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+<html> |
+<head> |
+<title>The Lemon Parser Generator</title> |
+</head> |
+<body bgcolor=white> |
+<h1 align=center>The Lemon Parser Generator</h1> |
+ |
+<p>Lemon is an LALR(1) parser generator for C or C++. |
+It does the same job as ``bison'' and ``yacc''. |
+But lemon is not another bison or yacc clone. It |
+uses a different grammar syntax which is designed to |
+reduce the number of coding errors. Lemon also uses a more |
+sophisticated parsing engine that is faster than yacc and |
+bison and which is both reentrant and thread-safe. |
+Furthermore, Lemon implements features that can be used |
+to eliminate resource leaks, making is suitable for use |
+in long-running programs such as graphical user interfaces |
+or embedded controllers.</p> |
+ |
+<p>This document is an introduction to the Lemon |
+parser generator.</p> |
+ |
+<h2>Theory of Operation</h2> |
+ |
+<p>The main goal of Lemon is to translate a context free grammar (CFG) |
+for a particular language into C code that implements a parser for |
+that language. |
+The program has two inputs: |
+<ul> |
+<li>The grammar specification. |
+<li>A parser template file. |
+</ul> |
+Typically, only the grammar specification is supplied by the programmer. |
+Lemon comes with a default parser template which works fine for most |
+applications. But the user is free to substitute a different parser |
+template if desired.</p> |
+ |
+<p>Depending on command-line options, Lemon will generate between |
+one and three files of outputs. |
+<ul> |
+<li>C code to implement the parser. |
+<li>A header file defining an integer ID for each terminal symbol. |
+<li>An information file that describes the states of the generated parser |
+ automaton. |
+</ul> |
+By default, all three of these output files are generated. |
+The header file is suppressed if the ``-m'' command-line option is |
+used and the report file is omitted when ``-q'' is selected.</p> |
+ |
+<p>The grammar specification file uses a ``.y'' suffix, by convention. |
+In the examples used in this document, we'll assume the name of the |
+grammar file is ``gram.y''. A typical use of Lemon would be the |
+following command: |
+<pre> |
+ lemon gram.y |
+</pre> |
+This command will generate three output files named ``gram.c'', |
+``gram.h'' and ``gram.out''. |
+The first is C code to implement the parser. The second |
+is the header file that defines numerical values for all |
+terminal symbols, and the last is the report that explains |
+the states used by the parser automaton.</p> |
+ |
+<h3>Command Line Options</h3> |
+ |
+<p>The behavior of Lemon can be modified using command-line options. |
+You can obtain a list of the available command-line options together |
+with a brief explanation of what each does by typing |
+<pre> |
+ lemon -? |
+</pre> |
+As of this writing, the following command-line options are supported: |
+<ul> |
+<li><tt>-b</tt> |
+<li><tt>-c</tt> |
+<li><tt>-g</tt> |
+<li><tt>-m</tt> |
+<li><tt>-q</tt> |
+<li><tt>-s</tt> |
+<li><tt>-x</tt> |
+</ul> |
+The ``-b'' option reduces the amount of text in the report file by |
+printing only the basis of each parser state, rather than the full |
+configuration. |
+The ``-c'' option suppresses action table compression. Using -c |
+will make the parser a little larger and slower but it will detect |
+syntax errors sooner. |
+The ``-g'' option causes no output files to be generated at all. |
+Instead, the input grammar file is printed on standard output but |
+with all comments, actions and other extraneous text deleted. This |
+is a useful way to get a quick summary of a grammar. |
+The ``-m'' option causes the output C source file to be compatible |
+with the ``makeheaders'' program. |
+Makeheaders is a program that automatically generates header files |
+from C source code. When the ``-m'' option is used, the header |
+file is not output since the makeheaders program will take care |
+of generated all header files automatically. |
+The ``-q'' option suppresses the report file. |
+Using ``-s'' causes a brief summary of parser statistics to be |
+printed. Like this: |
+<pre> |
+ Parser statistics: 74 terminals, 70 nonterminals, 179 rules |
+ 340 states, 2026 parser table entries, 0 conflicts |
+</pre> |
+Finally, the ``-x'' option causes Lemon to print its version number |
+and then stops without attempting to read the grammar or generate a parser.</p> |
+ |
+<h3>The Parser Interface</h3> |
+ |
+<p>Lemon doesn't generate a complete, working program. It only generates |
