This manual (@value{UPDATED}) is for GNU Bison (version
@value{VERSION}), the GNU parser generator.
-Copyright @copyright{} 1988-1993, 1995, 1998-2011 Free Software
+Copyright @copyright{} 1988-1993, 1995, 1998-2012 Free Software
Foundation, Inc.
@quotation
* 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.
+* Bibliography:: Publications cited in this manual.
* Index:: Cross-references to the text.
@detailmenu
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.
+* Locations:: Overview of location tracking.
* Bison Parser:: What are Bison's input and output,
how is the output used?
* Stages:: Stages in writing and running Bison grammars.
Bison Grammar Files
-* Grammar Outline:: Overall layout of the grammar file.
-* Symbols:: Terminal and nonterminal symbols.
-* 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.
+* Grammar Outline:: Overall layout of the grammar file.
+* Symbols:: Terminal and nonterminal symbols.
+* Rules:: How to write grammar rules.
+* Recursion:: Writing recursive rules.
+* Semantics:: Semantic values and actions.
+* Tracking Locations:: Locations and actions.
+* Named References:: Using named references in actions.
+* Declarations:: All kinds of Bison declarations are described here.
+* Multiple Parsers:: Putting more than one Bison parser in one program.
Outline of a Bison Grammar
* Mid-Rule Actions:: Most actions go at the end of a rule.
This says when, why and how to use the exceptional
action in the middle of a rule.
-* Named References:: Using named references in actions.
Tracking Locations
* Pure Decl:: Requesting a reentrant parser.
* Push Decl:: Requesting a push parser.
* Decl Summary:: Table of all Bison declarations.
+* %define Summary:: Defining variables to adjust Bison's behavior.
* %code Summary:: Inserting code into the parser source.
Parser C-Language Interface
* 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.
+* Mysterious Conflicts:: Conflicts that look unjustified.
+* Tuning LR:: How to tune fundamental aspects of LR-based parsing.
* Generalized LR Parsing:: Parsing arbitrary context-free grammars.
* Memory Management:: What happens when memory is exhausted. How to avoid it.
* Precedence Examples:: How these features are used in the previous example.
* How Precedence:: How they work.
+Tuning LR
+
+* LR Table Construction:: Choose a different construction algorithm.
+* Default Reductions:: Disable default reductions.
+* LAC:: Correct lookahead sets in the parser states.
+* Unreachable States:: Keep unreachable parser states for debugging.
+
Handling Context Dependencies
* Semantic Tokens:: Token parsing can depend on the semantic context.
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.
+* Locations:: Overview of location tracking.
* Bison Parser:: What are Bison's input and output,
how is the output used?
* Stages:: Stages in writing and running Bison grammars.
BNF is a context-free grammar. The input to Bison is
essentially machine-readable BNF.
-@cindex LALR(1) grammars
-@cindex IELR(1) grammars
-@cindex LR(1) grammars
-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 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 LALR(1), which is hard to explain simply.
-@xref{Mystery Conflicts, ,Mysterious Reduce/Reduce Conflicts}, for
-more information on this.
-As an experimental feature, you can escape these additional restrictions by
-requesting IELR(1) or canonical LR(1) parser tables.
-@xref{Decl Summary,,lr.type}, to learn how.
+@cindex LALR grammars
+@cindex IELR grammars
+@cindex LR grammars
+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 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 LALR(1), which is hard to explain simply.
+@xref{Mysterious Conflicts}, for more information on this. As an
+experimental feature, you can escape these additional restrictions by
+requesting IELR(1) or canonical LR(1) parser tables. @xref{LR Table
+Construction}, to learn how.
@cindex GLR parsing
@cindex generalized LR (GLR) parsing
%@}
@end example
-@node Locations Overview
+@node Locations
@section Locations
@cindex location
@cindex textual location
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).
+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{Tracking 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
@xref{Invocation, ,Invoking Bison}.
@menu
-* Grammar Outline:: Overall layout of the grammar file.
-* Symbols:: Terminal and nonterminal symbols.
-* 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.
+* Grammar Outline:: Overall layout of the grammar file.
+* Symbols:: Terminal and nonterminal symbols.
+* Rules:: How to write grammar rules.
+* Recursion:: Writing recursive rules.
+* Semantics:: Semantic values and actions.
+* Tracking Locations:: Locations and actions.
+* Named References:: Using named references in actions.
+* Declarations:: All kinds of Bison declarations are described here.
+* Multiple Parsers:: Putting more than one Bison parser in one program.
@end menu
@node Grammar Outline
* Mid-Rule Actions:: Most actions go at the end of a rule.
This says when, why and how to use the exceptional
action in the middle of a rule.
-* Named References:: Using named references in actions.
@end menu
@node Value Type
useful semantic value associated with the @samp{+} token, it could be
referred to as @code{$2}.
-@xref{Named References,,Using Named References}, for more information
-about using the named references construct.
+@xref{Named References}, for more information about using the named
+references construct.
Note that the vertical-bar character @samp{|} is really a rule
separator, and actions are attached to a single rule. This is a
Now Bison can execute the action in the rule for @code{subroutine} without
deciding which rule for @code{compound} it will eventually use.
-@node Named References
-@subsection Using Named References
-@cindex named references
-
-While every semantic value can be accessed with positional references
-@code{$@var{n}} and @code{$$}, it's often much more convenient to refer to
-them by name. First of all, original symbol names may be used as named
-references. For example:
-
-@example
-@group
-invocation: op '(' args ')'
- @{ $invocation = new_invocation ($op, $args, @@invocation); @}
-@end group
-@end example
-
-@noindent
-The positional @code{$$}, @code{@@$}, @code{$n}, and @code{@@n} can be
-mixed with @code{$name} and @code{@@name} arbitrarily. For example:
-
-@example
-@group
-invocation: op '(' args ')'
- @{ $$ = new_invocation ($op, $args, @@$); @}
-@end group
-@end example
-
-@noindent
-However, sometimes regular symbol names are not sufficient due to
-ambiguities:
-
-@example
-@group
-exp: exp '/' exp
- @{ $exp = $exp / $exp; @} // $exp is ambiguous.
-
-exp: exp '/' exp
- @{ $$ = $1 / $exp; @} // One usage is ambiguous.
-
-exp: exp '/' exp
- @{ $$ = $1 / $3; @} // No error.
-@end group
-@end example
-
-@noindent
-When ambiguity occurs, explicitly declared names may be used for values and
-locations. Explicit names are declared as a bracketed name after a symbol
-appearance in rule definitions. For example:
-@example
-@group
-exp[result]: exp[left] '/' exp[right]
- @{ $result = $left / $right; @}
-@end group
-@end example
-
-@noindent
-Explicit names may be declared for RHS and for LHS symbols as well. In order
-to access a semantic value generated by a mid-rule action, an explicit name
-may also be declared by putting a bracketed name after the closing brace of
-the mid-rule action code:
-@example
-@group
-exp[res]: exp[x] '+' @{$left = $x;@}[left] exp[right]
- @{ $res = $left + $right; @}
-@end group
-@end example
-
-@noindent
-
-In references, in order to specify names containing dots and dashes, an explicit
-bracketed syntax @code{$[name]} and @code{@@[name]} must be used:
-@example
-@group
-if-stmt: IF '(' expr ')' THEN then.stmt ';'
- @{ $[if-stmt] = new_if_stmt ($expr, $[then.stmt]); @}
-@end group
-@end example
-
-It often happens that named references are followed by a dot, dash or other
-C punctuation marks and operators. By default, Bison will read
-@code{$name.suffix} as a reference to symbol value @code{$name} followed by
-@samp{.suffix}, i.e., an access to the @samp{suffix} field of the semantic
-value. In order to force Bison to recognize @code{name.suffix} in its entirety
-as the name of a semantic value, bracketed syntax @code{$[name.suffix]}
-must be used.
-
-
-@node Locations
+@node Tracking Locations
@section Tracking Locations
@cindex location
@cindex textual location
In addition, the named references construct @code{@@@var{name}} and
@code{@@[@var{name}]} may also be used to address the symbol locations.
-@xref{Named References,,Using Named References}, for more information
-about using the named references construct.
+@xref{Named References}, for more information about using the named
+references construct.
Here is a basic example using the default data type for locations:
statement when it is followed by a semicolon.
@end itemize
+@node Named References
+@section Named References
+@cindex named references
+
+As described in the preceding sections, the traditional way to refer to any
+semantic value or location is a @dfn{positional reference}, which takes the
+form @code{$@var{n}}, @code{$$}, @code{@@@var{n}}, and @code{@@$}. However,
+such a reference is not very descriptive. Moreover, if you later decide to
+insert or remove symbols in the right-hand side of a grammar rule, the need
+to renumber such references can be tedious and error-prone.
+
+To avoid these issues, you can also refer to a semantic value or location
+using a @dfn{named reference}. First of all, original symbol names may be
+used as named references. For example:
+
+@example
+@group
+invocation: op '(' args ')'
+ @{ $invocation = new_invocation ($op, $args, @@invocation); @}
+@end group
+@end example
+
+@noindent
+Positional and named references can be mixed arbitrarily. For example:
+
+@example
+@group
+invocation: op '(' args ')'
+ @{ $$ = new_invocation ($op, $args, @@$); @}
+@end group
+@end example
+
+@noindent
+However, sometimes regular symbol names are not sufficient due to
+ambiguities:
+
+@example
+@group
+exp: exp '/' exp
+ @{ $exp = $exp / $exp; @} // $exp is ambiguous.
+
+exp: exp '/' exp
+ @{ $$ = $1 / $exp; @} // One usage is ambiguous.
+
+exp: exp '/' exp
+ @{ $$ = $1 / $3; @} // No error.
