Kelbt 0.12

Kelbt project can generate backtracking LALR parsers. Standard LALR parser generators emit an error upon encountering a conflict in the parse tables. Kelbt forges onward, generating parsers which handle conflicts by backtracking at runtime. Kelbt is able to generate a parser for any context-free grammar and therefore implements a generalized parsing method. Kelbt is different from other backtracking LR systems in two ways. First, it elevates backtracking to the level of semantic actions by introducing a class of actions called undo actions. Undo actions are invoked as the backtracker undoes parsing and allow the user to revert any side effects of forward semantic actions. This makes it possible to backtrack over language constructs which must modify global state in preparation for handling context dependencies. Second, Kelbt enables a user-controlled parsing strategy which approximates that of generalized recursive-descent parsing. This makes it easy for the user to resolve language ambiguities by ordering the grammar productions of a nonterminal according to their precedence. It is approximate in the sense that for most grammars the equivalent of an ordered choice parsing strategy is achieved. In cases where productions are parsed out of the order given, there is a simple grammar transformation which remedies the problem. See the CASCON paper for more details. As a proof of concept, Kelbt has been used to write a partial C++ parser (included) which is composed of strictly a scanner, a name lookup stage and a grammar with standard semantic actions and semantic undo actions. Whats New in This Release: - The -l option was added for turning off line directives in generated code. - The class keyword was added. - This indicates that a nonterminal or the token type is a C++ class, and should have its constructors and destructors called. - The shortest statement was added. - This allows one to force a shortest match of a list of items. - The semantics of commit was changed. - It now forces a full commit rather than a scoped commit. - Many other improvements were made..

Requirements:	No special requirements
Platforms:	Linux
Keyword:	Actions,  Backtracking,  Code Generators,  Kelbt,  Lalr,  Parsing,  Programming,  Semantic
Users rating:	0/10