+a few subroutines that implement a parser. This section describes |
+the interface to those subroutines. It is up to the programmer to |
+call these subroutines in an appropriate way in order to produce a |
+complete system.</p> |
+ |
+<p>Before a program begins using a Lemon-generated parser, the program |
+must first create the parser. |
+A new parser is created as follows: |
+<pre> |
+ void *pParser = ParseAlloc( malloc ); |
+</pre> |
+The ParseAlloc() routine allocates and initializes a new parser and |
+returns a pointer to it. |
+The actual data structure used to represent a parser is opaque -- |
+its internal structure is not visible or usable by the calling routine. |
+For this reason, the ParseAlloc() routine returns a pointer to void |
+rather than a pointer to some particular structure. |
+The sole argument to the ParseAlloc() routine is a pointer to the |
+subroutine used to allocate memory. Typically this means ``malloc()''.</p> |
+ |
+<p>After a program is finished using a parser, it can reclaim all |
+memory allocated by that parser by calling |
+<pre> |
+ ParseFree(pParser, free); |
+</pre> |
+The first argument is the same pointer returned by ParseAlloc(). The |
+second argument is a pointer to the function used to release bulk |
+memory back to the system.</p> |
+ |
+<p>After a parser has been allocated using ParseAlloc(), the programmer |
+must supply the parser with a sequence of tokens (terminal symbols) to |
+be parsed. This is accomplished by calling the following function |
+once for each token: |
+<pre> |
+ Parse(pParser, hTokenID, sTokenData, pArg); |
+</pre> |
+The first argument to the Parse() routine is the pointer returned by |
+ParseAlloc(). |
+The second argument is a small positive integer that tells the parse the |
+type of the next token in the data stream. |
+There is one token type for each terminal symbol in the grammar. |
+The gram.h file generated by Lemon contains #define statements that |
+map symbolic terminal symbol names into appropriate integer values. |
+(A value of 0 for the second argument is a special flag to the |
+parser to indicate that the end of input has been reached.) |
+The third argument is the value of the given token. By default, |
+the type of the third argument is integer, but the grammar will |
+usually redefine this type to be some kind of structure. |
+Typically the second argument will be a broad category of tokens |
+such as ``identifier'' or ``number'' and the third argument will |
+be the name of the identifier or the value of the number.</p> |
+ |
+<p>The Parse() function may have either three or four arguments, |
+depending on the grammar. If the grammar specification file request |
+it, the Parse() function will have a fourth parameter that can be |
+of any type chosen by the programmer. The parser doesn't do anything |
+with this argument except to pass it through to action routines. |
+This is a convenient mechanism for passing state information down |
+to the action routines without having to use global variables.</p> |
+ |
+<p>A typical use of a Lemon parser might look something like the |
+following: |
+<pre> |
+ 01 ParseTree *ParseFile(const char *zFilename){ |
+ 02 Tokenizer *pTokenizer; |
+ 03 void *pParser; |
+ 04 Token sToken; |
+ 05 int hTokenId; |
+ 06 ParserState sState; |
+ 07 |
+ 08 pTokenizer = TokenizerCreate(zFilename); |
+ 09 pParser = ParseAlloc( malloc ); |
+ 10 InitParserState(&sState); |
+ 11 while( GetNextToken(pTokenizer, &hTokenId, &sToken) ){ |
+ 12 Parse(pParser, hTokenId, sToken, &sState); |
+ 13 } |
+ 14 Parse(pParser, 0, sToken, &sState); |
+ 15 ParseFree(pParser, free ); |
+ 16 TokenizerFree(pTokenizer); |
+ 17 return sState.treeRoot; |
+ 18 } |
+</pre> |
+This example shows a user-written routine that parses a file of |
+text and returns a pointer to the parse tree. |
+(We've omitted all error-handling from this example to keep it |
+simple.) |
+We assume the existence of some kind of tokenizer which is created |
+using TokenizerCreate() on line 8 and deleted by TokenizerFree() |
+on line 16. The GetNextToken() function on line 11 retrieves the |
+next token from the input file and puts its type in the |
+integer variable hTokenId. The sToken variable is assumed to be |
+some kind of structure that contains details about each token, |
+such as its complete text, what line it occurs on, etc. </p> |
+ |
+<p>This example also assumes the existence of structure of type |
+ParserState that holds state information about a particular parse. |
+An instance of such a structure is created on line 6 and initialized |
+on line 10. A pointer to this structure is passed into the Parse() |