+@end group
+@end example
+
+@noindent
+When ambiguity occurs, explicitly declared names may be used for values and
+locations. Explicit names are declared as a bracketed name after a symbol
+appearance in rule definitions. For example:
+@example
+@group
+exp[result]: exp[left] '/' exp[right]
+ @{ $result = $left / $right; @}
+@end group
+@end example
+
+@noindent
+In order to access a semantic value generated by a mid-rule action, an
+explicit name may also be declared by putting a bracketed name after the
+closing brace of the mid-rule action code:
+@example
+@group
+exp[res]: exp[x] '+' @{$left = $x;@}[left] exp[right]
+ @{ $res = $left + $right; @}
+@end group
+@end example
+
+@noindent
+
+In references, in order to specify names containing dots and dashes, an explicit
+bracketed syntax @code{$[name]} and @code{@@[name]} must be used:
+@example
+@group
+if-stmt: IF '(' expr ')' THEN then.stmt ';'
+ @{ $[if-stmt] = new_if_stmt ($expr, $[then.stmt]); @}
+@end group
+@end example
+
+It often happens that named references are followed by a dot, dash or other
+C punctuation marks and operators. By default, Bison will read
+@samp{$name.suffix} as a reference to symbol value @code{$name} followed by
+@samp{.suffix}, i.e., an access to the @code{suffix} field of the semantic
+value. In order to force Bison to recognize @samp{name.suffix} in its
+entirety as the name of a semantic value, the bracketed syntax
+@samp{$[name.suffix]} must be used.
+
+The named references feature is experimental. More user feedback will help
+to stabilize it.
+
@node Declarations
@section Bison Declarations
@cindex declarations, Bison
* Pure Decl:: Requesting a reentrant parser.
* Push Decl:: Requesting a push parser.
* Decl Summary:: Table of all Bison declarations.
+* %define Summary:: Defining variables to adjust Bison's behavior.
* %code Summary:: Inserting code into the parser source.
@end menu
@cindex mid-rule actions
Finally, Bison will never invoke a @code{%destructor} for an unreferenced
mid-rule semantic value (@pxref{Mid-Rule Actions,,Actions in Mid-Rule}).
-That is, Bison does not consider a mid-rule to have a semantic value if you do
-not reference @code{$$} in the mid-rule's action or @code{$@var{n}} (where
-@var{n} is the RHS symbol position of the mid-rule) in any later action in that
-rule.
-However, if you do reference either, the Bison-generated parser will invoke the
-@code{<>} @code{%destructor} whenever it discards the mid-rule symbol.
+That is, Bison does not consider a mid-rule to have a semantic value if you
+do not reference @code{$$} in the mid-rule's action or @code{$@var{n}}
+(where @var{n} is the right-hand side symbol position of the mid-rule) in
+any later action in that rule. However, if you do reference either, the
+Bison-generated parser will invoke the @code{<>} @code{%destructor} whenever
+it discards the mid-rule symbol.
@ignore
@noindent
Normally, Bison generates a pull parser.
The following Bison declaration says that you want the parser to be a push
-parser (@pxref{Decl Summary,,%define api.push-pull}):
+parser (@pxref{%define Summary,,api.push-pull}):
@example
%define api.push-pull push
@deffn {Directive} %define @var{variable}
@deffnx {Directive} %define @var{variable} @var{value}
@deffnx {Directive} %define @var{variable} "@var{value}"
-Define a variable to adjust Bison's behavior.
-
-It is an error if a @var{variable} is defined by @code{%define} multiple
-times, but see @ref{Bison Options,,-D @var{name}[=@var{value}]}.
-
-@var{value} must be placed in quotation marks if it contains any character
-other than a letter, underscore, period, or non-initial dash or digit.
+Define a variable to adjust Bison's behavior. @xref{%define Summary}.
+@end deffn
-Omitting @code{"@var{value}"} entirely is always equivalent to specifying
-@code{""}.
+@deffn {Directive} %defines
+Write a parser header file containing macro definitions for the token
+type names defined in the grammar as well as a few other declarations.
+If the parser implementation file is named @file{@var{name}.c} then
+the parser header file is named @file{@var{name}.h}.
-Some @var{variable}s take Boolean values.
-In this case, Bison will complain if the variable definition does not meet one
-of the following four conditions:
+For C parsers, the parser header file declares @code{YYSTYPE} unless
+@code{YYSTYPE} is already defined as a macro or you have used a
+@code{<@var{type}>} tag without using @code{%union}. 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 or type definition (@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}.
-@enumerate
-@item @code{@var{value}} is @code{true}
+Unless your parser is pure, the parser header file declares
+@code{yylval} as an external variable. @xref{Pure Decl, ,A Pure
+(Reentrant) Parser}.
-@item @code{@var{value}} is omitted (or @code{""} is specified).
-This is equivalent to @code{true}.
+If you have also used locations, the parser header file declares
+@code{YYLTYPE} and @code{yylloc} using a protocol similar to that of the
+@code{YYSTYPE} macro and @code{yylval}. @xref{Tracking Locations}.
-@item @code{@var{value}} is @code{false}.
+This parser header 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}.
-@item @var{variable} is never defined.
-In this case, Bison selects a default value.
-@end enumerate
+@findex %code requires
+@findex %code provides
+If you have declared @code{%code requires} or @code{%code provides}, the output
+header also contains their code.
+@xref{%code Summary}.
+@end deffn
-What @var{variable}s are accepted, as well as their meanings and default
-values, depend on the selected target language and/or the parser
-skeleton (@pxref{Decl Summary,,%language}, @pxref{Decl
-Summary,,%skeleton}).
-Unaccepted @var{variable}s produce an error.
-Some of the accepted @var{variable}s are:
+@deffn {Directive} %defines @var{defines-file}
+Same as above, but save in the file @var{defines-file}.
+@end deffn
-@itemize @bullet
-@item api.pure
-@findex %define api.pure
+@deffn {Directive} %destructor
+Specify how the parser should reclaim the memory associated to
+discarded symbols. @xref{Destructor Decl, , Freeing Discarded Symbols}.
+@end deffn
-@itemize @bullet
-@item Language(s): C
+@deffn {Directive} %file-prefix "@var{prefix}"
+Specify a prefix to use for all Bison output file names. The names
+are chosen as if the grammar file were named @file{@var{prefix}.y}.
+@end deffn
-@item Purpose: Request a pure (reentrant) parser program.
-@xref{Pure Decl, ,A Pure (Reentrant) Parser}.
+@deffn {Directive} %language "@var{language}"
+Specify the programming language for the generated parser. Currently
+supported languages include C, C++, and Java.
+@var{language} is case-insensitive.
-@item Accepted Values: Boolean
+This directive is experimental and its effect may be modified in future
+releases.
+@end deffn
-@item Default Value: @code{false}
-@end itemize
+@deffn {Directive} %locations
+Generate the code processing the locations (@pxref{Action Features,
+,Special Features for Use in Actions}). This mode is enabled as soon as
+the grammar uses the special @samp{@@@var{n}} tokens, but if your
+grammar does not use it, using @samp{%locations} allows for more
+accurate syntax error messages.
+@end deffn
-@item api.push-pull
-@findex %define api.push-pull
+@deffn {Directive} %name-prefix "@var{prefix}"
+Rename the external symbols used in the parser so that they start with
+@var{prefix} instead of @samp{yy}. The precise list of symbols renamed
+in C parsers
+is @code{yyparse}, @code{yylex}, @code{yyerror}, @code{yynerrs},
+@code{yylval}, @code{yychar}, @code{yydebug}, and
+(if locations are used) @code{yylloc}. If you use a push parser,
+@code{yypush_parse}, @code{yypull_parse}, @code{yypstate},
+@code{yypstate_new} and @code{yypstate_delete} will
+also be renamed. For example, if you use @samp{%name-prefix "c_"}, the
+names become @code{c_parse}, @code{c_lex}, and so on.
+For C++ parsers, see the @code{%define namespace} documentation in this
+section.
+@xref{Multiple Parsers, ,Multiple Parsers in the Same Program}.
+@end deffn
-@itemize @bullet
-@item Language(s): C (deterministic parsers only)
+@ifset defaultprec
+@deffn {Directive} %no-default-prec
+Do not assign a precedence to rules lacking an explicit @code{%prec}
+modifier (@pxref{Contextual Precedence, ,Context-Dependent
+Precedence}).
+@end deffn
+@end ifset
-@item Purpose: Request a pull parser, a push parser, or both.
-@xref{Push Decl, ,A Push Parser}.
-(The current push parsing interface is experimental and may evolve.
-More user feedback will help to stabilize it.)
-
-@item Accepted Values: @code{pull}, @code{push}, @code{both}
+@deffn {Directive} %no-lines
+Don't generate any @code{#line} preprocessor commands in the parser
+implementation file. Ordinarily Bison writes these commands in the
+parser implementation file so that the C compiler and debuggers will
+associate errors and object code with your source file (the grammar
+file). This directive causes them to associate errors with the parser
+implementation file, treating it as an independent source file in its
+own right.
+@end deffn
-@item Default Value: @code{pull}
-@end itemize
+@deffn {Directive} %output "@var{file}"
+Specify @var{file} for the parser implementation file.
+@end deffn
-@c ================================================== lr.default-reductions
+@deffn {Directive} %pure-parser
+Deprecated version of @code{%define api.pure} (@pxref{%define
+Summary,,api.pure}), for which Bison is more careful to warn about
+unreasonable usage.
+@end deffn
-@item lr.default-reductions
-@cindex default reductions
-@findex %define lr.default-reductions
-@cindex delayed syntax errors
-@cindex syntax errors delayed
-@cindex LAC
-@findex %nonassoc
+@deffn {Directive} %require "@var{version}"
+Require version @var{version} or higher of Bison. @xref{Require Decl, ,
+Require a Version of Bison}.
+@end deffn
-@itemize @bullet
-@item Language(s): all
+@deffn {Directive} %skeleton "@var{file}"
+Specify the skeleton to use.
-@item Purpose: Specify the kind of states that are permitted to
-contain default reductions.
-That is, in such a state, Bison selects the reduction with the largest
-lookahead set to be the default parser action and then removes that
-lookahead set.
-(The ability to specify where default reductions should be used is
-experimental.
-More user feedback will help to stabilize it.)
+@c You probably don't need this option unless you are developing Bison.
+@c You should use @code{%language} if you want to specify the skeleton for a
+@c different language, because it is clearer and because it will always choose the
+@c correct skeleton for non-deterministic or push parsers.
-@item Accepted Values:
-@itemize
-@item @code{all}.
-This is the traditional Bison behavior.
-The main advantage is a significant decrease in the size of the parser
-tables.
-The disadvantage is that, when the generated parser encounters a
-syntactically unacceptable token, the parser might then perform
-unnecessary default reductions before it can detect the syntax error.
-Such delayed syntax error detection is usually inherent in
-LALR and IELR parser tables anyway due to
-LR state merging (@pxref{Decl Summary,,lr.type}).
