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GNU Info File | 1993-04-13 | 51KB | 1,004 lines

This is Info file bison.info, produced by Makeinfo-1.52 from the input file ./bison.texinfo. This file documents the Bison parser generator. Copyright (C) 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992 Free Software Foundation, Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice are preserved on all copies. Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided also that the sections entitled "GNU General Public License" and "Conditions for Using Bison" are included exactly as in the original, and provided that the entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a permission notice identical to this one. Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions, except that the sections entitled "GNU General Public License", "Conditions for Using Bison" and this permission notice may be included in translations approved by the Free Software Foundation instead of in the original English. File: bison.info, Node: Mystery Conflicts, Next: Stack Overflow, Prev: Reduce/Reduce, Up: Algorithm Mysterious Reduce/Reduce Conflicts ================================== Sometimes reduce/reduce conflicts can occur that don't look warranted. Here is an example: %token ID %% def: param_spec return_spec ',' ; param_spec: type | name_list ':' type ; return_spec: type | name ':' type ; type: ID ; name: ID ; name_list: name | name ',' name_list ; It would seem that this grammar can be parsed with only a single token of look-ahead: when a `param_spec' is being read, an `ID' is a `name' if a comma or colon follows, or a `type' if another `ID' follows. In other words, this grammar is LR(1). However, Bison, like most parser generators, cannot actually handle all LR(1) grammars. In this grammar, two contexts, that after an `ID' at the beginning of a `param_spec' and likewise at the beginning of a `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 `name' and that for reducing to a `type'. Bison is unable to determine at that stage of processing that the rules would require different look-ahead tokens in the two 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 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 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 `return_spec' as follows makes the problem go away: %token BOGUS ... %% ... return_spec: type | name ':' type /* This rule is never used. */ | ID BOGUS ; This corrects the problem because it introduces the possibility of an additional active rule in the context after the `ID' at the beginning of `return_spec'. This rule is not active in the corresponding context in a `param_spec', so the two contexts receive distinct parser states. As long as the token `BOGUS' is never generated by `yylex', the added rule cannot alter the way actual input is parsed. In this particular example, there is another way to solve the problem: rewrite the rule for `return_spec' to use `ID' directly instead of via `name'. This also causes the two confusing contexts to have different sets of active rules, because the one for `return_spec' activates the altered rule for `return_spec' rather than the one for `name'. param_spec: type | name_list ':' type ; return_spec: type | ID ':' type ; File: bison.info, Node: Stack Overflow, Prev: Mystery Conflicts, Up: Algorithm Stack Overflow, and How to Avoid It =================================== The Bison parser stack can overflow if too many tokens are shifted and not reduced. When this happens, the parser function `yyparse' returns a nonzero value, pausing only to call `yyerror' to report the overflow. By defining the macro `YYMAXDEPTH', you can control how deep the parser stack can become before a stack overflow occurs. Define the macro with a value that is an integer. This value is the maximum number of tokens that can be shifted (and not reduced) before overflow. It must be a constant expression whose value is known at compile time. The stack space allowed is not necessarily allocated. If you specify a large value for `YYMAXDEPTH', the parser actually allocates a small stack at first, and then makes it bigger by stages as needed. This increasing allocation happens automatically and silently. Therefore, you do not need to make `YYMAXDEPTH' painfully small merely to save space for ordinary inputs that do not need much stack. The default value of `YYMAXDEPTH', if you do not define it, is 10000. You can control how much stack is allocated initially by defining the macro `YYINITDEPTH'. This value too must be a compile-time constant integer. The default is 200. File: bison.info, Node: Error Recovery, Next: Context Dependency, Prev: Algorithm, Up: Top Error Recovery ************** It is not usually acceptable to have a program terminate on a parse error. For example, a compiler should recover sufficiently to parse the rest of the input file and check it for errors; a calculator should accept another expression. In a simple interactive command parser where each input is one line, it may be sufficient to allow `yyparse' to return 1 on error and have the caller ignore the rest of the input line when that happens (and then call `yyparse' again). But this is inadequate for a compiler, because it forgets all the syntactic context leading up to the error. A syntax error deep within a function in