+routine as the optional 4th argument. |
+The action routine specified by the grammar for the parser can use |
+the ParserState structure to hold whatever information is useful and |
+appropriate. In the example, we note that the treeRoot field of |
+the ParserState structure is left pointing to the root of the parse |
+tree.</p> |
+ |
+<p>The core of this example as it relates to Lemon is as follows: |
+<pre> |
+ ParseFile(){ |
+ pParser = ParseAlloc( malloc ); |
+ while( GetNextToken(pTokenizer,&hTokenId, &sToken) ){ |
+ Parse(pParser, hTokenId, sToken); |
+ } |
+ Parse(pParser, 0, sToken); |
+ ParseFree(pParser, free ); |
+ } |
+</pre> |
+Basically, what a program has to do to use a Lemon-generated parser |
+is first create the parser, then send it lots of tokens obtained by |
+tokenizing an input source. When the end of input is reached, the |
+Parse() routine should be called one last time with a token type |
+of 0. This step is necessary to inform the parser that the end of |
+input has been reached. Finally, we reclaim memory used by the |
+parser by calling ParseFree().</p> |
+ |
+<p>There is one other interface routine that should be mentioned |
+before we move on. |
+The ParseTrace() function can be used to generate debugging output |
+from the parser. A prototype for this routine is as follows: |
+<pre> |
+ ParseTrace(FILE *stream, char *zPrefix); |
+</pre> |
+After this routine is called, a short (one-line) message is written |
+to the designated output stream every time the parser changes states |
+or calls an action routine. Each such message is prefaced using |
+the text given by zPrefix. This debugging output can be turned off |
+by calling ParseTrace() again with a first argument of NULL (0).</p> |
+ |
+<h3>Differences With YACC and BISON</h3> |
+ |
+<p>Programmers who have previously used the yacc or bison parser |
+generator will notice several important differences between yacc and/or |
+bison and Lemon. |
+<ul> |
+<li>In yacc and bison, the parser calls the tokenizer. In Lemon, |
+ the tokenizer calls the parser. |
+<li>Lemon uses no global variables. Yacc and bison use global variables |
+ to pass information between the tokenizer and parser. |
+<li>Lemon allows multiple parsers to be running simultaneously. Yacc |
+ and bison do not. |
+</ul> |
+These differences may cause some initial confusion for programmers |
+with prior yacc and bison experience. |
+But after years of experience using Lemon, I firmly |
+believe that the Lemon way of doing things is better.</p> |
+ |
+<h2>Input File Syntax</h2> |
+ |
+<p>The main purpose of the grammar specification file for Lemon is |
+to define the grammar for the parser. But the input file also |
+specifies additional information Lemon requires to do its job. |
+Most of the work in using Lemon is in writing an appropriate |
+grammar file.</p> |
+ |
+<p>The grammar file for lemon is, for the most part, free format. |
+It does not have sections or divisions like yacc or bison. Any |
+declaration can occur at any point in the file. |
+Lemon ignores whitespace (except where it is needed to separate |
+tokens) and it honors the same commenting conventions as C and C++.</p> |
+ |
+<h3>Terminals and Nonterminals</h3> |
+ |
+<p>A terminal symbol (token) is any string of alphanumeric |
+and underscore characters |
+that begins with an upper case letter. |
+A terminal can contain lower class letters after the first character, |
+but the usual convention is to make terminals all upper case. |
+A nonterminal, on the other hand, is any string of alphanumeric |
+and underscore characters than begins with a lower case letter. |
+Again, the usual convention is to make nonterminals use all lower |
+case letters.</p> |
+ |
+<p>In Lemon, terminal and nonterminal symbols do not need to |
+be declared or identified in a separate section of the grammar file. |
+Lemon is able to generate a list of all terminals and nonterminals |
+by examining the grammar rules, and it can always distinguish a |
+terminal from a nonterminal by checking the case of the first |
+character of the name.</p> |
+ |
+<p>Yacc and bison allow terminal symbols to have either alphanumeric |
+names or to be individual characters included in single quotes, like |
+this: ')' or '$'. Lemon does not allow this alternative form for |
+terminal symbols. With Lemon, all symbols, terminals and nonterminals, |
+must have alphanumeric names.</p> |
+ |
+<h3>Grammar Rules</h3> |
+ |
+<p>The main component of a Lemon grammar file is a sequence of grammar |
+rules. |