-Furthermore, the use of @code{%nonassoc} can contribute to delayed
-syntax error detection even in the case of canonical LR.
-As an experimental feature, delayed syntax error detection can be
-overcome in all cases by enabling LAC (@pxref{Decl
-Summary,,parse.lac}, for details, including a discussion of the effects
-of delayed syntax error detection).
-
-@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 recognizes the ability to ignore the lookahead token
-in this way only when such a reduction is encoded as a default
-reduction.
-Thus, if default reductions are permitted only in consistent states,
-then a canonical LR parser that does not employ
-@code{%nonassoc} detects a syntax error as soon as it @emph{needs} the
-syntactically unacceptable token from the scanner.
-
-@item @code{accepting}.
-@cindex accepting state
-In the accepting state, the default reduction is actually the accept
-action.
-In this case, a canonical LR parser that does not employ
-@code{%nonassoc} detects a syntax error as soon as it @emph{reaches} the
-syntactically unacceptable token in the input.
-That is, it does not perform any extra reductions.
-@end itemize
+If @var{file} does not contain a @code{/}, @var{file} is the name of a skeleton
+file in the Bison installation directory.
+If it does, @var{file} is an absolute file name or a file name relative to the
+directory of the grammar file.
+This is similar to how most shells resolve commands.
+@end deffn
-@item Default Value:
-@itemize
-@item @code{accepting} if @code{lr.type} is @code{canonical-lr}.
-@item @code{all} otherwise.
-@end itemize
-@end itemize
+@deffn {Directive} %token-table
+Generate an array of token names in the parser implementation file.
+The name of the array is @code{yytname}; @code{yytname[@var{i}]} is
+the name of the token whose internal Bison token code number is
+@var{i}. The first three elements of @code{yytname} correspond to the
+predefined tokens @code{"$end"}, @code{"error"}, and
+@code{"$undefined"}; after these come the symbols defined in the
+grammar file.
-@c ============================================ lr.keep-unreachable-states
+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{"\"\\\\/\""}.
-@item lr.keep-unreachable-states
-@findex %define lr.keep-unreachable-states
+When you specify @code{%token-table}, Bison also generates macro
+definitions for macros @code{YYNTOKENS}, @code{YYNNTS}, and
+@code{YYNRULES}, and @code{YYNSTATES}:
-@itemize @bullet
-@item Language(s): all
+@table @code
+@item YYNTOKENS
+The highest token number, plus one.
+@item YYNNTS
+The number of nonterminal symbols.
+@item YYNRULES
+The number of grammar rules,
+@item YYNSTATES
+The number of parser states (@pxref{Parser States}).
+@end table
+@end deffn
-@item Purpose: Request that Bison allow unreachable parser states to
-remain in the parser tables.
-Bison considers a state to be unreachable if there exists no sequence of
-transitions from the start state to that state.
-A state can become unreachable during conflict resolution if Bison disables a
-shift action leading to it from a predecessor state.
-Keeping unreachable states is sometimes useful for analysis purposes, but they
-are useless in the generated parser.
+@deffn {Directive} %verbose
+Write an extra output file containing verbose descriptions of the
+parser states and what is done for each type of lookahead token in
+that state. @xref{Understanding, , Understanding Your Parser}, for more
+information.
+@end deffn
-@item Accepted Values: Boolean
+@deffn {Directive} %yacc
+Pretend the option @option{--yacc} was given, i.e., imitate Yacc,
+including its naming conventions. @xref{Bison Options}, for more.
+@end deffn
-@item Default Value: @code{false}
-@item Caveats:
+@node %define Summary
+@subsection %define Summary
-@itemize @bullet
+There are many features of Bison's behavior that can be controlled by
+assigning the feature a single value. For historical reasons, some
+such features are assigned values by dedicated directives, such as
+@code{%start}, which assigns the start symbol. However, newer such
+features are associated with variables, which are assigned by the
+@code{%define} directive:
-@item Unreachable states may contain conflicts and may use rules not used in
-any other state.
-Thus, keeping unreachable states may induce warnings that are irrelevant to
-your parser's behavior, and it may eliminate warnings that are relevant.
-Of course, the change in warnings may actually be relevant to a parser table
-analysis that wants to keep unreachable states, so this behavior will likely
-remain in future Bison releases.
-
-@item While Bison is able to remove unreachable states, it is not guaranteed to
-remove other kinds of useless states.
-Specifically, when Bison disables reduce actions during conflict resolution,
-some goto actions may become useless, and thus some additional states may
-become useless.
-If Bison were to compute which goto actions were useless and then disable those
-actions, it could identify such states as unreachable and then remove those
-states.
-However, Bison does not compute which goto actions are useless.
-@end itemize
-@end itemize
+@deffn {Directive} %define @var{variable}
+@deffnx {Directive} %define @var{variable} @var{value}
+@deffnx {Directive} %define @var{variable} "@var{value}"
+Define @var{variable} to @var{value}.
-@c ================================================== lr.type
+@var{value} must be placed in quotation marks if it contains any
+character other than a letter, underscore, period, or non-initial dash
+or digit. Omitting @code{"@var{value}"} entirely is always equivalent
+to specifying @code{""}.
-@item lr.type
-@findex %define lr.type
-@cindex LALR
-@cindex IELR
-@cindex LR
+It is an error if a @var{variable} is defined by @code{%define}
+multiple times, but see @ref{Bison Options,,-D
+@var{name}[=@var{value}]}.
+@end deffn
-@itemize @bullet
-@item Language(s): all
+The rest of this section summarizes variables and values that
+@code{%define} accepts.
-@item Purpose: Specify the type of parser tables within the
-LR(1) family.
-(This feature is experimental.
-More user feedback will help to stabilize it.)
+Some @var{variable}s take Boolean values. In this case, Bison will
+complain if the variable definition does not meet one of the following
+four conditions:
-@item Accepted Values:
-@itemize
-@item @code{lalr}.
-While Bison generates LALR parser tables by default for
-historical reasons, IELR or canonical LR is almost
-always preferable for deterministic parsers.
-The trouble is that LALR parser tables can suffer from
-mysterious conflicts and thus may not accept the full set of sentences
-that IELR and canonical LR accept.
-@xref{Mystery Conflicts}, for details.
-However, there are at least two scenarios where LALR may be
-worthwhile:
-@itemize
-@cindex GLR with LALR
-@item When employing 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.
-In this case, the use of LALR parser tables is guaranteed not
-to alter the language accepted by the parser.
-LALR parser tables are the smallest parser tables Bison can
-currently generate, so they may be preferable.
-Nevertheless, once you begin to resolve conflicts statically,
-GLR begins to behave more like a deterministic parser, and so
-IELR and canonical LR can be helpful to avoid
-LALR's mysterious behavior.
-
-@item Occasionally during development, an especially malformed grammar
-with a major recurring flaw may severely impede the IELR or
-canonical LR parser table generation algorithm.
-LALR can be a quick way to generate parser tables in order to
-investigate such problems while ignoring the more subtle differences
-from IELR and canonical LR.
-@end itemize
+@enumerate
+@item @code{@var{value}} is @code{true}
-@item @code{ielr}.
-IELR is a minimal LR algorithm.
-That is, given any grammar (LR or non-LR),
-IELR and canonical LR always accept exactly the same
-set of sentences.
-However, as for LALR, the number of parser states is often an
-order of magnitude less for IELR than for canonical
-LR.
-More importantly, because canonical LR's extra parser states
-may contain duplicate conflicts in the case of non-LR
-grammars, the number of conflicts for 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
-@cindex LAC
-@findex %nonassoc
-While inefficient, canonical LR parser tables can be an
-interesting means to explore a grammar because they have a property that
-IELR and LALR tables do not.
-That is, if @code{%nonassoc} is not used and default reductions are left
-disabled (@pxref{Decl Summary,,lr.default-reductions}), then, for every
-left context of every canonical LR state, the set of tokens
-accepted by that state is guaranteed to be the exact set of tokens that
-is syntactically acceptable in that left context.
-It might then seem that an advantage of canonical LR parsers
-in production is that, under the above constraints, they are guaranteed
-to detect a syntax error as soon as possible without performing any
-unnecessary reductions.
-However, IELR parsers using LAC (@pxref{Decl
-Summary,,parse.lac}) are also able to achieve this behavior without
-sacrificing @code{%nonassoc} or default reductions.
-@end itemize
+@item @code{@var{value}} is omitted (or @code{""} is specified).
+This is equivalent to @code{true}.
-@item Default Value: @code{lalr}
-@end itemize
+@item @code{@var{value}} is @code{false}.
-@item namespace
-@findex %define namespace
+@item @var{variable} is never defined.
+In this case, Bison selects a default value.
+@end enumerate
-@itemize
-@item Languages(s): C++
+What @var{variable}s are accepted, as well as their meanings and default
+values, depend on the selected target language and/or the parser
+skeleton (@pxref{Decl Summary,,%language}, @pxref{Decl
+Summary,,%skeleton}).
+Unaccepted @var{variable}s produce an error.
+Some of the accepted @var{variable}s are:
-@item Purpose: Specify the namespace for the parser class.
-For example, if you specify:
+@itemize @bullet
+@item api.pure
+@findex %define api.pure
-@smallexample
-%define namespace "foo::bar"
-@end smallexample
+@itemize @bullet
+@item Language(s): C
-Bison uses @code{foo::bar} verbatim in references such as:
+@item Purpose: Request a pure (reentrant) parser program.
+@xref{Pure Decl, ,A Pure (Reentrant) Parser}.
-@smallexample
-foo::bar::parser::semantic_type
-@end smallexample
+@item Accepted Values: Boolean
-However, to open a namespace, Bison removes any leading @code{::} and then
-splits on any remaining occurrences:
+@item Default Value: @code{false}
+@end itemize
-@smallexample
-namespace foo @{ namespace bar @{
- class position;
- class location;
-@} @}
-@end smallexample
+@item api.push-pull
+@findex %define api.push-pull
-@item Accepted Values: Any absolute or relative C++ namespace reference without
-a trailing @code{"::"}.
-For example, @code{"foo"} or @code{"::foo::bar"}.
+@itemize @bullet
+@item Language(s): C (deterministic parsers only)
-@item Default Value: The value specified by @code{%name-prefix}, which defaults
-to @code{yy}.
-This usage of @code{%name-prefix} is for backward compatibility and can be
-confusing since @code{%name-prefix} also specifies the textual prefix for the
-lexical analyzer function.
