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Diffstat (limited to 'doc')
| -rw-r--r-- | doc/bison.texinfo | 142 |
1 files changed, 139 insertions, 3 deletions
diff --git a/doc/bison.texinfo b/doc/bison.texinfo index 5a601fa1..b0f391b8 100644 --- a/doc/bison.texinfo +++ b/doc/bison.texinfo @@ -206,6 +206,7 @@ Defining Language Semantics * Mid-Rule Actions:: Most actions go at the end of a rule. This says when, why and how to use the exceptional action in the middle of a rule. +* Named References:: Using named references in actions. Tracking Locations @@ -3365,6 +3366,7 @@ the numbers associated with @var{x} and @var{y}. * Mid-Rule Actions:: Most actions go at the end of a rule. This says when, why and how to use the exceptional action in the middle of a rule. +* Named References:: Using named references in actions. @end menu @node Value Type @@ -3426,6 +3428,8 @@ Decl, ,Nonterminal Symbols}). @cindex action @vindex $$ @vindex $@var{n} +@vindex $@var{name} +@vindex $[@var{name}] An action accompanies a syntactic rule and contains C code to be executed each time an instance of that rule is recognized. The task of most actions @@ -3442,9 +3446,12 @@ Actions, ,Actions in Mid-Rule}). The C code in an action can refer to the semantic values of the components matched by the rule with the construct @code{$@var{n}}, which stands for the value of the @var{n}th component. The semantic value for the grouping -being constructed is @code{$$}. Bison translates both of these +being constructed is @code{$$}. In addition, the semantic values of +symbols can be accessed with the named references construct +@code{$@var{name}} or @code{$[@var{name}]}. Bison translates both of these constructs into expressions of the appropriate type when it copies the -actions into the parser file. @code{$$} is translated to a modifiable +actions into the parser file. @code{$$} (or @code{$@var{name}}, when it +stands for the current grouping) is translated to a modifiable lvalue, so it can be assigned to. Here is a typical example: @@ -3457,16 +3464,31 @@ exp: @dots{} @end group @end example +Or, in terms of named references: + +@example +@group +exp[result]: @dots{} + | exp[left] '+' exp[right] + @{ $result = $left + $right; @} +@end group +@end example + @noindent This rule constructs an @code{exp} from two smaller @code{exp} groupings connected by a plus-sign token. In the action, @code{$1} and @code{$3} +(@code{$left} and @code{$right}) refer to the semantic values of the two component @code{exp} groupings, which are the first and third symbols on the right hand side of the rule. -The sum is stored into @code{$$} so that it becomes the semantic value of +The sum is stored into @code{$$} (@code{$result}) so that it becomes the +semantic value of the addition-expression just recognized by the rule. If there were a useful semantic value associated with the @samp{+} token, it could be referred to as @code{$2}. +@xref{Named References,,Using Named References}, for more information +about using the named references construct. + Note that the vertical-bar character @samp{|} is really a rule separator, and actions are attached to a single rule. This is a difference with tools like Flex, for which @samp{|} stands for either @@ -3761,6 +3783,93 @@ compound: subroutine Now Bison can execute the action in the rule for @code{subroutine} without deciding which rule for @code{compound} it will eventually use. +@node Named References +@subsection Using Named References +@cindex named references + +While every semantic value can be accessed with positional references +@code{$@var{n}} and @code{$$}, it's often much more convenient to refer to +them by name. First of all, original symbol names may be used as named +references. For example: + +@example +@group +invocation: op '(' args ')' + @{ $invocation = new_invocation ($op, $args, @@invocation); @} +@end group +@end example + +@noindent +The positional @code{$$}, @code{@@$}, @code{$n}, and @code{@@n} can be +mixed with @code{$name} and @code{@@name} arbitrarily. For example: + +@example +@group +invocation: op '(' args ')' + @{ $$ = new_invocation ($op, $args, @@$); @} +@end group +@end example + +@noindent +However, sometimes regular symbol names are not sufficient due to +ambiguities: + +@example +@group +exp: exp '/' exp + @{ $exp = $exp / $exp; @} // $exp is ambiguous. + +exp: exp '/' exp + @{ $$ = $1 / $exp; @} // One usage is ambiguous. + +exp: exp '/' exp + @{ $$ = $1 / $3; @} // No error. +@end group +@end example + +@noindent +When ambiguity occurs, explicitly declared names may be used for values and +locations. Explicit names are declared as a bracketed name after a symbol +appearance in rule definitions. For example: +@example +@group +exp[result]: exp[left] '/' exp[right] + @{ $result = $left / $right; @} +@end group +@end example + +@noindent +Explicit names may be declared for RHS and for LHS symbols as well. In order +to access a semantic value generated by a mid-rule action, an explicit name +may also be declared by putting a bracketed name after the closing brace of +the mid-rule action code: +@example +@group +exp[res]: exp[x] '+' @{$left = $x;@}[left] exp[right] + @{ $res = $left + $right; @} +@end group +@end example + +@noindent + +In references, in order to specify names containing dots and dashes, an explicit +bracketed syntax @code{$[name]} and @code{@@[name]} must be used: +@example +@group +if-stmt: IF '(' expr ')' THEN then.stmt ';' + @{ $[if-stmt] = new_if_stmt ($expr, $[then.stmt]); @} +@end group +@end example + +It often happens that named references are followed by a dot, dash or other +C punctuation marks and operators. By default, Bison will read +@code{$name.suffix} as a reference to symbol value @code{$name} followed by +@samp{.suffix}, i.e., an access to the @samp{suffix} field of the semantic +value. In order to force Bison to recognize @code{name.suffix} in its entirety +as the name of a semantic value, bracketed syntax @code{$[name.suffix]} +must be used. + + @node Locations @section Tracking Locations @cindex location @@ -3816,6 +3925,8 @@ Action Decl, , Performing Actions before Parsing}. @cindex actions, location @vindex @@$ @vindex @@@var{n} +@vindex @@@var{name} +@vindex @@[@var{name}] Actions are not only useful for defining language semantics, but also for describing the behavior of the output parser with locations. @@ -3827,6 +3938,11 @@ The location of the @var{n}th component of the right hand side is @code{@@@var{n}}, while the location of the left hand side grouping is @code{@@$}. +In addition, the named references construct @code{@@@var{name}} and +@code{@@[@var{name}]} may also be used to address the symbol locations. +@xref{Named References,,Using Named References}, for more information +about using the named references construct. + Here is a basic example using the default data type for locations: @example @@ -9889,6 +10005,16 @@ In an action, the location of the @var{n}-th symbol of the right-hand side of the rule. @xref{Locations, , Locations Overview}. @end deffn +@deffn {Variable} @@@var{name} +In an action, the location of a symbol addressed by name. +@xref{Locations, , Locations Overview}. +@end deffn + +@deffn {Variable} @@[@var{name}] +In an action, the location of a symbol addressed by name. +@xref{Locations, , Locations Overview}. +@end deffn + @deffn {Variable} $$ In an action, the semantic value of the left-hand side of the rule. @xref{Actions}. @@ -9899,6 +10025,16 @@ In an action, the semantic value of the @var{n}-th symbol of the right-hand side of the rule. @xref{Actions}. @end deffn +@deffn {Variable} $@var{name} +In an action, the semantic value of a symbol addressed by name. +@xref{Actions}. +@end deffn + +@deffn {Variable} $[@var{name}] +In an action, the semantic value of a symbol addressed by name. +@xref{Actions}. +@end deffn + @deffn {Delimiter} %% Delimiter used to separate the grammar rule section from the Bison declarations section or the epilogue. |