+Each grammar rule consists of a nonterminal symbol followed by |
+the special symbol ``::='' and then a list of terminals and/or nonterminals. |
+The rule is terminated by a period. |
+The list of terminals and nonterminals on the right-hand side of the |
+rule can be empty. |
+Rules can occur in any order, except that the left-hand side of the |
+first rule is assumed to be the start symbol for the grammar (unless |
+specified otherwise using the <tt>%start</tt> directive described below.) |
+A typical sequence of grammar rules might look something like this: |
+<pre> |
+ expr ::= expr PLUS expr. |
+ expr ::= expr TIMES expr. |
+ expr ::= LPAREN expr RPAREN. |
+ expr ::= VALUE. |
+</pre> |
+</p> |
+ |
+<p>There is one non-terminal in this example, ``expr'', and five |
+terminal symbols or tokens: ``PLUS'', ``TIMES'', ``LPAREN'', |
+``RPAREN'' and ``VALUE''.</p> |
+ |
+<p>Like yacc and bison, Lemon allows the grammar to specify a block |
+of C code that will be executed whenever a grammar rule is reduced |
+by the parser. |
+In Lemon, this action is specified by putting the C code (contained |
+within curly braces <tt>{...}</tt>) immediately after the |
+period that closes the rule. |
+For example: |
+<pre> |
+ expr ::= expr PLUS expr. { printf("Doing an addition...\n"); } |
+</pre> |
+</p> |
+ |
+<p>In order to be useful, grammar actions must normally be linked to |
+their associated grammar rules. |
+In yacc and bison, this is accomplished by embedding a ``$$'' in the |
+action to stand for the value of the left-hand side of the rule and |
+symbols ``$1'', ``$2'', and so forth to stand for the value of |
+the terminal or nonterminal at position 1, 2 and so forth on the |
+right-hand side of the rule. |
+This idea is very powerful, but it is also very error-prone. The |
+single most common source of errors in a yacc or bison grammar is |
+to miscount the number of symbols on the right-hand side of a grammar |
+rule and say ``$7'' when you really mean ``$8''.</p> |
+ |
+<p>Lemon avoids the need to count grammar symbols by assigning symbolic |
+names to each symbol in a grammar rule and then using those symbolic |
+names in the action. |
+In yacc or bison, one would write this: |
+<pre> |
+ expr -> expr PLUS expr { $$ = $1 + $3; }; |
+</pre> |
+But in Lemon, the same rule becomes the following: |
+<pre> |
+ expr(A) ::= expr(B) PLUS expr(C). { A = B+C; } |
+</pre> |
+In the Lemon rule, any symbol in parentheses after a grammar rule |
+symbol becomes a place holder for that symbol in the grammar rule. |
+This place holder can then be used in the associated C action to |
+stand for the value of that symbol.<p> |
+ |
+<p>The Lemon notation for linking a grammar rule with its reduce |
+action is superior to yacc/bison on several counts. |
+First, as mentioned above, the Lemon method avoids the need to |
+count grammar symbols. |
+Secondly, if a terminal or nonterminal in a Lemon grammar rule |
+includes a linking symbol in parentheses but that linking symbol |
+is not actually used in the reduce action, then an error message |
+is generated. |
+For example, the rule |
+<pre> |
+ expr(A) ::= expr(B) PLUS expr(C). { A = B; } |
+</pre> |
+will generate an error because the linking symbol ``C'' is used |
+in the grammar rule but not in the reduce action.</p> |
+ |
+<p>The Lemon notation for linking grammar rules to reduce actions |
+also facilitates the use of destructors for reclaiming memory |
+allocated by the values of terminals and nonterminals on the |
+right-hand side of a rule.</p> |
+ |
+<h3>Precedence Rules</h3> |
+ |
+<p>Lemon resolves parsing ambiguities in exactly the same way as |
+yacc and bison. A shift-reduce conflict is resolved in favor |
+of the shift, and a reduce-reduce conflict is resolved by reducing |
+whichever rule comes first in the grammar file.</p> |
+ |
+<p>Just like in |
+yacc and bison, Lemon allows a measure of control |
+over the resolution of paring conflicts using precedence rules. |
+A precedence value can be assigned to any terminal symbol |
+using the %left, %right or %nonassoc directives. Terminal symbols |
+mentioned in earlier directives have a lower precedence that |
+terminal symbols mentioned in later directives. For example:</p> |
+ |
+<p><pre> |
+ %left AND. |
+ %left OR. |
+ %nonassoc EQ NE GT GE LT LE. |
+ %left PLUS MINUS. |
+ %left TIMES DIVIDE MOD. |
+ %right EXP NOT. |
+</pre></p> |
+ |
+<p>In the preceding sequence of directives, the AND operator is |
+defined to have the lowest precedence. The OR operator is one |
+precedence level higher. And so forth. Hence, the grammar would |
