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.
+* 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.
language, an expression typically has a semantic value that is a tree
structure describing the meaning of the expression.
-@node Semantic Actions, Bison Parser, Semantic Values, Concepts
+@node Semantic Actions, Locations Overview, Semantic Values, Concepts
@section Semantic Actions
@cindex semantic actions
@cindex actions, semantic
The action says how to produce the semantic value of the sum expression
from the values of the two subexpressions.
-@node Bison Parser, Stages, Semantic Actions, Concepts
+@node Locations Overview, Bison Parser, Semantic Actions, Concepts
+@section Locations
+@cindex location
+@cindex textual position
+@cindex position, textual
+
+Many applications, like interpreters or compilers, have to produce verbose
+and useful error messages. To achieve this, one must be able to keep track of
+the @dfn{textual position}, or @dfn{location}, of each syntactic construct.
+Bison provides a mechanism for handling these locations.
+
+Each token has a semantic value. In a similar fashion, each token has an
+associated location, but the type of locations is the same for all tokens and
+groupings. Moreover, the output parser is equipped with a default data
+structure for storing locations (@pxref{Locations}, for more details).
+
+Like semantic values, locations can be reached in actions using a dedicated
+set of constructs. In the example above, the location of the whole grouping
+is @code{@@$}, while the locations of the subexpressions are @code{@@1} and
+@code{@@3}.
+
+When a rule is matched, a default action is used to compute the semantic value
+of its left hand side (@pxref{Actions}). In the same way, another default
+action is used for locations. However, the action for locations is general
+enough for most cases, meaning there is usually no need to describe for each
+rule how @code{@@$} should be formed. When building a new location for a given
+grouping, the default behavior of the output parser is to take the beginning
+of the first symbol, and the end of the last symbol.
+
+@node Bison Parser, Stages, Locations Overview, Concepts
@section Bison Output: the Parser File
@cindex Bison parser
@cindex Bison utility
* Rules:: How to write grammar rules.
* Recursion:: Writing recursive rules.
* Semantics:: Semantic values and actions.
+* Locations:: Locations and actions.
* Declarations:: All kinds of Bison declarations are described here.
* Multiple Parsers:: Putting more than one Bison parser in one program.
@end menu
defines two mutually-recursive nonterminals, since each refers to the
other.
-@node Semantics, Declarations, Recursion, Grammar File
+@node Semantics, Locations, Recursion, Grammar File
@section Defining Language Semantics
@cindex defining language semantics
@cindex language semantics, defining
converted to an end-of-rule action in this way, and this is what Bison
actually does to implement mid-rule actions.
-@node Declarations, Multiple Parsers, Semantics, Grammar File
+@node Locations, Declarations, Semantics, Grammar File
+@section Tracking Locations
+@cindex location
+@cindex textual position
+@cindex position, textual
+
+Though grammar rules and semantic actions are enough to write a fully
+functional parser, it can be useful to process some additionnal informations,
+especially locations of tokens and groupings.
+
+The way locations are handled is defined by providing a data type, and actions
+to take when rules are matched.
+
+@menu
+* Location Type:: Specifying a data type for locations.
+* Actions and Locations:: Using locations in actions.
+* Location Default Action:: Defining a general way to compute locations.
+@end menu
+
+@node Location Type, Actions and Locations, , Locations
+@subsection Data Type of Locations
+@cindex data type of locations
+@cindex default location type
+
+Defining a data type for locations is much simpler than for semantic values,
+since all tokens and groupings always use the same type.
+
+The type of locations is specified by defining a macro called @code{YYLTYPE}.
+When @code{YYLTYPE} is not defined, Bison uses a default structure type with
+four members:
+
+@example
+struct
+@{
+ int first_line;
+ int first_column;
+ int last_line;
+ int last_column;
+@}
+@end example
+
+@node Actions and Locations, Location Default Action, Location Type, Locations
+@subsection Actions and Locations
+@cindex location actions
+@cindex actions, location
+@vindex @@$
+@vindex @@@var{n}
+
+Actions are not only useful for defining language semantics, but also for
+describing the behavior of the output parser with locations.
+
+The most obvious way for building locations of syntactic groupings is very
+similar to the way semantic values are computed. In a given rule, several
+constructs can be used to access the locations of the elements being matched.