the compiler input should not cause the compiler to treat the following line like the beginning of a source file. You can define how to recover from a syntax error by writing rules to recognize the special token `error'. This is a terminal symbol that is always defined (you need not declare it) and reserved for error handling. The Bison parser generates an `error' token whenever a syntax error happens; if you have provided a rule to recognize this token in the current context, the parse can continue. For example: stmnts: /* empty string */ | stmnts '\n' | stmnts exp '\n' | stmnts error '\n' The fourth rule in this example says that an error followed by a newline makes a valid addition to any `stmnts'. What happens if a syntax error occurs in the middle of an `exp'? The error recovery rule, interpreted strictly, applies to the precise sequence of a `stmnts', an `error' and a newline. If an error occurs in the middle of an `exp', there will probably be some additional tokens and subexpressions on the stack after the last `stmnts', and there will be tokens to read before the next newline. So the rule is not applicable in the ordinary way. But Bison can force the situation to fit the rule, by discarding part of the semantic context and part of the input. First it discards states and objects from the stack until it gets back to a state in which the `error' token is acceptable. (This means that the subexpressions already parsed are discarded, back to the last complete `stmnts'.) At this point the `error' token can be shifted. Then, if the old look-ahead token is not acceptable to be shifted next, the parser reads tokens and discards them until it finds a token which is acceptable. In this example, Bison reads and discards input until the next newline so that the fourth rule can apply. The choice of error rules in the grammar is a choice of strategies for error recovery. A simple and useful strategy is simply to skip the rest of the current input line or current statement if an error is detected: stmnt: error ';' /* on error, skip until ';' is read */ It is also useful to recover to the matching close-delimiter of an opening-delimiter that has already been parsed. Otherwise the close-delimiter will probably appear to be unmatched, and generate another, spurious error message: primary: '(' expr ')' | '(' error ')' ... ; Error recovery strategies are necessarily guesses. When they guess wrong, one syntax error often leads to another. In the above example, the error recovery rule guesses that an error is due to bad input within one `stmnt'. Suppose that instead a spurious semicolon is inserted in the middle of a valid `stmnt'. After the error recovery rule recovers from the first error, another syntax error will be found straightaway, since the text following the spurious semicolon is also an invalid `stmnt'. To prevent an outpouring of error messages, the parser will output no error message for another syntax error that happens shortly after the first; only after three consecutive input tokens have been successfully shifted will error messages resume. Note that rules which accept the `error' token may have actions, just as any other rules can. You can make error messages resume immediately by using the macro `yyerrok' in an action. If you do this in the error rule's action, no error messages will be suppressed. This macro requires no arguments; `yyerrok;' is a valid C statement. The previous look-ahead token is reanalyzed immediately after an error. If this is unacceptable, then the macro `yyclearin' may be used to clear this token. Write the statement `yyclearin;' in the error rule's action. For example, suppose that on a parse error, an error handling routine is called that advances the input stream to some point where parsing should once again commence. The next symbol returned by the lexical scanner is probably correct. The previous look-ahead token ought to be discarded with `yyclearin;'. The macro `YYRECOVERING' stands for an expression that has the value 1 when the parser is recovering from a syntax error, and 0 the rest of the time. A value of 1 indicates that error messages are currently suppressed for new syntax errors. File: bison.info, Node: Context Dependency, Next: Debugging, Prev: Error Recovery, Up: Top Handling Context Dependencies ***************************** The Bison paradigm is to parse tokens first, then group them into larger syntactic units. In many languages, the meaning of a token is affected by its context. Although this violates the Bison paradigm, certain techniques (known as "kludges") may enable you to write Bison parsers for such languages. * Menu: * Semantic Tokens:: Token parsing can depend on the semantic context. * Lexical Tie-ins:: Token parsing can depend on the syntactic context. * Tie-in Recovery:: Lexical tie-ins have implications for how error recovery rules must be written. (Actually, "kludge" means any technique that gets its job done but is neither clean nor robust.) File: bison.info, Node: Semantic Tokens, Next: Lexical Tie-ins, Up: Context Dependency Semantic Info in Token Types ============================ The C language has a context dependency: the way an identifier is used depends on what its current meaning is. For example, consider this: foo (x); This looks like a function call statement, but if `foo' is a typedef name, then