Questions tagged [parsing]

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3 votes
0 answers
80 views

Higher dimensional automata?

An NFA is just the data of a labelled, directed multigraph with a accepting predicate over the vertices. Simplicial sets generalize directed multigraphs by allowing the existence of higher dimensional ...
1 vote
0 answers
51 views

Not possible to write deterministic CFG for balanced parenthesis?

I know that it's possible to build an LL(1) parser for the Dyck language, i.e. a balanced string of parentheses, so the Dyck language is a deterministic context-free language. But what's an example of ...
3 votes
1 answer
166 views

Compressing grammars by introducing ambiguity and left-recursion

This is a reference request. What is known about the following questions? Problem: Given a grammar $G$ (for example context-free) with language $L$ we can introduce a new grammar $G'$ which also ...
0 votes
0 answers
71 views

Are there data structures that cannot be serialized / deserialized using a context free grammar?

I understand that deserializing data from a string or binary stream into a data structure is effectively the same parsing. When you deserialize the input string, you use a grammar to create a parse ...
2 votes
1 answer
570 views

Is classical lambda calculus grammar an `LL(k)` one?

I am playing with a lambda calculus and faced a question I find hard to reason about. On the screenshot you may find the lambda calculus grammar. Is it an instance of the ...
1 vote
0 answers
58 views

Enumerating all parse trees from a parse forest

Say a generalized parsing algorithm whether a GLL parser or Early parser generates a parse forest. Would it be possible to enumerate all of the parse trees from the forest? If possible, in a lazy ...
0 votes
0 answers
63 views

Are there parsers that can parse languages in more expressive grammars than context-free grammars?

The Earley Parser is able to parse all context-free languages. Are there parsers that can parse say languages in context-sensitive grammars? I realize ambiguous grammars are non-deterministic and ...
26 votes
5 answers
3k views

Recovering a parse forest from an Earley parser?

I was recently reading up on the Earley parser and think it's one of the most elegant algorithms I've seen to date. However, the algorithm in its traditional sense is a recognizer and not a parser, ...
1 vote
0 answers
30 views

Decidability of regular partition construction given its existence

Let $G = (N,T,P,S)$ be a context-free grammar where $T,N$ are sets of terminals and nonterminals respectively, $P$ contains all the productions of the grammar, and $S \in N$. If we know that $G$ is LL(...
5 votes
2 answers
213 views

Reducing the Height of Context-Free Grammars

Let $G$ be a context free grammar in Chomsky normal form (CNF) with language $L(G)\subseteq \Sigma^n$. In other words, all strings generate by $G$ have size $n$. Say that a string $w\in L(G)$ has ...
7 votes
4 answers
7k views

Difference between syntax and semantic error in programming languages

When compilers generate errors for a specific programming language, there's distinction between syntax & semantic errors. E.g. ) + f 3 has ill-formed syntax, ...
1 vote
1 answer
65 views

Why can a Predictive Parser contain E' -> TE' | ε

I am studying the basics of predictive parsing and I think I have missed a concept that I would like to understand instead of just accepting and memorizing. I am watching this video and I am confused ...
-1 votes
1 answer
128 views

DPDA with parameterized states

I'm considering an extension of Sublime Text's syntax definition format. A syntax definition is, in essence, a specification of a deterministic pushdown automaton. I would like to extend the system to ...
2 votes
0 answers
71 views

A Context-Sensitive Grammar which cannot be recognised by a Parsing Expression Grammar

It is (currently) an open question of whether every context-free grammar can be recognised by some parsing expression grammar. [1] However, has it been proven that there exists an example of a ...
1 vote
0 answers
159 views

Does an Earley parser equipped with LL(1)-style lookahead parse in linear time for all LL(1) grammars?

If a standard Earley parser (with proper handling of nullable non-terminals, see Section 4 of "Practical Earley Parsing" by Aycock and Horspool) is modified with LL(1)-style lookahead, does ...
13 votes
1 answer
724 views

Why Tomita created GLR and didn't use Earley?