+attempt to group the ambiguous expression |
+<pre> |
+ a AND b OR c |
+</pre> |
+like this |
+<pre> |
+ a AND (b OR c). |
+</pre> |
+The associativity (left, right or nonassoc) is used to determine |
+the grouping when the precedence is the same. AND is left-associative |
+in our example, so |
+<pre> |
+ a AND b AND c |
+</pre> |
+is parsed like this |
+<pre> |
+ (a AND b) AND c. |
+</pre> |
+The EXP operator is right-associative, though, so |
+<pre> |
+ a EXP b EXP c |
+</pre> |
+is parsed like this |
+<pre> |
+ a EXP (b EXP c). |
+</pre> |
+The nonassoc precedence is used for non-associative operators. |
+So |
+<pre> |
+ a EQ b EQ c |
+</pre> |
+is an error.</p> |
+ |
+<p>The precedence of non-terminals is transferred to rules as follows: |
+The precedence of a grammar rule is equal to the precedence of the |
+left-most terminal symbol in the rule for which a precedence is |
+defined. This is normally what you want, but in those cases where |
+you want to precedence of a grammar rule to be something different, |
+you can specify an alternative precedence symbol by putting the |
+symbol in square braces after the period at the end of the rule and |
+before any C-code. For example:</p> |
+ |
+<p><pre> |
+ expr = MINUS expr. [NOT] |
+</pre></p> |
+ |
+<p>This rule has a precedence equal to that of the NOT symbol, not the |
+MINUS symbol as would have been the case by default.</p> |
+ |
+<p>With the knowledge of how precedence is assigned to terminal |
+symbols and individual |
+grammar rules, we can now explain precisely how parsing conflicts |
+are resolved in Lemon. Shift-reduce conflicts are resolved |
+as follows: |
+<ul> |
+<li> If either the token to be shifted or the rule to be reduced |
+ lacks precedence information, then resolve in favor of the |
+ shift, but report a parsing conflict. |
+<li> If the precedence of the token to be shifted is greater than |
+ the precedence of the rule to reduce, then resolve in favor |
+ of the shift. No parsing conflict is reported. |
+<li> If the precedence of the token it be shifted is less than the |
+ precedence of the rule to reduce, then resolve in favor of the |
+ reduce action. No parsing conflict is reported. |
+<li> If the precedences are the same and the shift token is |
+ right-associative, then resolve in favor of the shift. |
+ No parsing conflict is reported. |
+<li> If the precedences are the same the the shift token is |
+ left-associative, then resolve in favor of the reduce. |
+ No parsing conflict is reported. |
+<li> Otherwise, resolve the conflict by doing the shift and |
+ report the parsing conflict. |
+</ul> |
+Reduce-reduce conflicts are resolved this way: |
+<ul> |
+<li> If either reduce rule |
+ lacks precedence information, then resolve in favor of the |
+ rule that appears first in the grammar and report a parsing |
+ conflict. |
+<li> If both rules have precedence and the precedence is different |
+ then resolve the dispute in favor of the rule with the highest |
+ precedence and do not report a conflict. |
+<li> Otherwise, resolve the conflict by reducing by the rule that |
+ appears first in the grammar and report a parsing conflict. |
+</ul> |
+ |
+<h3>Special Directives</h3> |
+ |
+<p>The input grammar to Lemon consists of grammar rules and special |
+directives. We've described all the grammar rules, so now we'll |
+talk about the special directives.</p> |
+ |
+<p>Directives in lemon can occur in any order. You can put them before |
+the grammar rules, or after the grammar rules, or in the mist of the |
+grammar rules. It doesn't matter. The relative order of |
+directives used to assign precedence to terminals is important, but |
+other than that, the order of directives in Lemon is arbitrary.</p> |
+ |
+<p>Lemon supports the following special directives: |
+<ul> |
+<li><tt>%code</tt> |
+<li><tt>%default_destructor</tt> |
+<li><tt>%default_type</tt> |
+<li><tt>%destructor</tt> |
+<li><tt>%extra_argument</tt> |
+<li><tt>%include</tt> |
+<li><tt>%left</tt> |
+<li><tt>%name</tt> |
+<li><tt>%nonassoc</tt> |
+<li><tt>%parse_accept</tt> |
+<li><tt>%parse_failure </tt> |
+<li><tt>%right</tt> |
+<li><tt>%stack_overflow</tt> |
+<li><tt>%stack_size</tt> |
+<li><tt>%start_symbol</tt> |
+<li><tt>%syntax_error</tt> |
+<li><tt>%token_destructor</tt> |
+<li><tt>%token_prefix</tt> |
+<li><tt>%token_type</tt> |
+<li><tt>%type</tt> |
+</ul> |
+Each of these directives will be described separately in the |
+following sections:</p> |
+ |
+<h4>The <tt>%code</tt> directive</h4> |
+ |
+<p>The %code directive is used to specify addition C/C++ code that |