this is actually a declaration of `x'. How can a Bison parser for C decide how to parse this input? The method used in GNU C is to have two different token types, `IDENTIFIER' and `TYPENAME'. When `yylex' finds an identifier, it looks up the current declaration of the identifier in order to decide which token type to return: `TYPENAME' if the identifier is declared as a typedef, `IDENTIFIER' otherwise. The grammar rules can then express the context dependency by the choice of token type to recognize. `IDENTIFIER' is accepted as an expression, but `TYPENAME' is not. `TYPENAME' can start a declaration, but `IDENTIFIER' cannot. In contexts where the meaning of the identifier is *not* significant, such as in declarations that can shadow a typedef name, either `TYPENAME' or `IDENTIFIER' is accepted--there is one rule for each of the two token types. This technique is simple to use if the decision of which kinds of identifiers to allow is made at a place close to where the identifier is parsed. But in C this is not always so: C allows a declaration to redeclare a typedef name provided an explicit type has been specified earlier: typedef int foo, bar, lose; static foo (bar); /* redeclare `bar' as static variable */ static int foo (lose); /* redeclare `foo' as function */ Unfortunately, the name being declared is separated from the declaration construct itself by a complicated syntactic structure--the "declarator". As a result, the part of Bison parser for C needs to be duplicated, with all the nonterminal names changed: once for parsing a declaration in which a typedef name can be redefined, and once for parsing a declaration in which that can't be done. Here is a part of the duplication, with actions omitted for brevity: initdcl: declarator maybeasm '=' init | declarator maybeasm ; notype_initdcl: notype_declarator maybeasm '=' init | notype_declarator maybeasm ; Here `initdcl' can redeclare a typedef name, but `notype_initdcl' cannot. The distinction between `declarator' and `notype_declarator' is the same sort of thing. There is some similarity between this technique and a lexical tie-in (described next), in that information which alters the lexical analysis is changed during parsing by other parts of the program. The difference is here the information is global, and is used for other purposes in the program. A true lexical tie-in has a special-purpose flag controlled by the syntactic context. File: bison.info, Node: Lexical Tie-ins, Next: Tie-in Recovery, Prev: Semantic Tokens, Up: Context Dependency Lexical Tie-ins =============== One way to handle context-dependency is the "lexical tie-in": a flag which is set by Bison actions, whose purpose is to alter the way tokens are parsed. For example, suppose we have a language vaguely like C, but with a special construct `hex (HEX-EXPR)'. After the keyword `hex' comes an expression in parentheses in which all integers are hexadecimal. In particular, the token `a1b' must be treated as an integer rather than as an identifier if it appears in that context. Here is how you can do %{ int hexflag; %} %% ... expr: IDENTIFIER | constant | HEX '(' { hexflag = 1; } expr ')' { hexflag = 0; $$ = $4; } | expr '+' expr { $$ = make_sum ($1, $3); } ... ; constant: INTEGER | STRING ; Here we assume that `yylex' looks at the value of `hexflag'; when it is nonzero, all integers are parsed in hexadecimal, and tokens starting with letters are parsed as integers if possible. The declaration of `hexflag' shown in the C declarations section of the parser file is needed to make it accessible to the actions (*note The C Declarations Section: C Declarations.). You must also write the code in `yylex' to obey the flag. File: bison.info, Node: Tie-in Recovery, Prev: Lexical Tie-ins, Up: Context Dependency Lexical Tie-ins and Error Recovery ================================== Lexical tie-ins make strict demands on any error recovery rules you have. *Note Error Recovery::. The reason for this is that the purpose of an error recovery rule is to abort the parsing of one construct and resume in some larger construct. For example, in C-like languages, a typical error recovery rule is to skip tokens until the next semicolon, and then start a new statement, like this: stmt: expr ';' | IF '(' expr ')' stmt { ... } ... error ';' { hexflag = 0; } ; If there is a syntax error in the middle of a `hex (EXPR)' construct, this error rule will apply, and then the action for the completed `hex (EXPR)' will never run. So `hexflag' would remain set for the entire rest of the input, or until the next `hex' keyword, causing identifiers to be misinterpreted as integers. To avoid this problem the error recovery rule itself clears `hexflag'. There may also be an error recovery rule that works within expressions. For example, there could be a rule which applies within parentheses and skips to the close-parenthesis: expr: ... | '(' expr ')' { $$ = $2; } | '(' error ')' ... If this rule acts within the `hex' construct, it is not going to abort that construct (since it applies to an inner level of parentheses within the construct). Therefore, it should not clear the flag: the rest of the `hex' construct should be parsed with the flag still in effect. What if there is an error recovery rule which might abort out of the `hex' construct or might not, depending on circumstances? There