-Thus, if you specify @code{%name-prefix}, it is best to also specify
-@code{%define namespace} so that @code{%name-prefix} @emph{only} affects the
-lexical analyzer function.
-For example, if you specify:
+@item Purpose: Request a pull parser, a push parser, or both.
+@xref{Push Decl, ,A Push Parser}.
+(The current push parsing interface is experimental and may evolve.
+More user feedback will help to stabilize it.)
-@smallexample
-%define namespace "foo"
-%name-prefix "bar::"
-@end smallexample
+@item Accepted Values: @code{pull}, @code{push}, @code{both}
-The parser namespace is @code{foo} and @code{yylex} is referenced as
-@code{bar::lex}.
+@item Default Value: @code{pull}
@end itemize
-@c ================================================== parse.lac
-@item parse.lac
-@findex %define parse.lac
-@cindex LAC
-@cindex lookahead correction
-
-@itemize
-@item Languages(s): C
+@c ================================================== lr.default-reductions
-@item Purpose: Enable LAC (lookahead correction) to improve
-syntax error handling.
-
-Canonical LR, IELR, and LALR can suffer
-from a couple of problems upon encountering a syntax error. First, the
-parser might perform additional parser stack reductions before
-discovering the syntax error. Such reductions perform user semantic
-actions that are unexpected because they are based on an invalid token,
-and they cause error recovery to begin in a different syntactic context
-than the one in which the invalid token was encountered. Second, when
-verbose error messages are enabled (with @code{%error-verbose} or
-@code{#define YYERROR_VERBOSE}), the expected token list in the syntax
-error message can both contain invalid tokens and omit valid tokens.
-
-The culprits for the above problems are @code{%nonassoc}, default
-reductions in inconsistent states, and parser state merging. Thus,
-IELR and LALR suffer the most. Canonical
-LR can suffer only if @code{%nonassoc} is used or if default
-reductions are enabled for inconsistent states.
+@item lr.default-reductions
+@findex %define lr.default-reductions
-LAC is a new mechanism within the parsing algorithm that
-completely solves these problems for canonical LR,
-IELR, and LALR without sacrificing @code{%nonassoc},
-default reductions, or state mering. Conceptually, the mechanism is
-straight-forward. Whenever the parser fetches a new token from the
-scanner so that it can determine the next parser action, it immediately
-suspends normal parsing and performs an exploratory parse using a
-temporary copy of the normal parser state stack. During this
-exploratory parse, the parser does not perform user semantic actions.
-If the exploratory parse reaches a shift action, normal parsing then
-resumes on the normal parser stacks. If the exploratory parse reaches
-an error instead, the parser reports a syntax error. If verbose syntax
-error messages are enabled, the parser must then discover the list of
-expected tokens, so it performs a separate exploratory parse for each
-token in the grammar.
-
-There is one subtlety about the use of LAC. That is, when in
-a consistent parser state with a default reduction, the parser will not
-attempt to fetch a token from the scanner because no lookahead is needed
-to determine the next parser action. Thus, whether default reductions
-are enabled in consistent states (@pxref{Decl
-Summary,,lr.default-reductions}) affects how soon the parser detects a
-syntax error: when it @emph{reaches} an erroneous token or when it
-eventually @emph{needs} that token as a lookahead. The latter behavior
-is probably more intuitive, so Bison currently provides no way to
-achieve the former behavior while default reductions are fully enabled.
-
-Thus, when LAC is in use, for some fixed decision of whether
-to enable default reductions in consistent states, canonical
-LR and IELR behave exactly the same for both
-syntactically acceptable and syntactically unacceptable input. While
-LALR still does not support the full language-recognition
-power of canonical LR and IELR, LAC at
-least enables LALR's syntax error handling to correctly
-reflect LALR's language-recognition power.
-
-Because LAC requires many parse actions to be performed twice,
-it can have a performance penalty. However, not all parse actions must
-be performed twice. Specifically, during a series of default reductions
-in consistent states and shift actions, the parser never has to initiate
-an exploratory parse. Moreover, the most time-consuming tasks in a
-parse are often the file I/O, the lexical analysis performed by the
-scanner, and the user's semantic actions, but none of these are
-performed during the exploratory parse. Finally, the base of the
-temporary stack used during an exploratory parse is a pointer into the
-normal parser state stack so that the stack is never physically copied.
-In our experience, the performance penalty of LAC has proven
-insignificant for practical grammars.
+@itemize @bullet
+@item Language(s): all
-@item Accepted Values: @code{none}, @code{full}
+@item Purpose: Specify the kind of states that are permitted to
+contain default reductions. @xref{Default Reductions}. (The ability to
+specify where default reductions should be used is experimental. More user
+feedback will help to stabilize it.)
-@item Default Value: @code{none}
+@item Accepted Values: @code{most}, @code{consistent}, @code{accepting}
+@item Default Value:
+@itemize
+@item @code{accepting} if @code{lr.type} is @code{canonical-lr}.
+@item @code{most} otherwise.
@end itemize
@end itemize
-@end deffn
-
-@deffn {Directive} %defines
-Write a parser header file containing macro definitions for the token
-type names defined in the grammar as well as a few other declarations.
-If the parser implementation file is named @file{@var{name}.c} then
-the parser header file is named @file{@var{name}.h}.
-
-For C parsers, the parser header file declares @code{YYSTYPE} unless
-@code{YYSTYPE} is already defined as a macro or you have used a
-@code{<@var{type}>} tag without using @code{%union}. 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 or type definition (@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 parser header file declares
-@code{yylval} as an external variable. @xref{Pure Decl, ,A Pure
-(Reentrant) Parser}.
-
-If you have also used locations, the parser header file declares
-@code{YYLTYPE} and @code{yylloc} using a protocol similar to that of
-the @code{YYSTYPE} macro and @code{yylval}. @xref{Locations,
-,Tracking Locations}.
-
-This parser header 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}.
-
-@findex %code requires
-@findex %code provides
-If you have declared @code{%code requires} or @code{%code provides}, the output
-header also contains their code.
-@xref{%code Summary}.
-@end deffn
+@c ============================================ lr.keep-unreachable-states
-@deffn {Directive} %defines @var{defines-file}
-Same as above, but save in the file @var{defines-file}.
-@end deffn
+@item lr.keep-unreachable-states
+@findex %define lr.keep-unreachable-states
-@deffn {Directive} %destructor
-Specify how the parser should reclaim the memory associated to
-discarded symbols. @xref{Destructor Decl, , Freeing Discarded Symbols}.
-@end deffn
+@itemize @bullet
+@item Language(s): all
+@item Purpose: Request that Bison allow unreachable parser states to
+remain in the parser tables. @xref{Unreachable States}.
+@item Accepted Values: Boolean
+@item Default Value: @code{false}
+@end itemize
-@deffn {Directive} %file-prefix "@var{prefix}"
-Specify a prefix to use for all Bison output file names. The names
-are chosen as if the grammar file were named @file{@var{prefix}.y}.
-@end deffn
+@c ================================================== lr.type
-@deffn {Directive} %language "@var{language}"
-Specify the programming language for the generated parser. Currently
-supported languages include C, C++, and Java.
-@var{language} is case-insensitive.
+@item lr.type
+@findex %define lr.type
-This directive is experimental and its effect may be modified in future
-releases.
-@end deffn
+@itemize @bullet
+@item Language(s): all
-@deffn {Directive} %locations
-Generate the code processing the locations (@pxref{Action Features,
-,Special Features for Use in Actions}). This mode is enabled as soon as
-the grammar uses the special @samp{@@@var{n}} tokens, but if your
-grammar does not use it, using @samp{%locations} allows for more
-accurate syntax error messages.
-@end deffn
+@item Purpose: Specify the type of parser tables within the
+LR(1) family. @xref{LR Table Construction}. (This feature is experimental.
+More user feedback will help to stabilize it.)
-@deffn {Directive} %name-prefix "@var{prefix}"
-Rename the external symbols used in the parser so that they start with
-@var{prefix} instead of @samp{yy}. The precise list of symbols renamed
-in C parsers
-is @code{yyparse}, @code{yylex}, @code{yyerror}, @code{yynerrs},
-@code{yylval}, @code{yychar}, @code{yydebug}, and
-(if locations are used) @code{yylloc}. If you use a push parser,
-@code{yypush_parse}, @code{yypull_parse}, @code{yypstate},
-@code{yypstate_new} and @code{yypstate_delete} will
-also be renamed. For example, if you use @samp{%name-prefix "c_"}, the
-names become @code{c_parse}, @code{c_lex}, and so on.
-For C++ parsers, see the @code{%define namespace} documentation in this
-section.
-@xref{Multiple Parsers, ,Multiple Parsers in the Same Program}.
-@end deffn
+@item Accepted Values: @code{lalr}, @code{ielr}, @code{canonical-lr}
-@ifset defaultprec
-@deffn {Directive} %no-default-prec
-Do not assign a precedence to rules lacking an explicit @code{%prec}
-modifier (@pxref{Contextual Precedence, ,Context-Dependent
-Precedence}).
-@end deffn
-@end ifset
+@item Default Value: @code{lalr}
+@end itemize
-@deffn {Directive} %no-lines
-Don't generate any @code{#line} preprocessor commands in the parser
-implementation file. Ordinarily Bison writes these commands in the
-parser implementation file so that the C compiler and debuggers will
-associate errors and object code with your source file (the grammar
-file). This directive causes them to associate errors with the parser
-implementation file, treating it as an independent source file in its
-own right.
-@end deffn
+@item namespace
+@findex %define namespace
-@deffn {Directive} %output "@var{file}"
-Specify @var{file} for the parser implementation file.
-@end deffn
+@itemize
+@item Languages(s): C++
-@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
+@item Purpose: Specify the namespace for the parser class.
+For example, if you specify:
-@deffn {Directive} %require "@var{version}"
-Require version @var{version} or higher of Bison. @xref{Require Decl, ,
-Require a Version of Bison}.
-@end deffn
+@smallexample
+%define namespace "foo::bar"
+@end smallexample
-@deffn {Directive} %skeleton "@var{file}"
-Specify the skeleton to use.
+Bison uses @code{foo::bar} verbatim in references such as:
-@c You probably don't need this option unless you are developing Bison.
