1pt::ast(n) Parser Tools pt::ast(n)
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6
8 pt::ast - Abstract Syntax Tree Serialization
9
11 package require Tcl 8.5
12 package require pt::ast ?1.1?
14 ::pt::ast verify serial ?canonvar?
16 ::pt::ast verify-as-canonical serial
18 ::pt::ast canonicalize serial
20 ::pt::ast print serial
22 ::pt::ast bottomup cmdprefix ast
24 cmdprefix ast
26 ::pt::ast topdown cmdprefix pe
28 ::pt::ast equal seriala serialb
30 ::pt::ast new0 s loc ?child...?
32 ::pt::ast new s start end ?child...?
34______________________________________________________________________________
36
38 Are you lost ? Do you have trouble understanding this document ? In
39 that case please read the overview provided by the Introduction to
40 Parser Tools. This document is the entrypoint to the whole system the
41 current package is a part of.
42 This package provides commands to work with the serializations of ab‐
44 stract syntax trees as managed by the Parser Tools, and specified in
45 section AST serialization format.
46 This is a supporting package in the Core Layer of Parser Tools.
48 IMAGE: arch_core_support
50
52 ::pt::ast verify serial ?canonvar?
53 This command verifies that the content of serial is a valid se‐
54 rialization of an abstract syntax tree and will throw an error
55 if that is not the case. The result of the command is the empty
56 string.
57 If the argument canonvar is specified it is interpreted as the
59 name of a variable in the calling context. This variable will be
60 written to if and only if serial is a valid regular serializa‐
61 tion. Its value will be a boolean, with True indicating that the
62 serialization is not only valid, but also canonical. False will
63 be written for a valid, but non-canonical serialization.
64 For the specification of serializations see the section AST se‐
66 rialization format.
67 ::pt::ast verify-as-canonical serial
69 This command verifies that the content of serial is a valid
70 canonical serialization of an abstract syntax tree and will
71 throw an error if that is not the case. The result of the com‐
72 mand is the empty string.
73 For the specification of canonical serializations see the sec‐
75 tion AST serialization format.
76 ::pt::ast canonicalize serial
78 This command assumes that the content of serial is a valid regu‐
79 lar serialization of an abstract syntax and will throw an error
80 if that is not the case.
81 It will then convert the input into the canonical serialization
83 of the contained tree and return it as its result. If the input
84 is already canonical it will be returned unchanged.
85 For the specification of regular and canonical serializations
87 see the section AST serialization format.
88 ::pt::ast print serial
90 This command assumes that the argument serial contains a valid
91 serialization of an abstract syntax tree and returns a string
92 containing that tree in a human readable form.
93 The exact format of this form is not specified and cannot be re‐
95 lied on for parsing or other machine-based activities.
96 For the specification of serializations see the section AST se‐
98 rialization format.
99 ::pt::ast bottomup cmdprefix ast
101 This command walks the abstract syntax tree ast from the bottom
102 up to the root, invoking the command prefix cmdprefix for each
103 node. This implies that the children of a node N are handled be‐
104 fore N.
105 The command prefix has the signature
107 cmdprefix ast
109 I.e. it is invoked with the ast node the walk is cur‐
110 rently at.
111 The result returned by the command prefix replaces ast in
113 the node it was a child of, allowing transformations of
114 the tree.
115 This also means that for all inner node the contents of
117 the children elements are the results of the command pre‐
118 fix invoked for the children of this node.
119 ::pt::ast topdown cmdprefix pe
121 This command walks the abstract syntax tree ast from the root
122 down to the leaves, invoking the command prefix cmdprefix for
123 each node. This implies that the children of a node N are han‐
124 dled after N.
125 The command prefix has the same signature as for bottomup, see
127 above.
128 The result returned by the command prefix is ignored.
130 ::pt::ast equal seriala serialb
132 This command tests the two sbstract syntax trees seriala and se‐
133 rialb for structural equality. The result of the command is a
134 boolean value. It will be set to true if the trees are identi‐
135 cal, and false otherwise.
136 String equality is usable only if we can assume that the two
138 trees are pure Tcl lists.
139 ::pt::ast new0 s loc ?child...?
141 This command command constructs the ast for a nonterminal node
142 refering refering to the symbol s at position loc in the input,
143 and the set of child nodes child ..., from left right. The lat‐
144 ter may be empty. The constructed node is returned as the result
145 of the command. The end position is loc-1, i.e. one character
146 before the start. This type of node is possible for rules con‐
147 taining optional parts.
148 ::pt::ast new s start end ?child...?