is no way you can write the action to determine whether a `hex' construct is being aborted or not. So if you are using a lexical tie-in, you had better make sure your error recovery rules are not of this kind. Each rule must be such that you can be sure that it always will, or always won't, have to clear the flag. File: bison.info, Node: Debugging, Next: Invocation, Prev: Context Dependency, Up: Top Debugging Your Parser ********************* If a Bison grammar compiles properly but doesn't do what you want when it runs, the `yydebug' parser-trace feature can help you figure out why. To enable compilation of trace facilities, you must define the macro `YYDEBUG' when you compile the parser. You could use `-DYYDEBUG=1' as a compiler option or you could put `#define YYDEBUG 1' in the C declarations section of the grammar file (*note The C Declarations Section: C Declarations.). Alternatively, use the `-t' option when you run Bison (*note Invoking Bison: Invocation.). We always define `YYDEBUG' so that debugging is always possible. The trace facility uses `stderr', so you must add `#include <stdio.h>' to the C declarations section unless it is already there. Once you have compiled the program with trace facilities, the way to request a trace is to store a nonzero value in the variable `yydebug'. You can do this by making the C code do it (in `main', perhaps), or you can alter the value with a C debugger. Each step taken by the parser when `yydebug' is nonzero produces a line or two of trace information, written on `stderr'. The trace messages tell you these things: * Each time the parser calls `yylex', what kind of token was read. * Each time a token is shifted, the depth and complete contents of the state stack (*note Parser States::.). * Each time a rule is reduced, which rule it is, and the complete contents of the state stack afterward. To make sense of this information, it helps to refer to the listing file produced by the Bison `-v' option (*note Invoking Bison: Invocation.). This file shows the meaning of each state in terms of positions in various rules, and also what each state will do with each possible input token. As you read the successive trace messages, you can see that the parser is functioning according to its specification in the listing file. Eventually you will arrive at the place where something undesirable happens, and you will see which parts of the grammar are to blame. The parser file is a C program and you can use C debuggers on it, but it's not easy to interpret what it is doing. The parser function is a finite-state machine interpreter, and aside from the actions it executes the same code over and over. Only the values of variables show where in the grammar it is working. The debugging information normally gives the token type of each token read, but not its semantic value. You can optionally define a macro named `YYPRINT' to provide a way to print the value. If you define `YYPRINT', it should take three arguments. The parser will pass a standard I/O stream, the numeric code for the token type, and the token value (from `yylval'). Here is an example of `YYPRINT' suitable for the multi-function calculator (*note Declarations for `mfcalc': Mfcalc Decl.): #define YYPRINT(file, type, value) yyprint (file, type, value) static void yyprint (file, type, value) FILE *file; int type; YYSTYPE value; { if (type == VAR) fprintf (file, " %s", value.tptr->name); else if (type == NUM) fprintf (file, " %d", value.val); } File: bison.info, Node: Invocation, Next: Table of Symbols, Prev: Debugging, Up: Top Invoking Bison ************** The usual way to invoke Bison is as follows: bison INFILE Here INFILE is the grammar file name, which usually ends in `.y'. The parser file's name is made by replacing the `.y' with `.tab.c'. Thus, the `bison foo.y' filename yields `foo.tab.c', and the `bison hack/foo.y' filename yields `hack/foo.tab.c'. * Menu: * Bison Options:: All the options described in detail, in alphabetical order by short options. * Option Cross Key:: Alphabetical list of long options. * VMS Invocation:: Bison command syntax on VMS. File: bison.info, Node: Bison Options, Next: Option Cross Key, Up: Invocation Bison Options ============= Bison supports both traditional single-letter options and mnemonic long option names. Long option names are indicated with `--' instead of `-'. Abbreviations for option names are allowed as long as they are unique. When a long option takes an argument, like `--file-prefix', connect the option name and the argument with `='. Here is a list of options that can be used with Bison, alphabetized by short option. It is followed by a cross key alphabetized by long option. `-b FILE-PREFIX' `--file-prefix=PREFIX' Specify a prefix to use for all Bison output file names. The names are chosen as if the input file were named `PREFIX.c'. `--defines' Write an extra output file containing macro definitions for the token type names defined in the grammar and the semantic value type `YYSTYPE', as well as a few `extern' variable declarations. If the parser output file is named `NAME.c' then this file is named `NAME.h'. This output file is essential if you wish to put the definition of `yylex' in a separate source file, because `yylex' needs to be able to refer to token type codes and the variable `yylval'. *Note Semantic Values of Tokens: Token Values. `--no-lines' Don't put any `#line' preprocessor commands in the parser file. Ordinarily Bison puts them in the parser file so that the C compiler and debuggers will associate errors with your source file, the grammar file. This option causes them to associate errors with the parser file, treating it an independent source file in its own right. `-o OUTFILE' `--output-file=OUTFILE' Specify the name OUTFILE for the parser file. The other output files' names are constructed from OUTFILE as described under the `-v' and `-d' switches. `-p PREFIX' `--name-prefix=PREFIX' Rename the external symbols used in the parser so that they start with PREFIX instead of `yy'. The precise list of symbols renamed is `yyparse', `yylex', `yyerror', `yylval', `yychar' and `yydebug'. For example, if you use `-p c', the names become `cparse', `clex', and so on. *Note Multiple Parsers in the Same Program: Multiple Parsers. `--debug' Output a definition of the macro `YYDEBUG' into the parser file, so that the debugging facilities are compiled. *Note Debugging Your Parser: Debugging. `--verbose' Write an extra output file containing verbose descriptions of the parser states and what is done for each type of look-ahead token in that state. This file also describes all the conflicts, both those resolved by operator precedence and the unresolved ones. The file's name is made by removing `.tab.c' or `.c' from the parser output file name, and adding `.output' instead. Therefore, if the input file is `foo.y', then the parser file is called `foo.tab.c' by default. As a consequence, the verbose output file is called `foo.output'. `--version' Print the version number of Bison. `--yacc' `--fixed-output-files' Equivalent to `-o y.tab.c'; the parser output file is called `y.tab.c', and the other outputs are called `y.output' and `y.tab.h'. The purpose of this switch is to imitate Yacc's output file name conventions. Thus, the following shell script can substitute for Yacc: bison -y $* File: bison.info, Node: Option Cross Key, Next: VMS Invocation, Prev: Bison Options, Up: Invocation Option Cross Key ================ Here is a list of options, alphabetized by long option, to help you find the corresponding short option. --debug -t --defines -d --file-prefix=PREFIX -b FILE-PREFIX --fixed-output-files --yacc -y --name-prefix -p --no-lines -l --output-file=OUTFILE -o OUTFILE --verbose -v --version -V File: bison.info, Node: VMS Invocation, Prev: Option Cross Key, Up: Invocation Invoking Bison under VMS ======================== The command line syntax for Bison on VMS is a variant of the usual Bison command syntax--adapted to fit VMS conventions. To find the VMS equivalent for any Bison option, start with the long option, and substitute a `/' for the leading `--', and substitute a `_' for each `-' in the name of the long option. For example, the following invocation under VMS: bison /debug/name_prefix=bar foo.y is equivalent to the following command under POSIX. bison --debug --name-prefix=bar foo.y The VMS file system does not permit filenames such as `foo.tab.c'. In the above example, the output file would instead be named `foo_tab.c'. File: bison.info, Node: Table of Symbols, Next: Glossary, Prev: Invocation, Up: Top Bison Symbols ************* `error' A token name reserved for error recovery. This token may be used in grammar rules so as to allow the Bison parser to recognize an error in the grammar without halting the process. In effect, a sentence containing an error may be recognized as valid. On a parse error, the token `error' becomes the current look-ahead token. Actions corresponding to `error' are then executed, and the look-ahead token is reset to the token that originally caused the violation. *Note Error Recovery::. `YYABORT' Macro to pretend that an unrecoverable syntax error has occurred, by making `yyparse' return 1 immediately. The error reporting function `yyerror' is not called. *Note The Parser Function `yyparse': Parser Function. `YYACCEPT' Macro to pretend that a complete utterance of the language has been read, by making `yyparse' return 0 immediately. *Note The Parser Function `yyparse': Parser Function. `YYBACKUP' Macro to discard a value from the parser stack and fake a look-ahead token. *Note Special Features for Use in Actions: Action Features. `YYERROR' Macro to pretend that a syntax error has just been detected: call `yyerror' and then perform normal error recovery if possible (*note Error Recovery::.), or (if recovery is impossible) make `yyparse' return 1. *Note Error Recovery::. `YYERROR_VERBOSE' Macro that you define with `#define' in the Bison declarations section to request verbose, specific error message strings when `yyerror' is called. `YYINITDEPTH' Macro for specifying the initial size of the parser stack. *Note Stack Overflow::. `YYLTYPE' Macro for the data type of `yylloc'; a structure with four members. *Note Textual Positions of Tokens: Token Positions. `YYMAXDEPTH' Macro for specifying the maximum size of the parser stack. *Note Stack Overflow::. `YYRECOVERING' Macro whose value indicates whether the parser is recovering from a syntax error. *Note Special Features for Use in Actions: Action Features. `YYSTYPE' Macro for the data type of semantic values; `int' by default. *Note Data Types of Semantic Values: Value Type. `yychar' External integer