From 34a6c2d19b85d4650b2d90f60b76d44071d167d1 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: "Joel E. Denny" Date: Tue, 21 Apr 2009 05:12:01 -0400 Subject: [PATCH] Document %define lr.type and lr.default_rules. * NEWS (2.5): Add an entry. * src/getargs.c (usage): Mention IELR(1) and canonical LR(1) besides just LALR(1) and GLR(1). * doc/bison.texinfo (Introduction): Likewise. (Language and Grammar): Bison is no longer limited to LALR(1) restrictions. (GLR parsing): Say deterministic or LR(1) rather than LALR(1) when trying to distinguish from GLR. Talk about LR(1) grammars rather than LALR(1) grammars. (Decl Summary): In %define api.push_pull entry, say it applies to deterministic parsers in C rather than LALR(1) parsers in C. Add lr.default_rules entry. Add lr.type entry. (Mystery Conflicts): Bison is no longer limited to LALR(1) restrictions. (Generalized LR Parsing): Same changes as for the previous GLR section. (Memory Management): Say deterministic rather than LALR(1). (Understanding): Correct some bison output. Index discussion of "accepting state". Say deterministic rather than LALR(1). (Bison Options): In --yacc entry, say deterministic rather than LALR(1). In --report, --graph, and --xml entries, just don't mention LALR(1). (C++ Parsers): Say deterministic rather than LALR(1). (Table of Symbols): Likewise in YYSTACK_USE_ALLOCA entry. (Glossary): Add Accepting State, Consistent State, Default Rule, and IELR(1) definitions. In Generalized LR (GLR) definition, make same changes as in previous GLR sections. In LALR(1) definition, say Bison uses LALR(1) by default rather than implying Bison is limited to LALR(1). (LocalWords): Add IELR. --- ChangeLog | 38 ++++++ NEWS | 29 ++++ doc/bison.texinfo | 337 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++----------- src/getargs.c | 3 +- 4 files changed, 328 insertions(+), 79 deletions(-) diff --git a/ChangeLog b/ChangeLog index d7e97f34..013cba07 100644 --- a/ChangeLog +++ b/ChangeLog @@ -1,3 +1,41 @@ +2009-04-21 Joel E. Denny + + Document %define lr.type and lr.default_rules. + * NEWS (2.5): Add an entry. + * src/getargs.c (usage): Mention IELR(1) and canonical LR(1) + besides just LALR(1) and GLR(1). + * doc/bison.texinfo (Introduction): Likewise. + (Language and Grammar): Bison is no longer limited to LALR(1) + restrictions. + (GLR parsing): Say deterministic or LR(1) rather than LALR(1) + when trying to distinguish from GLR. Talk about LR(1) grammars + rather than LALR(1) grammars. + (Decl Summary): In %define api.push_pull entry, say it applies + to deterministic parsers in C rather than LALR(1) parsers in C. + Add lr.default_rules entry. + Add lr.type entry. + (Mystery Conflicts): Bison is no longer limited to LALR(1) + restrictions. + (Generalized LR Parsing): Same changes as for the previous GLR + section. + (Memory Management): Say deterministic rather than LALR(1). + (Understanding): Correct some bison output. + Index discussion of "accepting state". + Say deterministic rather than LALR(1). + (Bison Options): In --yacc entry, say deterministic rather than + LALR(1). + In --report, --graph, and --xml entries, just don't mention + LALR(1). + (C++ Parsers): Say deterministic rather than LALR(1). + (Table of Symbols): Likewise in YYSTACK_USE_ALLOCA entry. + (Glossary): Add Accepting State, Consistent State, Default Rule, + and IELR(1) definitions. + In Generalized LR (GLR) definition, make same changes as in + previous GLR sections. + In LALR(1) definition, say Bison uses LALR(1) by default rather + than implying Bison is limited to LALR(1). + (LocalWords): Add IELR. + 2009-04-21 Joel E. Denny Finish implementing %define lr.type. diff --git a/NEWS b/NEWS index f57b755d..91bde870 100644 --- a/NEWS +++ b/NEWS @@ -3,6 +3,35 @@ Bison News * Changes in version 2.5 (????-??