-@c You should use @code{%language} if you want to specify the skeleton for a
-@c different language, because it is clearer and because it will always choose the
-@c correct skeleton for non-deterministic or push parsers.
+@smallexample
+foo::bar::parser::semantic_type
+@end smallexample
-If @var{file} does not contain a @code{/}, @var{file} is the name of a skeleton
-file in the Bison installation directory.
-If it does, @var{file} is an absolute file name or a file name relative to the
-directory of the grammar file.
-This is similar to how most shells resolve commands.
-@end deffn
+However, to open a namespace, Bison removes any leading @code{::} and then
+splits on any remaining occurrences:
-@deffn {Directive} %token-table
-Generate an array of token names in the parser implementation file.
-The name of the array is @code{yytname}; @code{yytname[@var{i}]} is
-the name of the token whose internal Bison token code number is
-@var{i}. The first three elements of @code{yytname} correspond to the
-predefined tokens @code{"$end"}, @code{"error"}, and
-@code{"$undefined"}; after these come the symbols defined in the
-grammar file.
+@smallexample
+namespace foo @{ namespace bar @{
+ class position;
+ class location;
+@} @}
+@end smallexample
-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{"\"\\\\/\""}.
+@item Accepted Values: Any absolute or relative C++ namespace reference without
+a trailing @code{"::"}.
+For example, @code{"foo"} or @code{"::foo::bar"}.
-When you specify @code{%token-table}, Bison also generates macro
-definitions for macros @code{YYNTOKENS}, @code{YYNNTS}, and
-@code{YYNRULES}, and @code{YYNSTATES}:
+@item Default Value: The value specified by @code{%name-prefix}, which defaults
+to @code{yy}.
+This usage of @code{%name-prefix} is for backward compatibility and can be
+confusing since @code{%name-prefix} also specifies the textual prefix for the
+lexical analyzer function.
+Thus, if you specify @code{%name-prefix}, it is best to also specify
+@code{%define namespace} so that @code{%name-prefix} @emph{only} affects the
+lexical analyzer function.
+For example, if you specify:
-@table @code
-@item YYNTOKENS
-The highest token number, plus one.
-@item YYNNTS
-The number of nonterminal symbols.
-@item YYNRULES
-The number of grammar rules,
-@item YYNSTATES
-The number of parser states (@pxref{Parser States}).
-@end table
-@end deffn
+@smallexample
+%define namespace "foo"
+%name-prefix "bar::"
+@end smallexample
-@deffn {Directive} %verbose
-Write an extra output file containing verbose descriptions of the
-parser states and what is done for each type of lookahead token in
-that state. @xref{Understanding, , Understanding Your Parser}, for more
-information.
-@end deffn
+The parser namespace is @code{foo} and @code{yylex} is referenced as
+@code{bar::lex}.
+@end itemize
+
+@c ================================================== parse.lac
+@item parse.lac
+@findex %define parse.lac
+
+@itemize
+@item Languages(s): C (deterministic parsers only)
+
+@item Purpose: Enable LAC (lookahead correction) to improve
+syntax error handling. @xref{LAC}.
+@item Accepted Values: @code{none}, @code{full}
+@item Default Value: @code{none}
+@end itemize
+@end itemize
-@deffn {Directive} %yacc
-Pretend the option @option{--yacc} was given, i.e., imitate Yacc,
-including its naming conventions. @xref{Bison Options}, for more.
-@end deffn
@node %code Summary
@subsection %code Summary
-@deffn {Directive} %code @{@var{code}@}
@findex %code
-This is the unqualified form of the @code{%code} directive.
-It inserts @var{code} verbatim at a language-dependent default location in the
-output@footnote{The default location is actually skeleton-dependent;
- writers of non-standard skeletons however should choose the default location
- consistently with the behavior of the standard Bison skeletons.}.
-
@cindex Prologue
+
+The @code{%code} directive inserts code verbatim into the output
+parser source at any of a predefined set of locations. It thus serves
+as a flexible and user-friendly alternative to the traditional Yacc
+prologue, @code{%@{@var{code}%@}}. This section summarizes the
+functionality of @code{%code} for the various target languages
+supported by Bison. For a detailed discussion of how to use
+@code{%code} in place of @code{%@{@var{code}%@}} for C/C++ and why it
+is advantageous to do so, @pxref{Prologue Alternatives}.
+
+@deffn {Directive} %code @{@var{code}@}
+This is the unqualified form of the @code{%code} directive. It
+inserts @var{code} verbatim at a language-dependent default location
+in the parser implementation.
+
For C/C++, the default location is the parser implementation file
-after the usual contents of the parser header file. Thus,
-@code{%code} replaces the traditional Yacc prologue,
-@code{%@{@var{code}%@}}, for most purposes. For a detailed
-discussion, see @ref{Prologue Alternatives}.
+after the usual contents of the parser header file. Thus, the
+unqualified form replaces @code{%@{@var{code}%@}} for most purposes.
For Java, the default location is inside the parser class.
@end deffn
@deffn {Directive} %code @var{qualifier} @{@var{code}@}
This is the qualified form of the @code{%code} directive.
-If you need to specify location-sensitive verbatim @var{code} that does not
-belong at the default location selected by the unqualified @code{%code} form,
-use this form instead.
+@var{qualifier} identifies the purpose of @var{code} and thus the
+location(s) where Bison should insert it. That is, if you need to
+specify location-sensitive @var{code} that does not belong at the
+default location selected by the unqualified @code{%code} form, use
+this form instead.
+@end deffn
-@var{qualifier} identifies the purpose of @var{code} and thus the location(s)
-where Bison should generate it.
-Not all @var{qualifier}s are accepted for all target languages.
-Unaccepted @var{qualifier}s produce an error.
-Some of the accepted @var{qualifier}s are:
+For any particular qualifier or for the unqualified form, if there are
+multiple occurrences of the @code{%code} directive, Bison concatenates
+the specified code in the order in which it appears in the grammar
+file.
+
+Not all qualifiers are accepted for all target languages. Unaccepted
+qualifiers produce an error. Some of the accepted qualifiers are:
@itemize @bullet
@item requires
@end itemize
@end itemize
-@cindex Prologue
-For a detailed discussion of how to use @code{%code} in place of the
-traditional Yacc prologue for C/C++, see @ref{Prologue Alternatives}.
-@end deffn
+Though we say the insertion locations are language-dependent, they are
+technically skeleton-dependent. Writers of non-standard skeletons
+however should choose their locations consistently with the behavior
+of the standard Bison skeletons.
@node Multiple Parsers
@subsection Textual Locations of Tokens
@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.
+If you are using the @samp{@@@var{n}}-feature (@pxref{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
@w{@code{"syntax error"}}.
@findex %error-verbose
-If you invoke the directive @code{%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"}}.
+If you invoke the directive @code{%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"}}. However, that message sometimes
+contains incorrect information if LAC is not enabled (@pxref{LAC}).
The parser can detect one other kind of error: memory exhaustion. This
can happen when the input contains constructions that are very deeply
@deffn {Value} @@$
@findex @@$
-Acts like a structure variable containing information on the textual location
-of the grouping made by the current rule. @xref{Locations, ,
-Tracking Locations}.
+Acts like a structure variable containing information on the textual
+location of the grouping made by the current rule. @xref{Tracking
+Locations}.
@c Check if those paragraphs are still useful or not.
@deffn {Value} @@@var{n}
@findex @@@var{n}
-Acts like a structure variable containing information on the textual location
-of the @var{n}th component of the current rule. @xref{Locations, ,
-Tracking Locations}.
+Acts like a structure variable containing information on the textual
+location of the @var{n}th component of the current rule. @xref{Tracking
+Locations}.
@end deffn
@node Internationalization
* 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.
+* Mysterious Conflicts:: Conflicts that look unjustified.
+* Tuning LR:: How to tune fundamental aspects of LR-based parsing.
* Generalized LR Parsing:: Parsing arbitrary context-free grammars.
* Memory Management:: What happens when memory is exhausted. How to avoid it.
@end menu
;
@end example
-@node Mystery Conflicts
-@section Mysterious Reduce/Reduce Conflicts
+@node Mysterious Conflicts
+@section Mysterious Conflicts
+@cindex Mysterious Conflicts
Sometimes reduce/reduce conflicts can occur that don't look warranted.
Here is an example:
a @code{name} if a comma or colon follows, or a @code{type} if another
@code{ID} follows. In other words, this grammar is LR(1).
-@cindex LR(1)
-@cindex LALR(1)
+@cindex LR
+@cindex LALR
However, for historical reasons, Bison cannot by default handle all
LR(1) grammars.
In this grammar, two contexts, that after an @code{ID} at the beginning
the two contexts causes a conflict later. In parser terminology, this
occurrence means that the grammar is not LALR(1).
-For many practical grammars (specifically those that fall into the
-non-LR(1) class), the limitations of 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 IELR(1) or canonical 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 IELR(1) and canonical LR(1) implementations
-are experimental.
-More user feedback will help to stabilize them.)
+@cindex IELR
+@cindex canonical LR
+For many practical grammars (specifically those that fall into the non-LR(1)
+class), the limitations of 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 construction algorithm. Either
+IELR(1) or canonical LR(1) would suffice, but the former is more efficient
+and easier to debug during development. @xref{LR Table Construction}, for
+details. (Bison's IELR(1) and canonical LR(1) implementations are
+experimental. More user feedback will help to stabilize them.)
If you instead wish to work around LALR(1)'s limitations, you
can often fix a mysterious conflict by identifying the two parser states
@end example
For a more detailed exposition of LALR(1) parsers and parser
-generators, please see:
-Frank DeRemer and Thomas Pennello, Efficient Computation of
-LALR(1) Look-Ahead Sets, @cite{ACM Transactions on
-Programming Languages and Systems}, Vol.@: 4, No.@: 4 (October 1982),
-pp.@: 615--649 @uref{http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/69622.357187}.
+generators, @pxref{Bibliography,,DeRemer 1982}.
+
+@node Tuning LR
+@section Tuning LR
+
+The default behavior of Bison's LR-based parsers is chosen mostly for
+historical reasons, but that behavior is often not robust. For example, in
+the previous section, we discussed the mysterious conflicts that can be
+produced by LALR(1), Bison's default parser table construction algorithm.
+Another example is Bison's @code{%error-verbose} directive, which instructs
+the generated parser to produce verbose syntax error messages, which can
+sometimes contain incorrect information.