variable that contains the integer value of the current look-ahead token. (In a pure parser, it is a local variable within `yyparse'.) Error-recovery rule actions may examine this variable. *Note Special Features for Use in Actions: Action Features. `yyclearin' Macro used in error-recovery rule actions. It clears the previous look-ahead token. *Note Error Recovery::. `yydebug' External integer variable set to zero by default. If `yydebug' is given a nonzero value, the parser will output information on input symbols and parser action. *Note Debugging Your Parser: Debugging. `yyerrok' Macro to cause parser to recover immediately to its normal mode after a parse error. *Note Error Recovery::. `yyerror' User-supplied function to be called by `yyparse' on error. The function receives one argument, a pointer to a character string containing an error message. *Note The Error Reporting Function `yyerror': Error Reporting. `yylex' User-supplied lexical analyzer function, called with no arguments to get the next token. *Note The Lexical Analyzer Function `yylex': Lexical. `yylval' External variable in which `yylex' should place the semantic value associated with a token. (In a pure parser, it is a local variable within `yyparse', and its address is passed to `yylex'.) *Note Semantic Values of Tokens: Token Values. `yylloc' External variable in which `yylex' should place the line and column numbers associated with a token. (In a pure parser, it is a local variable within `yyparse', and its address is passed to `yylex'.) You can ignore this variable if you don't use the `@' feature in the grammar actions. *Note Textual Positions of Tokens: Token Positions. `yynerrs' Global variable which Bison increments each time there is a parse error. (In a pure parser, it is a local variable within `yyparse'.) *Note The Error Reporting Function `yyerror': Error Reporting. `yyparse' The parser function produced by Bison; call this function to start parsing. *Note The Parser Function `yyparse': Parser Function. `%left' Bison declaration to assign left associativity to token(s). *Note Operator Precedence: Precedence Decl. `%nonassoc' Bison declaration to assign nonassociativity to token(s). *Note Operator Precedence: Precedence Decl. `%prec' Bison declaration to assign a precedence to a specific rule. *Note Context-Dependent Precedence: Contextual Precedence. `%pure_parser' Bison declaration to request a pure (reentrant) parser. *Note A Pure (Reentrant) Parser: Pure Decl. `%right' Bison declaration to assign right associativity to token(s). *Note Operator Precedence: Precedence Decl. `%start' Bison declaration to specify the start symbol. *Note The Start-Symbol: Start Decl. `%token' Bison declaration to declare token(s) without specifying precedence. *Note Token Type Names: Token Decl. `%type' Bison declaration to declare nonterminals. *Note Nonterminal Symbols: Type Decl. `%union' Bison declaration to specify several possible data types for semantic values. *Note The Collection of Value Types: Union Decl. These are the punctuation and delimiters used in Bison input: Delimiter used to separate the grammar rule section from the Bison declarations section or the additional C code section. *Note The Overall Layout of a Bison Grammar: Grammar Layout. `%{ %}' All code listed between `%{' and `%}' is copied directly to the output file uninterpreted. Such code forms the "C declarations" section of the input file. *Note Outline of a Bison Grammar: Grammar Outline. `/*...*/' Comment delimiters, as in C. Separates a rule's result from its components. *Note Syntax of Grammar Rules: Rules. Terminates a rule. *Note Syntax of Grammar Rules: Rules. Separates alternate rules for the same result nonterminal. *Note Syntax of Grammar Rules: Rules. File: bison.info, Node: Glossary, Next: Index, Prev: Table of Symbols, Up: Top Glossary ******** Backus-Naur Form (BNF) Formal method of specifying context-free grammars. BNF was first used in the `ALGOL-60' report, 1963. *Note Languages and Context-Free Grammars: Language and Grammar. 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 expression, integers are allowed *anywhere* an expression is permitted. *Note Languages and Context-Free Grammars: Language and Grammar. Dynamic allocation Allocation of memory that occurs during execution, rather than at compile time or on entry to a function. Empty string Analogous to the empty set in set theory, the empty string is a character string of length zero. Finite-state stack machine A "machine" that has discrete states in which it is said to exist at each instant in time. As input to the machine is processed, the machine moves from state to state as specified by the logic of the machine. In the case of the parser, the input is the language being parsed, and the states correspond to various stages in the grammar rules. *Note The Bison Parser Algorithm: Algorithm. Grouping A language construct that is (in general) grammatically divisible; for example, `expression' or `declaration' in C. *Note Languages and Context-Free Grammars: Language and Grammar. Infix operator An arithmetic operator that is placed between the operands on which it performs some operation. Input stream A continuous flow of data between devices or programs. Language construct One of the typical usage schemas of the language. For example, one of the constructs