-??): +** IELR(1) and Canonical LR(1) Support + + IELR(1) is 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. + + Bison can now generate IELR(1) and canonical LR(1) parser tables in + place of its traditional LALR(1) parser tables, which remain the + default. You can specify the type of parser tables in the grammar + file with these directives: + + %define lr.type "LALR" + %define lr.type "IELR" + %define lr.type "canonical LR" + + The default rules optimization in the parser tables can also be + adjusted using `%define lr.default_rules'. See the documentation for + `%define lr.type' and `%define lr.default_rules' in the section `Bison + Declaration Summary' in the Bison manual for the details. + + These features are experimental. More user feedback will help to + stabilize them. + ** %define can now be invoked via the command line. Each of these bison command-line options diff --git a/doc/bison.texinfo b/doc/bison.texinfo index c8fa086d..ed092e2d 100644 --- a/doc/bison.texinfo +++ b/doc/bison.texinfo @@ -351,10 +351,12 @@ Copying This Manual @cindex introduction @dfn{Bison} is a general-purpose parser generator that converts an -annotated context-free grammar into an @acronym{LALR}(1) or -@acronym{GLR} parser for that grammar. Once you are proficient with -Bison, you can use it to develop a wide range of language parsers, from those -used in simple desk calculators to complex programming languages. +annotated context-free grammar into a deterministic or @acronym{GLR} +parser employing @acronym{LALR}(1), @acronym{IELR}(1), or canonical +@acronym{LR}(1) parser tables. +Once you are proficient with Bison, you can use it to develop a wide +range of language parsers, from those used in simple desk calculators to +complex programming languages. Bison is upward compatible with Yacc: all properly-written Yacc grammars ought to work with Bison with no change. Anyone familiar with Yacc @@ -460,26 +462,27 @@ order to specify the language Algol 60. Any grammar expressed in essentially machine-readable @acronym{BNF}. @cindex @acronym{LALR}(1) grammars +@cindex @acronym{IELR}(1) grammars @cindex @acronym{LR}(1) grammars -There are various important subclasses of context-free grammar. Although it -can handle almost all context-free grammars, Bison is optimized for what -are called @acronym{LALR}(1) grammars. -In brief, in these grammars, it must be possible to -tell how to parse any portion of an input string with just a single -token of lookahead. Strictly speaking, that is a description of an -@acronym{LR}(1) grammar, and @acronym{LALR}(1) involves additional -restrictions that are -hard to explain simply; but it is rare in actual practice to find an -@acronym{LR}(1) grammar that fails to be @acronym{LALR}(1). +There are various important subclasses of context-free grammars. +Although it can handle almost all context-free grammars, Bison is +optimized for what are called @acronym{LR}(1) grammars. +In brief, in these grammars, it must be possible to tell how to parse +any portion of an input string with just a single token of lookahead. +For historical reasons, Bison by default is limited by the additional +restrictions of @acronym{LALR}(1), which is hard to explain simply. @xref{Mystery Conflicts, ,Mysterious Reduce/Reduce Conflicts}, for more information on this. +To escape these additional restrictions, you can request +@acronym{IELR}(1) or canonical @acronym{LR}(1) parser tables. +@xref{Decl Summary,,lr.type}, to learn how. @cindex @acronym{GLR} parsing @cindex generalized @acronym{LR} (@acronym{GLR}) parsing @cindex ambiguous grammars @cindex nondeterministic parsing -Parsers for @acronym{LALR}(1) grammars are @dfn{deterministic}, meaning +Parsers for @acronym{LR}(1) grammars are @dfn{deterministic}, meaning roughly that the next grammar rule to apply at any point in the input is uniquely determined by the preceding input and a fixed, finite portion (called a @dfn{lookahead}) of the remaining input. A context-free @@ -708,8 +711,8 @@ from the values of the two subexpressions. @cindex shift/reduce conflicts @cindex reduce/reduce conflicts -In some grammars, Bison's standard -@acronym{LALR}(1) parsing algorithm cannot decide whether to apply a +In some grammars, Bison's deterministic +@acronym{LR}(1) parsing algorithm cannot decide whether to apply a certain grammar rule at a given point. That is, it may not be able to decide (on the basis of the input read so far) which of two possible reductions (applications of a grammar rule) applies, or whether to apply @@ -718,13 +721,13 @@ input. These are known respectively as @dfn{reduce/reduce} conflicts (@pxref{Reduce/Reduce}), and @dfn{shift/reduce} conflicts (@pxref{Shift/Reduce}). -To use a grammar that is not easily modified to be @acronym{LALR}(1), a +To use a grammar that is not easily modified to be @acronym{LR}(1), a more general parsing algorithm is sometimes necessary. If you include @code{%glr-parser} among