+
+In this section, we explore several modern features of Bison that allow you
+to tune fundamental aspects of the generated LR-based parsers. Some of
+these features easily eliminate shortcomings like those mentioned above.
+Others can be helpful purely for understanding your parser.
+
+Most of the features discussed in this section are still experimental. More
+user feedback will help to stabilize them.
+
+@menu
+* LR Table Construction:: Choose a different construction algorithm.
+* Default Reductions:: Disable default reductions.
+* LAC:: Correct lookahead sets in the parser states.
+* Unreachable States:: Keep unreachable parser states for debugging.
+@end menu
+
+@node LR Table Construction
+@subsection LR Table Construction
+@cindex Mysterious Conflict
+@cindex LALR
+@cindex IELR
+@cindex canonical LR
+@findex %define lr.type
+
+For historical reasons, Bison constructs LALR(1) parser tables by default.
+However, LALR does not possess the full language-recognition power of LR.
+As a result, the behavior of parsers employing LALR parser tables is often
+mysterious. We presented a simple example of this effect in @ref{Mysterious
+Conflicts}.
+
+As we also demonstrated in that example, the traditional approach to
+eliminating such mysterious behavior is to restructure the grammar.
+Unfortunately, doing so correctly is often difficult. Moreover, merely
+discovering that LALR causes mysterious behavior in your parser can be
+difficult as well.
+
+Fortunately, Bison provides an easy way to eliminate the possibility of such
+mysterious behavior altogether. You simply need to activate a more powerful
+parser table construction algorithm by using the @code{%define lr.type}
+directive.
+
+@deffn {Directive} {%define lr.type @var{TYPE}}
+Specify the type of parser tables within the LR(1) family. The accepted
+values for @var{TYPE} are:
+
+@itemize
+@item @code{lalr} (default)
+@item @code{ielr}
+@item @code{canonical-lr}
+@end itemize
+
+(This feature is experimental. More user feedback will help to stabilize
+it.)
+@end deffn
+
+For example, to activate IELR, you might add the following directive to you
+grammar file:
+
+@example
+%define lr.type ielr
+@end example
+
+@noindent For the example in @ref{Mysterious Conflicts}, the mysterious
+conflict is then eliminated, so there is no need to invest time in
+comprehending the conflict or restructuring the grammar to fix it. If,
+during future development, the grammar evolves such that all mysterious
+behavior would have disappeared using just LALR, you need not fear that
+continuing to use IELR will result in unnecessarily large parser tables.
+That is, IELR generates LALR tables when LALR (using a deterministic parsing
+algorithm) is sufficient to support the full language-recognition power of
+LR. Thus, by enabling IELR at the start of grammar development, you can
+safely and completely eliminate the need to consider LALR's shortcomings.
+
+While IELR is almost always preferable, there are circumstances where LALR
+or the canonical LR parser tables described by Knuth
+(@pxref{Bibliography,,Knuth 1965}) can be useful. Here we summarize the
+relative advantages of each parser table construction algorithm within
+Bison:
+
+@itemize
+@item LALR
+
+There are at least two scenarios where LALR can be worthwhile:
+
+@itemize
+@item GLR without static conflict resolution.
+
+@cindex GLR with LALR
+When employing 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. In this case,
+the choice of parser table construction algorithm is guaranteed not to alter
+the language accepted by the parser. LALR parser tables are the smallest
+parser tables Bison can currently construct, so they may then be preferable.
+Nevertheless, once you begin to resolve conflicts statically, GLR behaves
+more like a deterministic parser in the syntactic contexts where those
+conflicts appear, and so either IELR or canonical LR can then be helpful to
+avoid LALR's mysterious behavior.
+
+@item Malformed grammars.
+
+Occasionally during development, an especially malformed grammar with a
+major recurring flaw may severely impede the IELR or canonical LR parser
+table construction algorithm. LALR can be a quick way to construct parser
+tables in order to investigate such problems while ignoring the more subtle
+differences from IELR and canonical LR.
+@end itemize
+
+@item IELR
+
+IELR (Inadequacy Elimination LR) is a minimal LR algorithm. That is, given
+any grammar (LR or non-LR), parsers using IELR or canonical LR parser tables
+always accept exactly the same set of sentences. However, like LALR, IELR
+merges parser states during parser table construction so that the number of
+parser states is often an order of magnitude less than for canonical LR.
+More importantly, because canonical LR's extra parser states may contain
+duplicate conflicts in the case of non-LR grammars, the number of conflicts
+for IELR is often an order of magnitude less as well. This effect can
+significantly reduce the complexity of developing a grammar.
+
+@item Canonical LR
+
+@cindex delayed syntax error detection
+@cindex LAC
+@findex %nonassoc
+While inefficient, canonical LR parser tables can be an interesting means to
+explore a grammar because they possess a property that IELR and LALR tables
+do not. That is, if @code{%nonassoc} is not used and default reductions are
+left disabled (@pxref{Default Reductions}), then, for every left context of
+every canonical LR state, the set of tokens accepted by that state is
+guaranteed to be the exact set of tokens that is syntactically acceptable in
+that left context. It might then seem that an advantage of canonical LR
+parsers in production is that, under the above constraints, they are
+guaranteed to detect a syntax error as soon as possible without performing
+any unnecessary reductions. However, IELR parsers that use LAC are also
+able to achieve this behavior without sacrificing @code{%nonassoc} or
+default reductions. For details and a few caveats of LAC, @pxref{LAC}.
+@end itemize
+
+For a more detailed exposition of the mysterious behavior in LALR parsers
+and the benefits of IELR, @pxref{Bibliography,,Denny 2008 March}, and
+@ref{Bibliography,,Denny 2010 November}.
+
+@node Default Reductions
+@subsection Default Reductions
+@cindex default reductions
+@findex %define lr.default-reductions
+@findex %nonassoc
+
+After parser table construction, Bison identifies the reduction with the
+largest lookahead set in each parser state. To reduce the size of the
+parser state, traditional Bison behavior is to remove that lookahead set and
+to assign that reduction to be the default parser action. Such a reduction
+is known as a @dfn{default reduction}.
+
+Default reductions affect more than the size of the parser tables. They
+also affect the behavior of the parser:
+
+@itemize
+@item Delayed @code{yylex} invocations.
+
+@cindex delayed yylex invocations
+@cindex consistent states
+@cindex defaulted states
+A @dfn{consistent state} is a state that has only one possible parser
+action. If that action is a reduction and is encoded as a default
+reduction, then that consistent state is called a @dfn{defaulted state}.
+Upon reaching a defaulted state, a Bison-generated parser does not bother to
+invoke @code{yylex} to fetch the next token before performing the reduction.
+In other words, whether default reductions are enabled in consistent states
+determines how soon a Bison-generated parser invokes @code{yylex} for a
+token: immediately when it @emph{reaches} that token in the input or when it
+eventually @emph{needs} that token as a lookahead to determine the next
+parser action. Traditionally, default reductions are enabled, and so the
+parser exhibits the latter behavior.
+
+The presence of defaulted states is an important consideration when
+designing @code{yylex} and the grammar file. That is, if the behavior of
+@code{yylex} can influence or be influenced by the semantic actions
+associated with the reductions in defaulted states, then the delay of the
+next @code{yylex} invocation until after those reductions is significant.
+For example, the semantic actions might pop a scope stack that @code{yylex}
+uses to determine what token to return. Thus, the delay might be necessary
+to ensure that @code{yylex} does not look up the next token in a scope that
+should already be considered closed.
+
+@item Delayed syntax error detection.
+
+@cindex delayed syntax error detection
+When the parser fetches a new token by invoking @code{yylex}, it checks
+whether there is an action for that token in the current parser state. The
+parser detects a syntax error if and only if either (1) there is no action
+for that token or (2) the action for that token is the error action (due to
+the use of @code{%nonassoc}). However, if there is a default reduction in
+that state (which might or might not be a defaulted state), then it is
+impossible for condition 1 to exist. That is, all tokens have an action.
+Thus, the parser sometimes fails to detect the syntax error until it reaches
+a later state.
+
+@cindex LAC
+@c If there's an infinite loop, default reductions can prevent an incorrect
+@c sentence from being rejected.
+While default reductions never cause the parser to accept syntactically
+incorrect sentences, the delay of syntax error detection can have unexpected
+effects on the behavior of the parser. However, the delay can be caused
+anyway by parser state merging and the use of @code{%nonassoc}, and it can
+be fixed by another Bison feature, LAC. We discuss the effects of delayed
+syntax error detection and LAC more in the next section (@pxref{LAC}).
+@end itemize
+
+For canonical LR, the only default reduction that Bison enables by default
+is the accept action, which appears only in the accepting state, which has
+no other action and is thus a defaulted state. However, the default accept
+action does not delay any @code{yylex} invocation or syntax error detection
+because the accept action ends the parse.
+
+For LALR and IELR, Bison enables default reductions in nearly all states by
+default. There are only two exceptions. First, states that have a shift
+action on the @code{error} token do not have default reductions because
+delayed syntax error detection could then prevent the @code{error} token
+from ever being shifted in that state. However, parser state merging can
+cause the same effect anyway, and LAC fixes it in both cases, so future
+versions of Bison might drop this exception when LAC is activated. Second,
+GLR parsers do not record the default reduction as the action on a lookahead
+token for which there is a conflict. The correct action in this case is to
+split the parse instead.
+
+To adjust which states have default reductions enabled, use the
+@code{%define lr.default-reductions} directive.
+
+@deffn {Directive} {%define lr.default-reductions @var{WHERE}}
+Specify the kind of states that are permitted to contain default reductions.
+The accepted values of @var{WHERE} are:
+@itemize
+@item @code{most} (default for LALR and IELR)
+@item @code{consistent}
+@item @code{accepting} (default for canonical LR)
+@end itemize
+
+(The ability to specify where default reductions are permitted is
+experimental. More user feedback will help to stabilize it.)
+@end deffn
+
+@node LAC
+@subsection LAC
+@findex %define parse.lac
+@cindex LAC
+@cindex lookahead correction
+
+Canonical LR, IELR, and LALR can suffer from a couple of problems upon
+encountering a syntax error. First, the parser might perform additional
+parser stack reductions before discovering the syntax error. Such
+reductions can perform user semantic actions that are unexpected because
+they are based on an invalid token, and they cause error recovery to begin
+in a different syntactic context than the one in which the invalid token was
+encountered. Second, when verbose error messages are enabled (@pxref{Error
+Reporting}), the expected token list in the syntax error message can both
+contain invalid tokens and omit valid tokens.
