The parser tag has no wiki summary.
23
votes
12answers
4k views
Should I use a parser generator or should I roll my own custom lexer and parser code?
What specific advantages and disadvantages of each way to working on a programming language grammar?
Why/When should I roll my own? Why/When should I use a generator?
13
votes
3answers
636 views
Generic rule parser for RPG board game rules - how to do it?
I want to build a generic rule parser for pen and paper style RPG systems. A rule can involve usually 1 to N entities 1 to N roles of a dice and calculating values based on multiple attributes of an ...
8
votes
5answers
762 views
Coming up with tokens for a lexer
I'm writing a parser for a markup language that I have created (writing in python, but that's not really relevant to this question -- in fact if this seems like a bad idea, I'd love a suggestion for a ...
7
votes
1answer
664 views
What's the simplest example out there to explain the difference between Parse Trees and Abstract Syntax Trees?
To my understanding, a parser creates a parse tree, and then discards it thereafter. However, it can also pop out an abstract syntax tree, which the compiler supposedly makes use of.
I'm under the ...
6
votes
6answers
762 views
Best way to parse a file
I'm trying to find a better solution for making a parser to some of the famous file formats out there such as: EDIFACT and TRADACOMS.
If you aren't familiar with these standards then check out this ...
6
votes
2answers
296 views
Idea for a domain specific language or DLR port?
I have my undergraduate final year project coming up and am very interested in lexers, parsers, compilers and so on. I would like to use the DLR (.NET 4.0 dynamic language runtime) for my ...
5
votes
4answers
553 views
Where can I find tests for a csv parser
I'm looking for some test files and/or unit tests for a csv parser.
I have a simple csv parser in C# that I posted to Stack Overflow a while back. I think this parser fits a niche as a simpler ...
5
votes
2answers
346 views
Parser combinator that looks like BNF
Is it possible to construct a parser combinator library that reads like a BNF grammar? I don't know of any, so I started wondering if there are reasons it's impossible or undesirable to do so. It ...
3
votes
1answer
141 views
Is there such thing as an example driven parser generator or ad-hoc DSL development?
I'm intrested to know if there exists a tool that lets you input examples of valid documents and lets you then generalize from that to a reusable parser.
I can imagine this, but everytime i start ...
3
votes
1answer
183 views
What is a real-world use case of using a Chomsky Type-I (context-sensitive) grammar
I have been having some fun lately exploring the development of language parsers in the context of how they fit into the Chomsky Hierarchy.
What is a good real-world (ie not theoretical) example of a ...
3
votes
2answers
295 views
How to get lookahead symbol when constructing LR(1) NFA for parser?
I am reading an explanation (awesome "Parsing Techniques" by D.Grune and C.J.H.Jacobs; p.292 in the 2nd edition) about how to construct an LR(1) parser, and I am at the stage of building the initial ...
3
votes
1answer
110 views
How to support mixed grammars?
I am currently writing a grammar for a programming language (PowerBuilder) and I am also collecting documentation about parsing and compilers creation.
Now I would like to add in my grammar (that ...
3
votes
1answer
163 views
What does it mean that StAX parsers aren't complete or correct?
I've been browsing the net and found theses two slides on site of XOM (XML object model):
slide1
slide2
Where they refer to SAX(push) and StAX(pull) parsers. So I'm wondering, what does it mean ...
3
votes
1answer
304 views
How can I test a parser for a bespoke XML schema?
I'm parsing a bespoke XML format into an object graph using .NET 4.0. My parser is using the System.XML namespace internally, I'm then interrogating the relevant properties of XmlNodes to create my ...
2
votes
3answers
1k views
c++ write own xml parser vs using tinyxml
I am currently in a task to generate an XML file for an srt text file containing timestamps and corresponding text. To generate an exe file which accepts file name input and outputs the relevant XML ...