the Bison declarations in your file (@pxref{Grammar Outline}), the result is a Generalized @acronym{LR} (@acronym{GLR}) parser. These parsers handle Bison grammars that contain no unresolved conflicts (i.e., after applying precedence -declarations) identically to @acronym{LALR}(1) parsers. However, when +declarations) identically to deterministic parsers. However, when faced with unresolved shift/reduce and reduce/reduce conflicts, @acronym{GLR} parsers use the simple expedient of doing both, effectively cloning the parser to follow both possibilities. Each of @@ -766,11 +769,8 @@ merged result. @cindex shift/reduce conflicts In the simplest cases, you can use the @acronym{GLR} algorithm -to parse grammars that are unambiguous, but fail to be @acronym{LALR}(1). -Such grammars typically require more than one symbol of lookahead, -or (in rare cases) fall into the category of grammars in which the -@acronym{LALR}(1) algorithm throws away too much information (they are in -@acronym{LR}(1), but not @acronym{LALR}(1), @ref{Mystery Conflicts}). +to parse grammars that are unambiguous but fail to be @acronym{LR}(1). +Such grammars typically require more than one symbol of lookahead. Consider a problem that arises in the declaration of enumerated and subrange types in the @@ -807,7 +807,7 @@ type enum = (a); valid, and more-complicated cases can come up in practical programs.) These two declarations look identical until the @samp{..} token. -With normal @acronym{LALR}(1) one-token lookahead it is not +With normal @acronym{LR}(1) one-token lookahead it is not possible to decide between the two forms when the identifier @samp{a} is parsed. It is, however, desirable for a parser to decide this, since in the latter case @@ -846,9 +846,9 @@ reports a syntax error as usual. The effect of all this is that the parser seems to ``guess'' the correct branch to take, or in other words, it seems to use more -lookahead than the underlying @acronym{LALR}(1) algorithm actually allows -for. In this example, @acronym{LALR}(2) would suffice, but also some cases -that are not @acronym{LALR}(@math{k}) for any @math{k} can be handled this way. +lookahead than the underlying @acronym{LR}(1) algorithm actually allows +for. In this example, @acronym{LR}(2) would suffice, but also some cases +that are not @acronym{LR}(@math{k}) for any @math{k} can be handled this way. In general, a @acronym{GLR} parser can take quadratic or cubic worst-case time, and the current Bison parser even takes exponential time and space @@ -901,7 +901,7 @@ expr : '(' expr ')' @end group @end example -When used as a normal @acronym{LALR}(1) grammar, Bison correctly complains +When used as a normal @acronym{LR}(1) grammar, Bison correctly complains about one reduce/reduce conflict. In the conflicting situation the parser chooses one of the alternatives, arbitrarily the one declared first. Therefore the following correct input is not @@ -933,7 +933,7 @@ there are at least two potential problems to beware. First, always analyze the conflicts reported by Bison to make sure that @acronym{GLR} splitting is only done where it is intended. A @acronym{GLR} parser splitting inadvertently may cause problems less obvious than an -@acronym{LALR} parser statically choosing the wrong alternative in a +@acronym{LR} parser statically choosing the wrong alternative in a conflict. Second, consider interactions with the lexer (@pxref{Semantic Tokens}) with great care. Since a split parser consumes tokens without performing any actions during the split, the lexer cannot obtain @@ -1153,7 +1153,7 @@ Another Bison feature requiring special consideration is @code{YYERROR} (@pxref{Action Features}), which you can invoke in a semantic action to initiate error recovery. During deterministic @acronym{GLR} operation, the effect of @code{YYERROR} is -the same as its effect in an @acronym{LALR}(1) parser. +the same as its effect in a deterministic parser. In a deferred semantic action, its effect is undefined. @c The effect is probably a syntax error at the split point. @@ -4463,7 +4463,7 @@ be @var{n} shift/reduce conflicts and no reduce/reduce conflicts. Bison reports an error if the number of shift/reduce conflicts differs from @var{n}, or if there are any reduce/reduce conflicts. -For normal @acronym{LALR}(1) parsers, reduce/reduce conflicts are more +For deterministic