+
+The culprits for the above problems are @code{%nonassoc}, default reductions
+in inconsistent states (@pxref{Default Reductions}), and parser state
+merging. Because IELR and LALR merge parser states, they suffer the most.
+Canonical LR can suffer only if @code{%nonassoc} is used or if default
+reductions are enabled for inconsistent states.
+
+LAC (Lookahead Correction) is a new mechanism within the parsing algorithm
+that solves these problems for canonical LR, IELR, and LALR without
+sacrificing @code{%nonassoc}, default reductions, or state merging. You can
+enable LAC with the @code{%define parse.lac} directive.
+
+@deffn {Directive} {%define parse.lac @var{VALUE}}
+Enable LAC to improve syntax error handling.
+@itemize
+@item @code{none} (default)
+@item @code{full}
+@end itemize
+(This feature is experimental. More user feedback will help to stabilize
+it. Moreover, it is currently only available for deterministic parsers in
+C.)
+@end deffn
+
+Conceptually, the LAC mechanism is straight-forward. Whenever the parser
+fetches a new token from the scanner so that it can determine the next
+parser action, it immediately suspends normal parsing and performs an
+exploratory parse using a temporary copy of the normal parser state stack.
+During this exploratory parse, the parser does not perform user semantic
+actions. If the exploratory parse reaches a shift action, normal parsing
+then resumes on the normal parser stacks. If the exploratory parse reaches
+an error instead, the parser reports a syntax error. If verbose syntax
+error messages are enabled, the parser must then discover the list of
+expected tokens, so it performs a separate exploratory parse for each token
+in the grammar.
+
+There is one subtlety about the use of LAC. That is, when in a consistent
+parser state with a default reduction, the parser will not attempt to fetch
+a token from the scanner because no lookahead is needed to determine the
+next parser action. Thus, whether default reductions are enabled in
+consistent states (@pxref{Default Reductions}) affects how soon the parser
+detects a syntax error: immediately when it @emph{reaches} an erroneous
+token or when it eventually @emph{needs} that token as a lookahead to
+determine the next parser action. The latter behavior is probably more
+intuitive, so Bison currently provides no way to achieve the former behavior
+while default reductions are enabled in consistent states.
+
+Thus, when LAC is in use, for some fixed decision of whether to enable
+default reductions in consistent states, canonical LR and IELR behave almost
+exactly the same for both syntactically acceptable and syntactically
+unacceptable input. While LALR still does not support the full
+language-recognition power of canonical LR and IELR, LAC at least enables
+LALR's syntax error handling to correctly reflect LALR's
+language-recognition power.
+
+There are a few caveats to consider when using LAC:
+
+@itemize
+@item Infinite parsing loops.
+
+IELR plus LAC does have one shortcoming relative to canonical LR. Some
+parsers generated by Bison can loop infinitely. LAC does not fix infinite
+parsing loops that occur between encountering a syntax error and detecting
+it, but enabling canonical LR or disabling default reductions sometimes
+does.
+
+@item Verbose error message limitations.
+
+Because of internationalization considerations, Bison-generated parsers
+limit the size of the expected token list they are willing to report in a
+verbose syntax error message. If the number of expected tokens exceeds that
+limit, the list is simply dropped from the message. Enabling LAC can
+increase the size of the list and thus cause the parser to drop it. Of
+course, dropping the list is better than reporting an incorrect list.
+
+@item Performance.
+
+Because LAC requires many parse actions to be performed twice, it can have a
+performance penalty. However, not all parse actions must be performed
+twice. Specifically, during a series of default reductions in consistent
+states and shift actions, the parser never has to initiate an exploratory
+parse. Moreover, the most time-consuming tasks in a parse are often the
+file I/O, the lexical analysis performed by the scanner, and the user's
+semantic actions, but none of these are performed during the exploratory
+parse. Finally, the base of the temporary stack used during an exploratory
+parse is a pointer into the normal parser state stack so that the stack is
+never physically copied. In our experience, the performance penalty of LAC
+has proven insignificant for practical grammars.
+@end itemize
+
+While the LAC algorithm shares techniques that have been recognized in the
+parser community for years, for the publication that introduces LAC,
+@pxref{Bibliography,,Denny 2010 May}.
+
+@node Unreachable States
+@subsection Unreachable States
+@findex %define lr.keep-unreachable-states
+@cindex unreachable states
+
+If there exists no sequence of transitions from the parser's start state to
+some state @var{s}, then Bison considers @var{s} to be an @dfn{unreachable
+state}. A state can become unreachable during conflict resolution if Bison
+disables a shift action leading to it from a predecessor state.
+
+By default, Bison removes unreachable states from the parser after conflict
+resolution because they are useless in the generated parser. However,
+keeping unreachable states is sometimes useful when trying to understand the
+relationship between the parser and the grammar.
+
+@deffn {Directive} {%define lr.keep-unreachable-states @var{VALUE}}
+Request that Bison allow unreachable states to remain in the parser tables.
+@var{VALUE} must be a Boolean. The default is @code{false}.
+@end deffn
+
+There are a few caveats to consider:
+
+@itemize @bullet
+@item Missing or extraneous warnings.
+
+Unreachable states may contain conflicts and may use rules not used in any
+other state. Thus, keeping unreachable states may induce warnings that are
+irrelevant to your parser's behavior, and it may eliminate warnings that are
+relevant. Of course, the change in warnings may actually be relevant to a
+parser table analysis that wants to keep unreachable states, so this
+behavior will likely remain in future Bison releases.
+
+@item Other useless states.
+
+While Bison is able to remove unreachable states, it is not guaranteed to
+remove other kinds of useless states. Specifically, when Bison disables
+reduce actions during conflict resolution, some goto actions may become
+useless, and thus some additional states may become useless. If Bison were
+to compute which goto actions were useless and then disable those actions,
+it could identify such states as unreachable and then remove those states.
+However, Bison does not compute which goto actions are useless.
+@end itemize
@node Generalized LR Parsing
@section Generalized LR (GLR) Parsing
The same is true of languages that require more than one symbol of
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}),
+Finally, as previously mentioned (@pxref{Mysterious Conflicts}),
there are languages where Bison's default choice of how to
summarize the input seen so far loses necessary information.
grammar, in particular, it is only slightly slower than with the
deterministic LR(1) Bison parser.
-For a more detailed exposition of GLR parsers, please see: Elizabeth
-Scott, Adrian Johnstone and Shamsa Sadaf Hussain, Tomita-Style
-Generalised LR Parsers, Royal Holloway, University of
-London, Department of Computer Science, TR-00-12,
-@uref{http://www.cs.rhul.ac.uk/research/languages/publications/tomita_style_1.ps},
-(2000-12-24).
+For a more detailed exposition of GLR parsers, @pxref{Bibliography,,Scott
+2000}.
@node Memory Management
@section Memory Management, and How to Avoid Memory Exhaustion
be false alarms in existing grammars employing the Yacc constructs
@code{$0} or @code{$-@var{n}} (where @var{n} is some positive integer).
-
@item yacc
Incompatibilities with POSIX Yacc.
+@item conflicts-sr
+@itemx conflicts-rr
+S/R and R/R conflicts. These warnings are enabled by default. However, if
+the @code{%expect} or @code{%expect-rr} directive is specified, an
+unexpected number of conflicts is an error, and an expected number of
+conflicts is not reported, so @option{-W} and @option{--warning} then have
+no effect on the conflict report.
+
+@item other
+All warnings not categorized above. These warnings are enabled by default.
+
+This category is provided merely for the sake of completeness. Future
+releases of Bison may move warnings from this category to new, more specific
+categories.
+
@item all
All the warnings.
@item none
@itemx -F @var{name}[=@var{value}]
@itemx --force-define=@var{name}[=@var{value}]
Each of these is equivalent to @samp{%define @var{name} "@var{value}"}
-(@pxref{Decl Summary, ,%define}) except that Bison processes multiple
+(@pxref{%define Summary}) except that Bison processes multiple
definitions for the same @var{name} as follows:
@itemize
When run, @command{bison} will create several entities in the @samp{yy}
namespace.
@findex %define namespace
-Use the @samp{%define namespace} directive to change the namespace name, see
-@ref{Decl Summary}.
-The various classes are generated in the following files:
+Use the @samp{%define namespace} directive to change the namespace
+name, see @ref{%define Summary,,namespace}. The various classes are
+generated in the following files:
@table @file
@item position.hh
@c - %define filename_type "const symbol::Symbol"
When the directive @code{%locations} is used, the C++ parser supports
-location tracking, see @ref{Locations, , Locations Overview}. Two
-auxiliary classes define a @code{position}, a single point in a file,
-and a @code{location}, a range composed of a pair of
-@code{position}s (possibly spanning several files).
+location tracking, see @ref{Tracking Locations}. Two auxiliary classes
+define a @code{position}, a single point in a file, and a @code{location}, a
+range composed of a pair of @code{position}s (possibly spanning several
+files).
@deftypemethod {position} {std::string*} file
The name of the file. It will always be handled as a pointer, the
@end example
@noindent
-Use the two following directives to enable parser tracing and verbose
-error messages.
+Use the two following directives to enable parser tracing and verbose error
+messages. However, verbose error messages can contain incorrect information
+(@pxref{LAC}).
@comment file: calc++-parser.yy
@example
yyin = stdin;
else if (!(yyin = fopen (file.c_str (), "r")))
@{
- error (std::string ("cannot open ") + file);
- exit (1);
+ error (std::string ("cannot open ") + file + ": " + strerror(errno));
+ exit (EXIT_FAILURE);
@}
@}
@c - class Position
@c - class Location
-When the directive @code{%locations} is used, the Java parser
-supports location tracking, see @ref{Locations, , Locations Overview}.
-An auxiliary user-defined class defines a @dfn{position}, a single point
-in a file; Bison itself defines a class representing a @dfn{location},
-a range composed of a pair of positions (possibly spanning several
-files). The location class is an inner class of the parser; the name
-is @code{Location} by default, and may also be renamed using
-@code{%define location_type "@var{class-name}"}.
