{yyerror}}.
@end deffn
@deffn {Macro} YYERROR_VERBOSE
-An obsolete macro that you define with @code{#define} in the prologue
-to request verbose, specific error message strings
-when @code{yyerror} is called. It doesn't matter what definition you
-use for @code{YYERROR_VERBOSE}, just whether you define it. Using
-@code{%error-verbose} is preferred.
+An obsolete macro used in the @file{yacc.c} skeleton, that you define
+with @code{#define} in the prologue to request verbose, specific error
+message strings when @code{yyerror} is called. It doesn't matter what
+definition you use for @code{YYERROR_VERBOSE}, just whether you define
+it. Using @code{%define error-verbose} is preferred (@pxref{Error
+Reporting, ,The Error Reporting Function @code{yyerror}}).
@end deffn
@deffn {Macro} YYINITDEPTH
@end deffn
@deffn {Macro} YYSTACK_USE_ALLOCA
-Macro used to control the use of @code{alloca} when the C
-@acronym{LALR}(1) parser needs to extend its stacks. If defined to 0,
+Macro used to control the use of @code{alloca} when the
+deterministic parser in C needs to extend its stacks. If defined to 0,
the parser will use @code{malloc} to extend its stacks. If defined to
1, the parser will use @code{alloca}. Values other than 0 and 1 are
reserved for future Bison extensions. If not defined,
@cindex glossary
@table @asis
+@item Accepting State
+A state whose only action is the accept action.
+The accepting state is thus a consistent state.
+@xref{Understanding,,}.
+
@item Backus-Naur Form (@acronym{BNF}; also called ``Backus Normal Form'')
Formal method of specifying context-free grammars originally proposed
by John Backus, and slightly improved by Peter Naur in his 1960-01-02
committee document contributing to what became the Algol 60 report.
@xref{Language and Grammar, ,Languages and Context-Free Grammars}.
+@item Consistent State
+A state containing only one possible action.
+@xref{Decl Summary,,lr.default_rules}.
+
@item Context-free grammars
Grammars specified as rules that can be applied regardless of context.
Thus, if there is a rule which says that an integer can be used as an
permitted. @xref{Language and Grammar, ,Languages and Context-Free
Grammars}.
+@item Default Rule
+The rule by which a parser should reduce if the current parser state
+contains no other action for the lookahead token.
+In permitted parser states, Bison declares the rule with the largest
+lookahead set to be the default rule and removes that lookahead set.
+@xref{Decl Summary,,lr.default_rules}.
+
@item Dynamic allocation
Allocation of memory that occurs during execution, rather than at
compile time or on entry to a function.
@item Generalized @acronym{LR} (@acronym{GLR})
A parsing algorithm that can handle all context-free grammars, including those
-that are not @acronym{LALR}(1). It resolves situations that Bison's
-usual @acronym{LALR}(1)
+that are not @acronym{LR}(1). It resolves situations that Bison's
+deterministic parsing
algorithm cannot by effectively splitting off multiple parsers, trying all
possible parsers, and discarding those that fail in the light of additional
right context. @xref{Generalized LR Parsing, ,Generalized
for example, `expression' or `declaration' in C@.
@xref{Language and Grammar, ,Languages and Context-Free Grammars}.
+@item @acronym{IELR}(1)
+A minimal @acronym{LR}(1) parser table generation algorithm.
+That is, given any context-free grammar, @acronym{IELR}(1) generates
+parser tables with the full language recognition power of canonical
+@acronym{LR}(1) but with nearly the same number of parser states as
+@acronym{LALR}(1).
+This reduction in parser states is often an order of magnitude.
+More importantly, because canonical @acronym{LR}(1)'s extra parser
+states may contain duplicate conflicts in the case of
+non-@acronym{LR}(1) grammars, the number of conflicts for
+@acronym{IELR}(1) is often an order of magnitude less as well.
+This can significantly reduce the complexity of developing of a grammar.
+@xref{Decl Summary,,lr.type}.
+
@item Infix operator
An arithmetic operator that is placed between the operands on which it
performs some operation.
@item @acronym{LALR}(1)
The class of context-free grammars that Bison (like most other parser
-generators) can handle; a subset of @acronym{LR}(1). @xref{Mystery
-Conflicts, ,Mysterious Reduce/Reduce Conflicts}.
+generators) can handle by default; a subset of @acronym{LR}(1).
+@xref{Mystery Conflicts, ,Mysterious Reduce/Reduce Conflicts}.
@item @acronym{LR}(1)
The class of context-free grammars in which at most one token of
@c LocalWords: akim fn cp syncodeindex vr tp synindex dircategory direntry
@c LocalWords: ifset vskip pt filll insertcopying sp ISBN Etienne Suvasa
@c LocalWords: ifnottex yyparse detailmenu GLR RPN Calc var Decls Rpcalc
-@c LocalWords: rpcalc Lexer Gen Comp Expr ltcalc mfcalc Decl Symtab yylex
+@c LocalWords: rpcalc Lexer Expr ltcalc mfcalc yylex
@c LocalWords: yyerror pxref LR yylval cindex dfn LALR samp gpl BNF xref
@c LocalWords: const int paren ifnotinfo AC noindent emph expr stmt findex
@c LocalWords: glr YYSTYPE TYPENAME prog dprec printf decl init stmtMerge
@c LocalWords: infile ypp yxx outfile itemx tex leaderfill
@c LocalWords: hbox hss hfill tt ly yyin fopen fclose ofirst gcc ll
@c LocalWords: nbar yytext fst snd osplit ntwo strdup AST
-@c LocalWords: YYSTACK DVI fdl printindex
+@c LocalWords: YYSTACK DVI fdl printindex IELR
projects / bison.git / blobdiff