parsers, reduce/reduce conflicts are more serious, and should be eliminated entirely. Bison will always report reduce/reduce conflicts for these parsers. With @acronym{GLR} parsers, however, both kinds of conflicts are routine; otherwise, @@ -4887,7 +4887,7 @@ Some of the accepted @var{variable}s are: @findex %define api.push_pull @itemize @bullet -@item Language(s): C (LALR(1) only) +@item Language(s): C (deterministic parsers only) @item Purpose: Requests a pull parser, a push parser, or both. @xref{Push Decl, ,A Push Parser}. @@ -4899,6 +4899,71 @@ More user feedback will help to stabilize it.) @item Default Value: @code{"pull"} @end itemize +@item lr.default_rules +@cindex default rules +@findex %define lr.default_rules +@cindex delayed syntax errors +@cindex syntax errors delayed + +@itemize @bullet +@item Language(s): all + +@item Purpose: Specifies the kind of states that are permitted to +contain default rules. +That is, in such a state, Bison declares the rule with the largest +lookahead set to be the default rule by which to reduce and then removes +that lookahead set. +The advantages of default rules are discussed below. +The disadvantage is that, when the generated parser encounters a +syntactically unacceptable token, the parser might then perform +unnecessary reductions by default rules before it can detect the syntax +error. + +(This feature is experimental. +More user feedback will help to stabilize it.) + +@item Accepted Values: +@itemize +@item @code{"all"}. +For @acronym{LALR} and @acronym{IELR} parsers (@pxref{Decl +Summary,,lr.type}) by default, all states are permitted to contain +default rules. +The advantage is that parser table sizes can be significantly reduced. +The reason Bison does not by default attempt to address the disadvantage +of delayed syntax error detection is that this disadvantage is already +inherent in @acronym{LALR} and @acronym{IELR} parser tables. +That is, unlike a canonical @acronym{LR} state, an @acronym{LALR} or +@acronym{IELR} state can contain syntactically incorrect tokens in the +lookahead sets of its rules. + +@item @code{"consistent"}. +@cindex consistent states +A consistent state is a state that has only one possible action. +If that action is a reduction, then the parser does not need to request +a lookahead token from the scanner before performing that action. +However, the parser only recognizes the ability to ignore the lookahead +token when such a reduction is encoded as a default rule. +Thus, if default rules are permitted in and only in consistent states, +then a canonical @acronym{LR} parser reports a syntax error as soon as +it @emph{needs} the syntactically unacceptable token from the scanner. + +@item @code{"accepting"}. +@cindex accepting state +By default, the only default rule permitted in a canonical @acronym{LR} +parser is the accept rule in the accepting state, which the parser +reaches only after reading all tokens from the input. +Thus, the default canonical @acronym{LR} parser reports a syntax error +as soon as it @emph{reaches} the syntactically unacceptable token +without performing any extra reductions. +@end itemize + +@item Default Value: +@itemize +@item @code{"accepting"} if @code{lr.type} is @code{"canonical LR"}. +@item @code{"all"} otherwise. +@end itemize +@end itemize + @item lr.keep_unreachable_states @findex %define lr.keep_unreachable_states @@ -4942,6 +5007,83 @@ However, Bison does not compute which goto actions are useless. @end itemize @end itemize +@item lr.type +@findex %define lr.type +@cindex @acronym{LALR} +@cindex @acronym{IELR} +@cindex @acronym{LR} + +@itemize @bullet +@item Language(s): all + +@item Purpose: Specifies the type of parser tables within the +@acronym{LR}(1) family. +(This feature is experimental. +More user feedback will help to stabilize it.) + +@item Accepted Values: +@itemize +@item @code{"LALR"}. +While Bison generates @acronym{LALR} parser tables by default for +historical reasons, @acronym{IELR} or canonical @acronym{LR} is almost +always preferable for deterministic parsers. +The trouble is that @acronym{LALR} parser tables can suffer from +mysterious conflicts and may not accept the full set of sentences that +@acronym{IELR} and canonical @acronym{LR} accept. +@xref{Mystery Conflicts}, for details. +However, there are at least two scenarios where @acronym{LALR} may be +worthwhile: +@itemize +@cindex @acronym{GLR} with @acronym{LALR} +@item When employing @acronym{GLR} parsers (@pxref{GLR Parsers}), if you +do not resolve any conflicts statically (for example, with @code{%left} +or @code{%prec}), then the parser explores all potential parses of any +given input. +Thus, the use of @acronym{LALR} parser tables is guaranteed not to alter +the language accepted by the parser. +@acronym{LALR} parser tables are the smallest parser tables Bison can +currently generate, so they may be preferable. + +@item Occasionally during development, an especially malformed grammar +with a major recurring flaw may severely impede the @acronym{IELR} or +canonical @acronym{LR} parser table generation algorithm. +@acronym{LALR} can be a quick way to generate parser tables in order to +investigate such problems while ignoring the more subtle differences +from @acronym{IELR} and canonical @acronym{LR}. +@end itemize + +@item @code{"IELR"}. +@acronym{IELR} is a minimal @acronym{LR} algorithm. +That is, given any grammar (@acronym{LR} or non-@acronym{LR}), +@acronym{IELR} and canonical @acronym{LR} always accept exactly the same +set of sentences. +However, as for @acronym{LALR}, the number of parser states is often an +order of magnitude less for @acronym{IELR} than for canonical +@acronym{LR}. +More importantly, because canonical @acronym{LR}'s extra parser states +may contain duplicate conflicts in the case of non-@acronym{LR} +grammars, the number of conflicts for @acronym{IELR} is often an order +of magnitude less as well. +This can significantly reduce the complexity of developing of a grammar. + +@item @code{"canonical LR"}. +@cindex delayed syntax errors +@cindex syntax errors delayed +The only advantage of canonical @acronym{LR} over @acronym{IELR} is that +every canonical @acronym{LR} state encodes that state's exact set of +syntactically acceptable tokens. +The only difference in parsing behavior is then that the canonical +@acronym{LR} parser can report a syntax error as soon as possible +without performing any unnecessary reductions. +@xref{Decl Summary,,lr.default_rules}, for further details. +Even when canonical @acronym{LR} behavior is ultimately desired, +@acronym{IELR}'s elimination of duplicate conflicts should still +facilitate the development of a grammar. +@end itemize + +@item Default Value: @code{"LALR"} +@end itemize + @item namespace @findex %define namespace @@ -6610,12 +6752,13 @@ a @code{name} if a comma or colon follows, or a @code{type} if another @cindex @acronym{LR}(1) @cindex @acronym{LALR}(1) -However, Bison, like most parser generators, cannot actually handle all -@acronym{LR}(1) grammars. In this grammar, two contexts, that after -an @code{ID} -at the beginning of a @code{param_spec} and likewise at the beginning of -a @code{return_spec}, are similar enough that Bison assumes they are the -same. They appear similar because the same set of rules would be +However, for historical reasons, Bison cannot by default handle all +@acronym{LR}(1) grammars. +In this grammar, two contexts, that after an @code{ID} at the beginning +of a @code{param_spec} and likewise at the beginning of a +@code{return_spec}, are similar enough that Bison assumes they are the +same. +They appear similar because the same set of rules would be active---the rule for reducing to a @code{name} and that for reducing to a @code{type}. Bison is unable to determine at that stage of processing that the rules would require different lookahead tokens in the two @@ -6623,16 +6766,22 @@ contexts, so it makes a single parser state for them both. Combining the two contexts causes a conflict later. In parser terminology, this occurrence means that the grammar is not @acronym{LALR}(1). -In general, it is better to fix deficiencies than to document them. But -this particular deficiency is intrinsically hard to fix; parser -generators that can handle @acronym{LR}(1) grammars are hard to write -and tend to -produce parsers that are very large. In practice, Bison is more useful -as it is now. - -When the problem arises, you can often fix it by identifying the two -parser states that are being confused, and adding something to make them -look distinct. In the above example, adding one rule to +For many practical grammars (specifically those that fall into the +non-@acronym{LR}(1) class), the limitations of @acronym{LALR}(1) result in +difficulties beyond just mysterious reduce/reduce conflicts. +The best way to fix all these problems is to select a different parser +table generation algorithm. +Either @acronym{IELR}(1) or canonical @acronym{LR}(1) would suffice, but +the former is more efficient and easier to debug during development. +@xref{Decl Summary,,lr.type}, for details. +(Bison's @acronym{IELR}(1) and canonical @acronym{LR}(1) implementations +are experimental. +More user feedback will help to stabilize them.) + +If you instead wish to work around @acronym{LALR}(1)'s limitations, you +can often fix a mysterious conflict by identifying the two parser states +that are being confused, and adding something to make them look +distinct. In the above example, adding one rule to @code{return_spec} as follows makes the problem go away: @example @@ -6700,7 +6849,7 @@ 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}), -there are languages where Bison's particular choice of how to +there are languages where Bison's default choice of how to summarize the input seen so far loses necessary information. When you use the @samp{%glr-parser} declaration in your grammar file, @@ -6732,7 +6881,7 @@ grammar symbol that produces the same segment of the input token stream. Whenever the parser makes a transition from having multiple -states to having one, it reverts to the normal @acronym{LALR}(1) parsing +states to having one, it reverts to the normal deterministic parsing algorithm, after resolving and executing the saved-up actions. At this transition, some of the states on the stack will have semantic values that are sets (actually multisets) of possible actions. The @@ -6745,9 +6894,9 @@ Bison resolves and evaluates both and then calls the merge function on the result. Otherwise, it reports an ambiguity. It is possible to use a data structure for the @acronym{GLR} parsing tree that -permits the processing of any @acronym{LALR}(1) grammar in linear time (in the +permits the processing of any @acronym{LR}(1) grammar in linear time (in the size of the input), any unambiguous (not necessarily -@acronym{LALR}(1)) grammar in +@acronym{LR}(1)) grammar in quadratic worst-case time, and any general (possibly ambiguous) context-free grammar in cubic worst-case time. However, Bison currently uses a simpler data structure that requires time proportional to the @@ -6757,9 +6906,9 @@ grammars can require exponential time and space to process. Such badly behaving examples, however, are not generally of practical interest. Usually, nondeterminism in a grammar is local---the parser is ``in doubt'' only for a few tokens at a time. Therefore, the current data -structure should generally be adequate. On @acronym{LALR}(1) portions of a -grammar, in particular, it is only slightly slower than with the default -Bison parser. +structure should generally be adequate. On @acronym{LR}(1) portions of a +grammar, in particular, it is only slightly slower than with the +deterministic @acronym{LR}(1) Bison parser. For a more detailed exposition of @acronym{GLR} parsers, please see: Elizabeth Scott, Adrian Johnstone and Shamsa Sadaf Hussain, Tomita-Style @@ -6808,16 +6957,16 @@ The default value of @code{YYMAXDEPTH}, if you do not define it, is @vindex YYINITDEPTH You can control how much stack is allocated initially by defining the -macro @code{YYINITDEPTH} to a positive integer. For the C -@acronym{LALR}(1) parser, this value must be a compile-time constant +macro @code{YYINITDEPTH} to a positive integer. For the deterministic +parser in C, this value must be a compile-time constant unless you are assuming C99 or some other target language or compiler that allows variable-length arrays. The default is 200. Do not allow @code{YYINITDEPTH} to be greater than @code{YYMAXDEPTH}. @c FIXME: C++ output. -Because of semantical differences between C and C++, the -@acronym{LALR}(1) parsers in C produced by Bison cannot grow when compiled +Because of semantical differences between C and C++, the deterministic +parsers in C produced by Bison cannot grow when compiled by C++ compilers. In this precise case (compiling a C parser as C++) you are suggested to grow @code{YYINITDEPTH}. The Bison maintainers hope to fix this deficiency in a future release. @@ -7205,7 +7354,8 @@ useless: STR; @command{bison} reports: @example -calc.y: warning: 1 nonterminal