+When the directive @code{%locations} is used, the Java parser supports
+location tracking, see @ref{Tracking Locations}. An auxiliary user-defined
+class defines a @dfn{position}, a single point in a file; Bison itself
+defines a class representing a @dfn{location}, a range composed of a pair of
+positions (possibly spanning several files). The location class is an inner
+class of the parser; the name is @code{Location} by default, and may also be
+renamed using @code{%define location_type "@var{class-name}"}.
The location class treats the position as a completely opaque value.
By default, the class name is @code{Position}, but this can be changed
{
yyin = fopen (file, "r");
if (!yyin)
- exit (2);
+ {
+ perror ("fopen");
+ exit (EXIT_FAILURE);
+ }
/* One token only. */
yylex ();
if (fclose (yyin) != 0)
- exit (3);
+ {
+ perror ("fclose");
+ exit (EXIT_FAILURE);
+ }
return 0;
}
send additional files as well (such as `config.h' or `config.cache').
Patches are most welcome, but not required. That is, do not hesitate to
-send a bug report just because you can not provide a fix.
+send a bug report just because you cannot provide a fix.
Send bug reports to @email{bug-bison@@gnu.org}.
@deffn {Variable} @@$
In an action, the location of the left-hand side of the rule.
-@xref{Locations, , Locations Overview}.
+@xref{Tracking Locations}.
@end deffn
@deffn {Variable} @@@var{n}
-In an action, the location of the @var{n}-th symbol of the right-hand
-side of the rule. @xref{Locations, , Locations Overview}.
+In an action, the location of the @var{n}-th symbol of the right-hand side
+of the rule. @xref{Tracking Locations}.
@end deffn
@deffn {Variable} @@@var{name}
-In an action, the location of a symbol addressed by name.
-@xref{Locations, , Locations Overview}.
+In an action, the location of a symbol addressed by name. @xref{Tracking
+Locations}.
@end deffn
@deffn {Variable} @@[@var{name}]
-In an action, the location of a symbol addressed by name.
-@xref{Locations, , Locations Overview}.
+In an action, the location of a symbol addressed by name. @xref{Tracking
+Locations}.
@end deffn
@deffn {Variable} $$
@deffn {Directive} %code @{@var{code}@}
@deffnx {Directive} %code @var{qualifier} @{@var{code}@}
-Insert @var{code} verbatim into output parser source.
+Insert @var{code} verbatim into the output parser source at the
+default location or at the location specified by @var{qualifier}.
@xref{%code Summary}.
@end deffn
@end deffn
@end ifset
-@deffn {Directive} %define @var{define-variable}
-@deffnx {Directive} %define @var{define-variable} @var{value}
-@deffnx {Directive} %define @var{define-variable} "@var{value}"
-Define a variable to adjust Bison's behavior.
-@xref{Decl Summary,,%define}.
+@deffn {Directive} %define @var{variable}
+@deffnx {Directive} %define @var{variable} @var{value}
+@deffnx {Directive} %define @var{variable} "@var{value}"
+Define a variable to adjust Bison's behavior. @xref{%define Summary}.
@end deffn
@deffn {Directive} %defines
@deffn {Directive} %error-verbose
Bison declaration to request verbose, specific error message strings
-when @code{yyerror} is called.
+when @code{yyerror} is called. @xref{Error Reporting}.
@end deffn
@deffn {Directive} %file-prefix "@var{prefix}"
@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.
+Deprecated version of @code{%define api.pure} (@pxref{%define
+Summary,,api.pure}), for which Bison is more careful to warn about
+unreasonable usage.
@end deffn
@deffn {Directive} %require "@var{version}"
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.
+@code{%error-verbose} is preferred. @xref{Error Reporting}.
@end deffn
@deffn {Macro} YYINITDEPTH
@cindex glossary
@table @asis
-@item Accepting State
+@item Accepting state
A state whose only action is the accept action.
The accepting state is thus a consistent state.
@xref{Understanding,,}.
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-reductions}.
+@item Consistent state
+A state containing only one possible action. @xref{Default Reductions}.
@item Context-free grammars
Grammars specified as rules that can be applied regardless of context.
permitted. @xref{Language and Grammar, ,Languages and Context-Free
Grammars}.
-@item Default Reduction
+@item Default reduction
The reduction that a parser should perform if the current parser state
-contains no other action for the lookahead token.
-In permitted parser states, Bison declares the reduction with the
-largest lookahead set to be the default reduction and removes that
-lookahead set.
-@xref{Decl Summary,,lr.default-reductions}.
+contains no other action for the lookahead token. In permitted parser
+states, Bison declares the reduction with the largest lookahead set to be
+the default reduction and removes that lookahead set. @xref{Default
+Reductions}.
+
+@item Defaulted state
+A consistent state with a default reduction. @xref{Default Reductions}.
@item Dynamic allocation
Allocation of memory that occurs during execution, rather than at
for example, `expression' or `declaration' in C@.
@xref{Language and Grammar, ,Languages and Context-Free Grammars}.
-@item IELR(1)
-A minimal LR(1) parser table generation algorithm.
-That is, given any context-free grammar, IELR(1) generates
-parser tables with the full language recognition power of canonical
-LR(1) but with nearly the same number of parser states as
-LALR(1).
-This reduction in parser states is often an order of magnitude.
-More importantly, because canonical LR(1)'s extra parser
-states may contain duplicate conflicts in the case of
-non-LR(1) grammars, the number of conflicts for
-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 IELR(1) (Inadequacy Elimination LR(1))
+A minimal LR(1) parser table construction algorithm. That is, given any
+context-free grammar, IELR(1) generates parser tables with the full
+language-recognition power of canonical LR(1) but with nearly the same
+number of parser states as LALR(1). This reduction in parser states is
+often an order of magnitude. More importantly, because canonical LR(1)'s
+extra parser states may contain duplicate conflicts in the case of non-LR(1)
+grammars, the number of conflicts for IELR(1) is often an order of magnitude
+less as well. This can significantly reduce the complexity of developing a
+grammar. @xref{LR Table Construction}.
@item Infix operator
An arithmetic operator that is placed between the operands on which it
@item LAC (Lookahead Correction)
A parsing mechanism that fixes the problem of delayed syntax error
-detection, which is caused by LR state merging, default reductions, and
-the use of @code{%nonassoc}. Delayed syntax error detection results in
+detection, which is caused by LR state merging, default reductions, and the
+use of @code{%nonassoc}. Delayed syntax error detection results in
unexpected semantic actions, initiation of error recovery in the wrong
syntactic context, and an incorrect list of expected tokens in a verbose
-syntax error message. @xref{Decl Summary,,parse.lac}.
+syntax error message. @xref{LAC}.
@item Language construct
One of the typical usage schemas of the language. For example, one of
@item LALR(1)
The class of context-free grammars that Bison (like most other parser
generators) can handle by default; a subset of LR(1).
-@xref{Mystery Conflicts, ,Mysterious Reduce/Reduce Conflicts}.
+@xref{Mysterious Conflicts}.
@item LR(1)
The class of context-free grammars in which at most one token of
A grammar symbol that has no rules in the grammar and therefore is
grammatically indivisible. The piece of text it represents is a token.
@xref{Language and Grammar, ,Languages and Context-Free Grammars}.
+
+@item Unreachable state
+A parser state to which there does not exist a sequence of transitions from
+the parser's start state. A state can become unreachable during conflict
+resolution. @xref{Unreachable States}.
@end table
@node Copying This Manual
@appendix Copying This Manual
@include fdl.texi
+@node Bibliography
+@unnumbered Bibliography
+
+@table @asis
+@item [Denny 2008]
+Joel E. Denny and Brian A. Malloy, IELR(1): Practical LR(1) Parser Tables
+for Non-LR(1) Grammars with Conflict Resolution, in @cite{Proceedings of the
+2008 ACM Symposium on Applied Computing} (SAC'08), ACM, New York, NY, USA,
+pp.@: 240--245. @uref{http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/1363686.1363747}
+
+@item [Denny 2010 May]
+Joel E. Denny, PSLR(1): Pseudo-Scannerless Minimal LR(1) for the
+Deterministic Parsing of Composite Languages, Ph.D. Dissertation, Clemson
+University, Clemson, SC, USA (May 2010).
+@uref{http://proquest.umi.com/pqdlink?did=2041473591&Fmt=7&clientId=79356&RQT=309&VName=PQD}
+
+@item [Denny 2010 November]
+Joel E. Denny and Brian A. Malloy, The IELR(1) Algorithm for Generating
+Minimal LR(1) Parser Tables for Non-LR(1) Grammars with Conflict Resolution,
+in @cite{Science of Computer Programming}, Vol.@: 75, Issue 11 (November
+2010), pp.@: 943--979. @uref{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scico.2009.08.001}
+
+@item [DeRemer 1982]
+Frank DeRemer and Thomas Pennello, Efficient Computation of LALR(1)
+Look-Ahead Sets, in @cite{ACM Transactions on Programming Languages and
+Systems}, Vol.@: 4, No.@: 4 (October 1982), pp.@:
+615--649. @uref{http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/69622.357187}
+
+@item [Knuth 1965]
+Donald E. Knuth, On the Translation of Languages from Left to Right, in
+@cite{Information and Control}, Vol.@: 8, Issue 6 (December 1965), pp.@:
+607--639. @uref{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0019-9958(65)90426-2}
+
+@item [Scott 2000]
+Elizabeth Scott, Adrian Johnstone, and Shamsa Sadaf Hussain,
+@cite{Tomita-Style Generalised LR Parsers}, Royal Holloway, University of
+London, Department of Computer Science, TR-00-12 (December 2000).
+@uref{http://www.cs.rhul.ac.uk/research/languages/publications/tomita_style_1.ps}
+@end table
+
@node Index
@unnumbered Index
@bye
-@c Local Variables:
-@c fill-column: 76
-@c End:
-
@c LocalWords: texinfo setfilename settitle setchapternewpage finalout texi FSF
@c LocalWords: ifinfo smallbook shorttitlepage titlepage GPL FIXME iftex FSF's
@c LocalWords: akim fn cp syncodeindex vr tp synindex dircategory direntry Naur
@c LocalWords: bisonVersion deftypecvx bisonSkeleton getStartPos getEndPos
@c LocalWords: getLVal defvar deftypefn deftypefnx gotos msgfmt Corbett
@c LocalWords: subdirectory Solaris nonassociativity
+
+@c Local Variables:
+@c ispell-dictionary: "american"
+@c fill-column: 76
+@c End:
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