of the C language is the `if' statement. *Note Languages and Context-Free Grammars: Language and Grammar. Left associativity Operators having left associativity are analyzed from left to right: `a+b+c' first computes `a+b' and then combines with `c'. *Note Operator Precedence: Precedence. Left recursion A rule whose result symbol is also its first component symbol; for example, `expseq1 : expseq1 ',' exp;'. *Note Recursive Rules: Recursion. Left-to-right parsing Parsing a sentence of a language by analyzing it token by token from left to right. *Note The Bison Parser Algorithm: Algorithm. Lexical analyzer (scanner) A function that reads an input stream and returns tokens one by one. *Note The Lexical Analyzer Function `yylex': Lexical. Lexical tie-in A flag, set by actions in the grammar rules, which alters the way tokens are parsed. *Note Lexical Tie-ins::. Look-ahead token A token already read but not yet shifted. *Note Look-Ahead Tokens: Look-Ahead. LALR(1) The class of context-free grammars that Bison (like most other parser generators) can handle; a subset of LR(1). *Note Mysterious Reduce/Reduce Conflicts: Mystery Conflicts. LR(1) The class of context-free grammars in which at most one token of look-ahead is needed to disambiguate the parsing of any piece of input. Nonterminal symbol A grammar symbol standing for a grammatical construct that can be expressed through rules in terms of smaller constructs; in other words, a construct that is not a token. *Note Symbols::. Parse error An error encountered during parsing of an input stream due to invalid syntax. *Note Error Recovery::. Parser A function that recognizes valid sentences of a language by analyzing the syntax structure of a set of tokens passed to it from a lexical analyzer. Postfix operator An arithmetic operator that is placed after the operands upon which it performs some operation. Reduction Replacing a string of nonterminals and/or terminals with a single nonterminal, according to a grammar rule. *Note The Bison Parser Algorithm: Algorithm. Reentrant A reentrant subprogram is a subprogram which can be in invoked any number of times in parallel, without interference between the various invocations. *Note A Pure (Reentrant) Parser: Pure Decl. Reverse polish notation A language in which all operators are postfix operators. Right recursion A rule whose result symbol is also its last component symbol; for example, `expseq1: exp ',' expseq1;'. *Note Recursive Rules: Recursion. Semantics In computer languages, the semantics are specified by the actions taken for each instance of the language, i.e., the meaning of each statement. *Note Defining Language Semantics: Semantics. Shift A parser is said to shift when it makes the choice of analyzing further input from the stream rather than reducing immediately some already-recognized rule. *Note The Bison Parser Algorithm: Algorithm. Single-character literal A single character that is recognized and interpreted as is. *Note From Formal Rules to Bison Input: Grammar in Bison. Start symbol The nonterminal symbol that stands for a complete valid utterance in the language being parsed. The start symbol is usually listed as the first nonterminal symbol in a language specification. *Note The Start-Symbol: Start Decl. Symbol table A data structure where symbol names and associated data are stored during parsing to allow for recognition and use of existing information in repeated uses of a symbol. *Note Multi-function Calc::. Token A basic, grammatically indivisible unit of a language. The symbol that describes a token in the grammar is a terminal symbol. The input of the Bison parser is a stream of tokens which comes from the lexical analyzer. *Note Symbols::. Terminal symbol A grammar symbol that has no rules in the grammar and therefore is grammatically indivisible. The piece of text it represents is a token. *Note Languages and Context-Free Grammars: Language and Grammar. File: bison.info, Node: Index, Prev: Glossary, Up: Top Index ***** * Menu: * $$: Actions. * $N: Actions. * %expect: Expect Decl. * %left: Using Precedence. * %nonassoc: Using Precedence. * %prec: Contextual Precedence. * %pure_parser: Pure Decl. * %right: Using Precedence. * %start: Start Decl. * %token: Token Decl. * %type: Type Decl. * %union: Union Decl. * @N: Action Features. * calc: Infix Calc. * else, dangling: Shift/Reduce. * mfcalc: Multi-function Calc. * rpcalc: RPN Calc. * action: Actions. * action data types: Action Types. * action features summary: Action Features. * actions in mid-rule: Mid-Rule Actions. * actions, semantic: Semantic Actions. * additional C code section: C Code. * algorithm of parser: Algorithm. * associativity: Why Precedence. * Backus-Naur form: Language and Grammar. * Bison declaration summary: Decl Summary. * Bison declarations: Declarations. * Bison declarations (introduction): Bison Declarations. * Bison grammar: Grammar in Bison. * Bison invocation: Invocation. * Bison parser: Bison Parser. * Bison parser algorithm: Algorithm. * Bison symbols, table of: Table of Symbols. * Bison utility: Bison Parser. * BNF: Language and Grammar. * C code, section for additional: C Code. * C declarations section: C Declarations. * C-language interface: Interface. * calculator, infix notation: Infix Calc. * calculator, multi-function: Multi-function Calc. * calculator, simple: RPN Calc. * character token: Symbols. * compiling the parser: Rpcalc Compile. * conflicts: Shift/Reduce. * conflicts, reduce/reduce: Reduce/Reduce. * conflicts, suppressing warnings of: Expect Decl. * context-dependent precedence: Contextual Precedence. * context-free grammar: Language and Grammar. * controlling function: Rpcalc Main. * dangling else: Shift/Reduce. * data types in actions: Action Types. * data types of semantic values: Value Type. * debugging: Debugging. * declaration summary: Decl Summary. * declarations, Bison: Declarations. * declarations, Bison (introduction): Bison Declarations. * declarations, C: C Declarations. * declaring operator precedence: Precedence Decl. * declaring the start symbol: Start Decl. * declaring token type names: Token Decl. * declaring value types: Union Decl. * declaring value types, nonterminals: Type Decl. * default action: Actions. * default data type: Value Type. * default stack limit: Stack Overflow. * default start symbol: Start Decl. * defining language semantics: Semantics. * error: Error Recovery. * error recovery: Error Recovery. * error recovery, simple: Simple Error Recovery. * error reporting function: Error Reporting. * error reporting routine: Rpcalc Error. * examples, simple: Examples. * exercises: Exercises. * file format: Grammar Layout. * finite-state machine: Parser States. * formal grammar: Grammar in Bison. * format of grammar file: Grammar Layout. * glossary: Glossary. * grammar file: Grammar Layout. * grammar rule syntax: Rules. * grammar rules section: Grammar Rules. * grammar, Bison: Grammar in Bison. * grammar, context-free: Language and Grammar. * grouping, syntactic: Language and Grammar. * infix notation calculator: Infix Calc. * interface: Interface. * introduction: Introduction. * invoking Bison: Invocation. * invoking Bison under VMS: VMS Invocation. * LALR(1): Mystery Conflicts. * language semantics, defining: Semantics. * layout of Bison grammar: Grammar Layout. * left recursion: Recursion. * lexical analyzer: Lexical. * lexical analyzer, purpose: Bison Parser. * lexical analyzer, writing: Rpcalc Lexer. * lexical tie-in: Lexical Tie-ins. * literal token: Symbols. * look-ahead token: Look-Ahead. * LR(1): Mystery Conflicts. * main function in simple example: Rpcalc Main. * mid-rule actions: Mid-Rule Actions. * multi-function calculator: Multi-function Calc. * mutual recursion: Recursion. * nonterminal symbol: Symbols. * operator precedence: Precedence. * operator precedence, declaring: Precedence Decl. * options for invoking Bison: Invocation. * overflow of parser stack: Stack Overflow. * parse error: Error Reporting. * parser: Bison Parser. * parser stack: Algorithm. * parser stack overflow: Stack Overflow. * parser state: Parser States. * polish notation calculator: RPN Calc. * precedence declarations: Precedence Decl. * precedence of operators: Precedence. * precedence, context-dependent: Contextual Precedence. * precedence, unary operator: Contextual Precedence. * preventing warnings about conflicts: Expect Decl. * pure parser: Pure Decl. * recovery from errors: Error Recovery. * recursive rule: Recursion. * reduce/reduce conflict: Reduce/Reduce. * reduction: Algorithm. * reentrant parser: Pure Decl. * reverse polish notation: RPN Calc. * right recursion: Recursion. * rule syntax: Rules. * rules section for grammar: Grammar Rules. * running Bison (introduction): Rpcalc Gen. * semantic actions: Semantic Actions. * semantic value: Semantic Values. * semantic value type: Value Type. * shift/reduce conflicts: Shift/Reduce. * shifting: Algorithm. * simple examples: Examples. * single-character literal: Symbols. * stack overflow: Stack Overflow. * stack, parser: Algorithm. * stages in using Bison: Stages. * start symbol: Language and Grammar. * start symbol, declaring: Start Decl. * state (of parser): Parser States. * summary, action features: Action Features. * summary, Bison declaration: Decl Summary. * suppressing conflict warnings: Expect Decl. * symbol: Symbols. * symbol table example: Mfcalc Symtab. * symbols (abstract): Language and Grammar. * symbols in Bison, table of: Table of Symbols. * syntactic grouping: Language and Grammar. * syntax error: Error Reporting. * syntax of grammar rules: Rules. * terminal symbol: Symbols. * token: Language and Grammar. * token type: Symbols. * token type names, declaring: Token Decl. * tracing the parser: Debugging. * unary operator precedence: Contextual Precedence. * using Bison: Stages. * value type, semantic: Value Type. * value types, declaring: Union Decl. * value types, nonterminals, declaring: Type Decl. * value, semantic: Semantic Values. * VMS: VMS Invocation. * warnings, preventing: Expect Decl. * writing a lexical analyzer: Rpcalc Lexer. * YYABORT: Parser Function. * YYACCEPT: Parser Function. * YYBACKUP: Action Features. * yychar: Look-Ahead. * yyclearin: Error Recovery. * YYDEBUG: Debugging. * yydebug: Debugging. * YYEMPTY: Action Features. * yyerrok: Error Recovery. * YYERROR: Action Features. * yyerror: Error Reporting. * YYERROR_VERBOSE: Error Reporting. * YYINITDEPTH: Stack Overflow. * yylex: Lexical. * yylloc: Token Positions. * YYLTYPE: Token Positions. * yylval: Token Values. * YYMAXDEPTH: Stack Overflow. * yynerrs: Error Reporting. * yyparse: Parser Function. * YYPRINT: Debugging. * YYRECOVERING: Error Recovery. * |: Rules.