and 1 rule useless in grammar +tmp.y: warning: 1 nonterminal useless in grammar +tmp.y: warning: 1 rule useless in grammar calc.y:11.1-7: warning: nonterminal useless in grammar: useless calc.y:11.10-12: warning: rule useless in grammar: useless: STR calc.y: conflicts: 7 shift/reduce @@ -7393,6 +7543,7 @@ control will jump to state 4, corresponding to the item @samp{exp -> exp '+' . exp}. Since there is no default action, any other token than those listed above will trigger a syntax error. +@cindex accepting state The state 3 is named the @dfn{final state}, or the @dfn{accepting state}: @@ -7473,7 +7624,7 @@ sentence @samp{NUM + NUM / NUM} can be parsed as @samp{NUM + (NUM / NUM)}, which corresponds to shifting @samp{/}, or as @samp{(NUM + NUM) / NUM}, which corresponds to reducing rule 1. -Because in @acronym{LALR}(1) parsing a single decision can be made, Bison +Because in deterministic parsing a single decision can be made, Bison arbitrarily chose to disable the reduction, see @ref{Shift/Reduce, , Shift/Reduce Conflicts}. Discarded actions are reported in between square brackets. @@ -7767,7 +7918,7 @@ other minor ways. Most importantly, imitate Yacc's output file name conventions, so that the parser output file is called @file{y.tab.c}, and the other outputs are called @file{y.output} and @file{y.tab.h}. -Also, if generating an @acronym{LALR}(1) parser in C, generate @code{#define} +Also, if generating a deterministic parser in C, generate @code{#define} statements in addition to an @code{enum} to associate token numbers with token names. Thus, the following shell script can substitute for Yacc, and the Bison @@ -7914,7 +8065,7 @@ separated list of @var{things} among: @table @code @item state Description of the grammar, conflicts (resolved and unresolved), and -@acronym{LALR} automaton. +parser's automaton. @item lookahead Implies @code{state} and augments the description of the automaton with @@ -7943,7 +8094,7 @@ described under the @samp{-v} and @samp{-d} options. @item -g [@var{file}] @itemx --graph[=@var{file}] -Output a graphical representation of the @acronym{LALR}(1) grammar +Output a graphical representation of the parser's automaton computed by Bison, in @uref{http://www.graphviz.org/, Graphviz} @uref{http://www.graphviz.org/doc/info/lang.html, @acronym{DOT}} format. @code{@var{file}} is optional. @@ -7952,7 +8103,7 @@ If omitted and the grammar file is @file{foo.y}, the output file will be @item -x [@var{file}] @itemx --xml[=@var{file}] -Output an XML report of the @acronym{LALR}(1) automaton computed by Bison. +Output an XML report of the parser's automaton computed by Bison. @code{@var{file}} is optional. If omitted and the grammar file is @file{foo.y}, the output file will be @file{foo.xml}. @@ -8025,7 +8176,7 @@ int yyparse (void); @c - Always pure @c - initial action -The C++ @acronym{LALR}(1) parser is selected using the skeleton directive, +The C++ deterministic parser is selected using the skeleton directive, @samp{%skeleton "lalr1.c"}, or the synonymous command-line option @option{--skeleton=lalr1.c}. @xref{Decl Summary}. @@ -8414,10 +8565,10 @@ calcxx_driver::error (const std::string& m) @subsubsection Calc++ Parser The parser definition file @file{calc++-parser.yy} starts by asking for -the C++ LALR(1) skeleton, the creation of the parser header file, and -specifies the name of the parser class. Because the C++ skeleton -changed several times, it is safer to require the version you designed -the grammar for. +the C++ deterministic parser skeleton, the creation of the parser header +file, and specifies the name of the parser class. +Because the C++ skeleton changed several times, it is safer to require +the version you designed the grammar for. @comment file: calc++-parser.yy @example @@ -10151,8 +10302,8 @@ is recovering from a syntax error, and 0 otherwise. @end deffn @deffn {Macro} YYSTACK_USE_ALLOCA -Macro used to control the use of @code{alloca} when the C -@acronym{LALR}(1) parser needs to extend its stacks. If defined to 0, +Macro used to control the use of @code{alloca} when the +deterministic parser in C needs to extend its stacks. If defined to 0, the parser will use @code{malloc} to extend its stacks. If defined to 1, the parser will use @code{alloca}. Values other than 0 and 1 are reserved for future Bison extensions. If not defined, @@ -10177,12 +10328,21 @@ Data type of semantic values; @code{int} by default. @cindex glossary @table @asis +@item Accepting State +A state whose only action is the accept action. +The accepting state is thus a consistent state. +@xref{Understanding,,}. + @item Backus-Naur Form (@acronym{BNF}; also called ``Backus Normal Form'') Formal method of specifying context-free grammars originally proposed by John Backus, and slightly improved by Peter Naur in his 1960-01-02 committee document contributing to what became the Algol 60 report. @xref{Language and Grammar, ,Languages and Context-Free Grammars}. +@item Consistent State +A state containing only one possible action. +@xref{Decl Summary,,lr.default_rules}. + @item Context-free grammars Grammars specified as rules that can be applied regardless of context. Thus, if there is a rule which says that an integer can be used as an @@ -10190,6 +10350,13 @@ expression, integers are allowed @emph{anywhere} an expression is permitted. @xref{Language and Grammar, ,Languages and Context-Free Grammars}. +@item Default Rule +The rule by which a parser should reduce if the current parser state +contains no other action for the lookahead token. +In permitted parser states, Bison declares the rule with the largest +lookahead set to be the default rule and removes that lookahead set. +@xref{Decl Summary,,lr.default_rules}. + @item Dynamic allocation Allocation of memory that occurs during execution, rather than at compile time or on entry to a function. @@ -10208,8 +10375,8 @@ rules. @xref{Algorithm, ,The Bison Parser Algorithm}. @item Generalized @acronym{LR} (@acronym{GLR}) A parsing algorithm that can handle all context-free grammars, including those -that are not @acronym{LALR}(1). It resolves situations that Bison's -usual @acronym{LALR}(1) +that are not @acronym{LR}(1). It resolves situations that Bison's +deterministic parsing algorithm cannot by effectively splitting off multiple parsers, trying all possible parsers, and discarding those that fail in the light of additional right context. @xref{Generalized LR Parsing, ,Generalized @@ -10220,6 +10387,20 @@ A language construct that is (in general) grammatically divisible; for example, `expression' or `declaration' in C@. @xref{Language and Grammar, ,Languages and Context-Free Grammars}. +@item @acronym{IELR}(1) +A minimal @acronym{LR}(1) parser table generation algorithm. +That is, given any context-free grammar, @acronym{IELR}(1) generates +parser tables with the full language recognition power of canonical +@acronym{LR}(1) but with nearly the same number of parser states as +@acronym{LALR}(1). +This reduction in parser states is often an order of magnitude. +More importantly, because canonical @acronym{LR}(1)'s extra parser +states may contain duplicate conflicts in the case of +non-@acronym{LR}(1) grammars, the number of conflicts for +@acronym{IELR}(1) is often an order of magnitude less as well. +This can significantly reduce the complexity of developing of a grammar. +@xref{Decl Summary,,lr.type}. + @item Infix operator An arithmetic operator that is placed between the operands on which it performs some operation. @@ -10263,8 +10444,8 @@ Tokens}. @item @acronym{LALR}(1) The class of context-free grammars that Bison (like most other parser -generators) can handle; a subset of @acronym{LR}(1). @xref{Mystery -Conflicts, ,Mysterious Reduce/Reduce Conflicts}. +generators) can handle by default; a subset of @acronym{LR}(1). +@xref{Mystery Conflicts, ,Mysterious Reduce/Reduce Conflicts}. @item @acronym{LR}(1) The class of context-free grammars in which at most one token of @@ -10382,4 +10563,4 @@ grammatically indivisible. The piece of text it represents is a token. @c LocalWords: infile ypp yxx outfile itemx tex leaderfill @c LocalWords: hbox hss hfill tt ly yyin fopen fclose ofirst gcc ll @c LocalWords: nbar yytext fst snd osplit ntwo strdup AST -@c LocalWords: YYSTACK DVI fdl printindex +@c LocalWords: YYSTACK DVI fdl printindex IELR diff --git a/src/getargs.c b/src/getargs.c index 4b35171e..2f2e9005 100644 --- a/src/getargs.c +++ b/src/getargs.c @@ -257,7 +257,8 @@ usage (int status) printf (_("Usage: %s [OPTION]... FILE\n"), program_name); fputs (_("\ -Generate LALR(1) and GLR parsers.\n\ +Generate a deterministic or GLR parser employing LALR(1), IELR(1), or\n\ +canonical LR(1) parser tables.\n\ \n\ "), stdout); -- 2.45.2