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Parsing Algorithms and Resources?

Posted by Cliff on from the I-traded-my-yacc-for-a-bison dept.

Derek Williams asks: "I'm a senior majoring in computer engineering & computer science and I've been programming for about 7 years, mainly in C and Java. While I've had quite a few courses that delve into some of the deeper topics of programming (e.g. Object Oriented Design), I find that the majority of programs I write, both for work and elsewhere, involve parsing. Although I have no problem tackling these sorts of programs, I was wondering if there was some branch of computer science dedicated to the study of parsing. What books and websites out there are of interest to someone looking to learn more about parsing and algorithms relating to it?"

4 of 52 comments (clear)

  1. Compilers and Parsing... by hackwrench · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Compilers and parsing seem to go hand-in-hand. With that in mind, here's a link to Jack Crenshaw's How to Build a Compiler

  2. Read books on Compiler Design by soegoe · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Try some books on Compiler Design, especially the first chapters about analysis. They should provide lots of information about parsing. One good book is Modern Compiler Design .

    1. Re:Read books on Compiler Design by speedy1161 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      This book is heavy on the theory and such, a bit light on examples, but since they primarily use (f)lex and (b)yacc, finding examples if you get stuck isn't too hard. They dedicate a lot of pages to parsing and parser theory.

  3. Reverse parsing by ka9dgx · · Score: 3, Interesting
    Things get really interesting when the parser is set up to preserve context so that it can be run backwards, spitting out source from the symbol tables and code segment tokens. You need to preserve whitespace and declaration order, but it's definitely feasible for a language that doesn't use tons of Macros (sorry C/C++ programmers) like Pascal, Basic, etc.

    --Mike--