+The location of the @var{n}th component of the right hand side is
+@code{@@@var{n}}, while the location of the left hand side grouping is
+@code{@@$}.
+
+Here is a simple example using the default data type for locations:
+
+@example
+@group
+exp: @dots{}
+ | exp '+' exp
+ @{
+ @@$.last_column = @@3.last_column;
+ @@$.last_line = @@3.last_line;
+ $$ = $1 + $3;
+ @}
+@end group
+@end example
+
+@noindent
+In the example above, there is no need to set the beginning of @code{@@$}. The
+output parser always sets @code{@@$} to @code{@@1} before executing the C
+code of a given action, whether you provide a processing for locations or not.
+
+@node Location Default Action, , Actions and Locations, Locations
+@subsection Default Action for Locations
+@vindex YYLLOC_DEFAULT
+
+Actually, actions are not the best place to compute locations. Since locations
+are much more general than semantic values, there is room in the output parser
+to define a default action to take for each rule. The @code{YYLLOC_DEFAULT}
+macro is called each time a rule is matched, before the associated action is
+run.
+
+@c Documentation for the old (?) YYLLOC_DEFAULT
+
+This macro takes two parameters, the first one being the location of the
+grouping (the result of the computation), and the second one being the
+location of the last element matched. Of course, before @code{YYLLOC_DEFAULT}
+is run, the result is set to the location of the first component matched.
+
+By default, this macro computes a location that ranges from the beginning of
+the first element to the end of the last element. It is defined this way:
+
+@example
+@group
+#define YYLLOC_DEFAULT(Current, Last) \
+ Current.last_line = Last.last_line; \
+ Current.last_column = Last.last_column;
+@end group
+@end example
+
+@c not Documentation for the old (?) YYLLOC_DEFAULT
+
+@noindent
+
+Most of the time, the default action for locations is general enough to
+suppress location dedicated code from most actions.
+
+@node Declarations, Multiple Parsers, Locations, Grammar File
@section Bison Declarations
@cindex declarations, Bison
@cindex Bison declarations
@subsection Textual Positions of Tokens
@vindex yylloc
-If you are using the @samp{@@@var{n}}-feature (@pxref{Action Features,
-,Special Features for Use in Actions}) in actions to keep track of the
+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. The value of @code{yylloc} is a structure and you need only
+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
four members are called @code{first_line}, @code{first_column},
@code{last_line} and @code{last_column}. Note that the use of this
errors. This is useful primarily in error rules.
@xref{Error Recovery}.
-@item @@@var{n}
-@findex @@@var{n}
-Acts like a structure variable containing information on the line
-numbers and column numbers of the @var{n}th component of the current
-rule. The structure has four members, like this:
+@item @@$
+@findex @@$
+Acts like a structure variable containing information on the textual position
+of the grouping made by the current rule. @xref{Locations, ,
+Tracking Locations}.
-@example
-struct @{
- int first_line, last_line;
- int first_column, last_column;
-@};
-@end example
+@c Check if those paragraphs are still useful or not.
+
+@c @example
+@c struct @{
+@c int first_line, last_line;
+@c int first_column, last_column;
+@c @};
+@c @end example
+
+@c Thus, to get the starting line number of the third component, you would
+@c use @samp{@@3.first_line}.
-Thus, to get the starting line number of the third component, you would
-use @samp{@@3.first_line}.
+@c In order for the members of this structure to contain valid information,
+@c you must make @code{yylex} supply this information about each token.
+@c If you need only certain members, then @code{yylex} need only fill in
+@c those members.
-In order for the members of this structure to contain valid information,
-you must make @code{yylex} supply this information about each token.
-If you need only certain members, then @code{yylex} need only fill in
-those members.
+@c The use of this feature makes the parser noticeably slower.
+
+@item @@@var{n}
+@findex @@@var{n}
+Acts like a structure variable containing information on the textual position
+of the @var{n}th component of the current rule. @xref{Locations, ,
+Tracking Locations}.
-The use of this feature makes the parser noticeably slower.
@end table
@node Algorithm, Error Recovery, Interface, Top
@item YYLTYPE
Macro for the data type of @code{yylloc}; a structure with four
-members. @xref{Token Positions, ,Textual Positions of Tokens}.
+members. @xref{Location Type, , Data Types of Locations}.
@item yyltype
Default value for YYLTYPE.
projects / bison.git / blobdiff