150 This command command constructs the ast for a nonterminal node
151 refering to the symbol s covering the range of positions start
152 to end in the input, and the set of child nodes child ..., from
153 left right. The latter may be empty. The constructed node is re‐
154 turned as the result of the command.
155
157 Here we specify the format used by the Parser Tools to serialize Ab‐
158 stract Syntax Trees (ASTs) as immutable values for transport, compari‐
159 son, etc.
160 Each node in an AST represents a nonterminal symbol of a grammar, and
162 the range of tokens/characters in the input covered by it. ASTs do not
163 contain terminal symbols, i.e. tokens/characters. These can be recov‐
164 ered from the input given a symbol's location.
165 We distinguish between regular and canonical serializations. While a
167 tree may have more than one regular serialization only exactly one of
168 them will be canonical.
169 Regular serialization
171 [1] The serialization of any AST is the serialization of its
173 root node.
174 [2] The serialization of any node is a Tcl list containing at
176 least three elements.
177 [1] The first element is the name of the nonterminal
179 symbol stored in the node.
180 [2] The second and third element are the locations of
182 the first and last token in the token stream the
183 node represents (covers).
184 [1] Locations are provided as non-negative in‐
186 teger offsets from the beginning of the to‐
187 ken stream, with the first token found in
188 the stream located at offset 0 (zero).
189 [2] The end location has to be equal to or
191 larger than the start location.
192 [3] All elements after the first three represent the
194 children of the node, which are themselves nodes.
195 This means that the serializations of nodes with‐
196 out children, i.e. leaf nodes, have exactly three
197 elements. The children are stored in the list
198 with the leftmost child first, and the rightmost
199 child last.
200 Canonical serialization
202 The canonical serialization of an abstract syntax tree has the
203 format as specified in the previous item, and then additionally
204 satisfies the constraints below, which make it unique among all
205 the possible serializations of this tree.
206 [1] The string representation of the value is the canonical
208 representation of a pure Tcl list. I.e. it does not con‐
209 tain superfluous whitespace.
210 EXAMPLE
212 Assuming the parsing expression grammar below
213 PEG calculator (Expression)
215 Digit <- '0'/'1'/'2'/'3'/'4'/'5'/'6'/'7'/'8'/'9' ;
216 Sign <- '-' / '+' ;
217 Number <- Sign? Digit+ ;
218 Expression <- Term (AddOp Term)* ;
219 MulOp <- '*' / '/' ;
220 Term <- Factor (MulOp Factor)* ;
221 AddOp <- '+'/'-' ;
222 Factor <- '(' Expression ')' / Number ;
223 END;
224 and the input string
227 120+5
229 then a parser should deliver the abstract syntax tree below (except for
230 whitespace)
231 set ast {Expression 0 4
233 {Factor 0 4
234 {Term 0 2
235 {Number 0 2
236 {Digit 0 0}
237 {Digit 1 1}
238 {Digit 2 2}
239 }
240 }
241 {AddOp 3 3}
242 {Term 4 4
243 {Number 4 4
244 {Digit 4 4}
245 }
246 }
247 }
248 }
249 Or, more graphical
252 .nf +- Digit 0 0 | 1 | | +- Term 0 2 --- Number 0 2 -+-
254 Digit 1 1 | 2 | | | |
255 +- Digit 2 2 | 0 | | Expression
256 0 4 --- Factor 0 4 -+----------------------------- AddOp 3 3 | + |
257 | +- Term 4 4 --- Number 4 4 --- Digit 4 4 | 5 .fi
258
260 This document, and the package it describes, will undoubtedly contain
261 bugs and other problems. Please report such in the category pt of the
262 Tcllib Trackers [http://core.tcl.tk/tcllib/reportlist]. Please also
263 report any ideas for enhancements you may have for either package
264 and/or documentation.
265 When proposing code changes, please provide unified diffs, i.e the out‐
267 put of diff -u.
268 Note further that attachments are strongly preferred over inlined
270 patches. Attachments can be made by going to the Edit form of the
271 ticket immediately after its creation, and then using the left-most
272 button in the secondary navigation bar.
273
275 EBNF, LL(k), PEG, TDPL, context-free languages, expression, grammar,
276 matching, parser, parsing expression, parsing expression grammar, push
277 down automaton, recursive descent, state, top-down parsing languages,
278 transducer
279
281 Parsing and Grammars
282
284 Copyright (c) 2009 Andreas Kupries <andreas_kupries@users.sourceforge.net>
285tcllib 1.1 pt::ast(n)