+is added to the end of the main output file. This is similar to |
+the %include directive except that %include is inserted at the |
+beginning of the main output file.</p> |
+ |
+<p>%code is typically used to include some action routines or perhaps |
+a tokenizer as part of the output file.</p> |
+ |
+<h4>The <tt>%default_destructor</tt> directive</h4> |
+ |
+<p>The %default_destructor directive specifies a destructor to |
+use for non-terminals that do not have their own destructor |
+specified by a separate %destructor directive. See the documentation |
+on the %destructor directive below for additional information.</p> |
+ |
+<p>In some grammers, many different non-terminal symbols have the |
+same datatype and hence the same destructor. This directive is |
+a convenience way to specify the same destructor for all those |
+non-terminals using a single statement.</p> |
+ |
+<h4>The <tt>%default_type</tt> directive</h4> |
+ |
+<p>The %default_type directive specifies the datatype of non-terminal |
+symbols that do no have their own datatype defined using a separate |
+%type directive. See the documentation on %type below for addition |
+information.</p> |
+ |
+<h4>The <tt>%destructor</tt> directive</h4> |
+ |
+<p>The %destructor directive is used to specify a destructor for |
+a non-terminal symbol. |
+(See also the %token_destructor directive which is used to |
+specify a destructor for terminal symbols.)</p> |
+ |
+<p>A non-terminal's destructor is called to dispose of the |
+non-terminal's value whenever the non-terminal is popped from |
+the stack. This includes all of the following circumstances: |
+<ul> |
+<li> When a rule reduces and the value of a non-terminal on |
+ the right-hand side is not linked to C code. |
+<li> When the stack is popped during error processing. |
+<li> When the ParseFree() function runs. |
+</ul> |
+The destructor can do whatever it wants with the value of |
+the non-terminal, but its design is to deallocate memory |
+or other resources held by that non-terminal.</p> |
+ |
+<p>Consider an example: |
+<pre> |
+ %type nt {void*} |
+ %destructor nt { free($$); } |
+ nt(A) ::= ID NUM. { A = malloc( 100 ); } |
+</pre> |
+This example is a bit contrived but it serves to illustrate how |
+destructors work. The example shows a non-terminal named |
+``nt'' that holds values of type ``void*''. When the rule for |
+an ``nt'' reduces, it sets the value of the non-terminal to |
+space obtained from malloc(). Later, when the nt non-terminal |
+is popped from the stack, the destructor will fire and call |
+free() on this malloced space, thus avoiding a memory leak. |
+(Note that the symbol ``$$'' in the destructor code is replaced |
+by the value of the non-terminal.)</p> |
+ |
+<p>It is important to note that the value of a non-terminal is passed |
+to the destructor whenever the non-terminal is removed from the |
+stack, unless the non-terminal is used in a C-code action. If |
+the non-terminal is used by C-code, then it is assumed that the |
+C-code will take care of destroying it if it should really |
+be destroyed. More commonly, the value is used to build some |
+larger structure and we don't want to destroy it, which is why |
+the destructor is not called in this circumstance.</p> |
+ |
+<p>By appropriate use of destructors, it is possible to |
+build a parser using Lemon that can be used within a long-running |
+program, such as a GUI, that will not leak memory or other resources. |
+To do the same using yacc or bison is much more difficult.</p> |
+ |
+<h4>The <tt>%extra_argument</tt> directive</h4> |
+ |
+The %extra_argument directive instructs Lemon to add a 4th parameter |
+to the parameter list of the Parse() function it generates. Lemon |
+doesn't do anything itself with this extra argument, but it does |
+make the argument available to C-code action routines, destructors, |
+and so forth. For example, if the grammar file contains:</p> |
+ |
+<p><pre> |
+ %extra_argument { MyStruct *pAbc } |
+</pre></p> |
+ |
+<p>Then the Parse() function generated will have an 4th parameter |
+of type ``MyStruct*'' and all action routines will have access to |
+a variable named ``pAbc'' that is the value of the 4th parameter |
+in the most recent call to Parse().</p> |
+ |
+<h4>The <tt>%include</tt> directive</h4> |
+ |
+<p>The %include directive specifies C code that is included at the |
+top of the generated parser. You can include any text you want -- |
+the Lemon parser generator copies it blindly. If you have multiple |
+%include directives in your grammar file the value of the last |
+%include directive overwrites all the others.</p. |
