Re: [Caml-list] CFG's and OCaml

[Brian Hurt <bhurt@spnz.org>]

On Sat, 14 Aug 2004, Jon Harrop wrote:

My answers (YMMV):

> 
> I have some (probably trivial) questions about parsers:
> 
> 1. Are most programming languages designed to be implementable using lex and 
> yacc?

They used to be...

> 
> 2. If so, are their designs restricted by this?

Less so than you might think, IMHO.  Mainly they push languages away from 
"bad" constructs.

> 
> 3. If so, is the fact that most languages disallow "a<b<c" due to this?

No.  "a<b<c" is parsed the same way as "a+b+c".

> 
> 4. Could that be added to OCaml? ;-)

Not my call.  Technically, yes it could.  Practically is a different 
question.

> 5. Is it productive to think in terms of coercing lex and yacc into doing as 
> much of the work as possible and then using postprocessing to do the rest 
> (e.g. this is the way I'd implement a<b<c)?

No.  I dislike coercing tools.  

-- 
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                                - Gene Spafford 
Brian

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