+ |
+<p>The %include directive is very handy for getting some extra #include |
+preprocessor statements at the beginning of the generated parser. |
+For example:</p> |
+ |
+<p><pre> |
+ %include {#include <unistd.h>} |
+</pre></p> |
+ |
+<p>This might be needed, for example, if some of the C actions in the |
+grammar call functions that are prototyed in unistd.h.</p> |
+ |
+<h4>The <tt>%left</tt> directive</h4> |
+ |
+The %left directive is used (along with the %right and |
+%nonassoc directives) to declare precedences of terminal |
+symbols. Every terminal symbol whose name appears after |
+a %left directive but before the next period (``.'') is |
+given the same left-associative precedence value. Subsequent |
+%left directives have higher precedence. For example:</p> |
+ |
+<p><pre> |
+ %left AND. |
+ %left OR. |
+ %nonassoc EQ NE GT GE LT LE. |
+ %left PLUS MINUS. |
+ %left TIMES DIVIDE MOD. |
+ %right EXP NOT. |
+</pre></p> |
+ |
+<p>Note the period that terminates each %left, %right or %nonassoc |
+directive.</p> |
+ |
+<p>LALR(1) grammars can get into a situation where they require |
+a large amount of stack space if you make heavy use or right-associative |
+operators. For this reason, it is recommended that you use %left |
+rather than %right whenever possible.</p> |
+ |
+<h4>The <tt>%name</tt> directive</h4> |
+ |
+<p>By default, the functions generated by Lemon all begin with the |
+five-character string ``Parse''. You can change this string to something |
+different using the %name directive. For instance:</p> |
+ |
+<p><pre> |
+ %name Abcde |
+</pre></p> |
+ |
+<p>Putting this directive in the grammar file will cause Lemon to generate |
+functions named |
+<ul> |
+<li> AbcdeAlloc(), |
+<li> AbcdeFree(), |
+<li> AbcdeTrace(), and |
+<li> Abcde(). |
+</ul> |
+The %name directive allows you to generator two or more different |
+parsers and link them all into the same executable. |
+</p> |
+ |
+<h4>The <tt>%nonassoc</tt> directive</h4> |
+ |
+<p>This directive is used to assign non-associative precedence to |
+one or more terminal symbols. See the section on precedence rules |
+or on the %left directive for additional information.</p> |
+ |
+<h4>The <tt>%parse_accept</tt> directive</h4> |
+ |
+<p>The %parse_accept directive specifies a block of C code that is |
+executed whenever the parser accepts its input string. To ``accept'' |
+an input string means that the parser was able to process all tokens |
+without error.</p> |
+ |
+<p>For example:</p> |
+ |
+<p><pre> |
+ %parse_accept { |
+ printf("parsing complete!\n"); |
+ } |
+</pre></p> |
+ |
+ |
+<h4>The <tt>%parse_failure</tt> directive</h4> |
+ |
+<p>The %parse_failure directive specifies a block of C code that |
+is executed whenever the parser fails complete. This code is not |
+executed until the parser has tried and failed to resolve an input |
+error using is usual error recovery strategy. The routine is |
+only invoked when parsing is unable to continue.</p> |
+ |
+<p><pre> |
+ %parse_failure { |
+ fprintf(stderr,"Giving up. Parser is hopelessly lost...\n"); |
+ } |
+</pre></p> |
+ |
+<h4>The <tt>%right</tt> directive</h4> |
+ |
+<p>This directive is used to assign right-associative precedence to |
+one or more terminal symbols. See the section on precedence rules |
+or on the %left directive for additional information.</p> |
+ |
+<h4>The <tt>%stack_overflow</tt> directive</h4> |
+ |
+<p>The %stack_overflow directive specifies a block of C code that |
+is executed if the parser's internal stack ever overflows. Typically |
+this just prints an error message. After a stack overflow, the parser |
+will be unable to continue and must be reset.</p> |
+ |
+<p><pre> |
+ %stack_overflow { |
+ fprintf(stderr,"Giving up. Parser stack overflow\n"); |
+ } |
+</pre></p> |
+ |
+<p>You can help prevent parser stack overflows by avoiding the use |
+of right recursion and right-precedence operators in your grammar. |
+Use left recursion and and left-precedence operators instead, to |
+encourage rules to reduce sooner and keep the stack size down. |
+For example, do rules like this: |
+<pre> |
+ list ::= list element. // left-recursion. Good! |
+ list ::= . |
+</pre> |
+Not like this: |
+<pre> |
+ list ::= element list. // right-recursion. Bad! |
+ list ::= . |
+</pre> |
+ |
+<h4>The <tt>%stack_size</tt> directive</h4> |
+ |
+<p>If stack overflow is a problem and you can't resolve the trouble |
+by using left-recursion, then you might want to increase the size |
+of the parser's stack using this directive. Put an positive integer |
+after the %stack_size directive and Lemon will generate a parse |
+with a stack of the requested size. The default value is 100.</p> |
+ |
+<p><pre> |
+ %stack_size 2000 |
+</pre></p> |
+ |
+<h4>The <tt>%start_symbol</tt> directive</h4> |
+ |
+<p>By default, the start-symbol for the grammar that Lemon generates |
+is the first non-terminal that appears in the grammar file. But you |
+can choose a different start-symbol using the %start_symbol directive.</p> |
+ |
+<p><pre> |
+ %start_symbol prog |
+</pre></p> |
+ |
+<h4>The <tt>%token_destructor</tt> directive</h4> |
+ |
+<p>The %destructor directive assigns a destructor to a non-terminal |
+symbol. (See the description of the %destructor directive above.) |
+This directive does the same thing for all terminal symbols.</p> |
+ |
+<p>Unlike non-terminal symbols which may each have a different data type |
+for their values, terminals all use the same data type (defined by |
+the %token_type directive) and so they use a common destructor. Other |
+than that, the token destructor works just like the non-terminal |
+destructors.</p> |
+ |
+<h4>The <tt>%token_prefix</tt> directive</h4> |
+ |
+<p>Lemon generates #defines that assign small integer constants |
+to each terminal symbol in the grammar. If desired, Lemon will |
+add a prefix specified by this directive |
+to each of the #defines it generates. |
+So if the default output of Lemon looked like this: |
+<pre> |
+ #define AND 1 |
+ #define MINUS 2 |
+ #define OR 3 |
+ #define PLUS 4 |
+</pre> |
+You can insert a statement into the grammar like this: |
+<pre> |
+ %token_prefix TOKEN_ |
+</pre> |
+to cause Lemon to produce these symbols instead: |
+<pre> |
+ #define TOKEN_AND 1 |
+ #define TOKEN_MINUS 2 |
+ #define TOKEN_OR 3 |
+ #define TOKEN_PLUS 4 |
+</pre> |
+ |
+<h4>The <tt>%token_type</tt> and <tt>%type</tt> directives</h4> |
+ |
+<p>These directives are used to specify the data types for values |
+on the parser's stack associated with terminal and non-terminal |
+symbols. The values of all terminal symbols must be of the same |
+type. This turns out to be the same data type as the 3rd parameter |
+to the Parse() function generated by Lemon. Typically, you will |
+make the value of a terminal symbol by a pointer to some kind of |
+token structure. Like this:</p> |
+ |
+<p><pre> |
+ %token_type {Token*} |
+</pre></p> |
+ |
+<p>If the data type of terminals is not specified, the default value |
+is ``int''.</p> |
+ |
+<p>Non-terminal symbols can each have their own data types. Typically |
+the data type of a non-terminal is a pointer to the root of a parse-tree |
+structure that contains all information about that non-terminal. |
+For example:</p> |
+ |
+<p><pre> |
+ %type expr {Expr*} |
+</pre></p> |
+ |
+<p>Each entry on the parser's stack is actually a union containing |
+instances of all data types for every non-terminal and terminal symbol. |
+Lemon will automatically use the correct element of this union depending |
+on what the corresponding non-terminal or terminal symbol is. But |
+the grammar designer should keep in mind that the size of the union |
+will be the size of its largest element. So if you have a single |
+non-terminal whose data type requires 1K of storage, then your 100 |
+entry parser stack will require 100K of heap space. If you are willing |
+and able to pay that price, fine. You just need to know.</p> |
+ |
+<h3>Error Processing</h3> |
+ |
+<p>After extensive experimentation over several years, it has been |
+discovered that the error recovery strategy used by yacc is about |
+as good as it gets. And so that is what Lemon uses.</p> |
+ |
+<p>When a Lemon-generated parser encounters a syntax error, it |
+first invokes the code specified by the %syntax_error directive, if |
+any. It then enters its error recovery strategy. The error recovery |
+strategy is to begin popping the parsers stack until it enters a |
+state where it is permitted to shift a special non-terminal symbol |
+named ``error''. It then shifts this non-terminal and continues |
+parsing. But the %syntax_error routine will not be called again |
+until at least three new tokens have been successfully shifted.</p> |
+ |
+<p>If the parser pops its stack until the stack is empty, and it still |
+is unable to shift the error symbol, then the %parse_failed routine |
+is invoked and the parser resets itself to its start state, ready |
+to begin parsing a new file. This is what will happen at the very |
+first syntax error, of course, if there are no instances of the |
+``error'' non-terminal in your grammar.</p> |
+ |
+</body> |
+</html> |