When I look at Earley parsing, it looks very elegant, and I wonder why GLR techniques become popular? Does anyone know what was wrong with Earley parsing that Tomita created GLR? Performance? Any ...
3 votes
1 answer
249 views

Generalizing Parsing Expression Grammar for Context Sensitive Grammars

One of the things I like about parsing expression grammars is that they're automatically unambiguous, and unambiguity is a very important property to have. However, context-free grammars are somewhat ...
16 votes
2 answers
2k views

Permutation phrases with LR parsing

A permutation phrase is an extension to the standard (E)BNF context free grammar definitions: a permutation phrase $\{ A_1, \dots, A_n \}$ contains $n$ productions (or equivalently, nonterminals) $A_1$...
14 votes
2 answers
1k views

Efficient algorithm for updating a parse tree

Let's say I have a big block of code which I already have lexed and parsed. Suppose that just one character changes; I would want to update my parsing, but since the modification is very small ...
5 votes
1 answer
567 views

Parse structure of a range concatenation grammar (RCG)

I know that with a context-free grammar, one can represent the results of a parse as a parse-tree. Specifically, each node represents one application of a production rule, is usually named for the LHS ...
2 votes
1 answer
1k views

How can an inherited attribute be simulated using a synthesized attribute?

Is it possible to simulate an inherited attribute using a synthesized attribute? For example, can the inherited attribute SYMTAB used in normal code generation modules be simulated using a synthesized ...
7 votes
0 answers
812 views

Does PEG contain CFG?

Despite their considerable expressive power, all PEGs can be parsed in linear time using a tabular or memoizing parser (8). These properties strongly suggest that CFGs and PEGs define incomparable ...
1 vote
0 answers
64 views

Grammars whose LR automata have singleton item sets?

The states in LR parsers correspond to sets of items (ie, sets of productions from the original grammar, with a "dot" marking how far into the rule the parser has gotten). In general, states ...
9 votes
1 answer
1k views

Fully linear time regular expression matching

Is there an $O(n+m)$ algorithm to check whether a size $n$ regular expression matches a size $m$ string, assuming a fixed size alphabet if that matters? The standard NFA algorithm is $O(nm)$ worst ...
1 vote
1 answer
719 views

What is the grammar of network protocols and file formats?

For network protocols and/or file formats with fixed length fields, the grammar is fairly simple, and can be explained with a regular expression. However, for protocols with varying data lenghts, ...
5 votes
1 answer
286 views

Is there any research or findings on creating parse forests on Earley parsers with Leo Joop Enhancements?

Using the Earley Algorithm we can use the Leo enhancement to create cached items for recognition. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/030439759190180A Scott's algorithm on building ...
8 votes
1 answer
200 views

Is $LL(k)$ for large $k$ considered harmful? If so, why?

I took a course touching on lexer and parser theory this semester (a sizeable chunk was devoted to regexes and other FSA, but context-free grammars were covered as well). Over the course of the ...
14 votes
2 answers
710 views

Category theory and parsers --- references wanted

Since I'm interested in parsers (mainly in parser expression grammars), I'm wondering if there's some work that gives a categorical treatment of parsing. Any reference on applications of category ...
10 votes
4 answers
5k views

Good books on parser theory?

One of my Java projects is a fork of parboiled, and unlike, say, Antlr or JavaCC, parsers are generated at runtime. Grammars generated are Parsing Expression Grammars, or PEGs (I hear another term for ...
9 votes
2 answers
1k views

Chomsky normal form method: CYK parser performance implications?

Chart parsers can be implemented based on Chomsky normal form or directly based on production rules. Lets for the moment assume we have a CYK chart parser that uses Chomsky normal form. The ...
0 votes
0 answers
228 views

Correctness proof of recursive-descent recognizer

Let G be a grammar that contains no left-recursive rules, and we use a recursive-descent recognizer that uses full backtracking, using list of results for example, to recognize strings of G. How ...
2 votes
1 answer
1k views

Complexity of a GLR parser on an ambiguous grammar

Let's consider the following expression grammar that is ambiguous: $E ::= E + E~|~a$ Although GLR parsing (recognition actually, I'm not interested in parse tree creation) is worst case $O(n^3)$, ...
4 votes
1 answer
1k views

Example of context-free grammar that triggers exponential behaviour without memoization in RD parsers

It is often said that memoization brings the complexity of recursive-descent parsers from exponential to polynomial. However, I had a hard time finding an example grammar that triggers the exponential ...
2 votes
1 answer
257 views

Define the properties of a grammar that is the fastest to parse

It's possible to define the properties of a grammar that is fast to parse as it is indeed possible to classify algorithm based on their complexity ? In other words it's possible to evaluate and ...
13 votes
1 answer
342 views

Relationship between shift-reduce parsing and delimited continuations?

Has anyone formalized the relationship between shift-reduce parsing techniques and delimited continuations? When constructing a bottom-up parser (eg, LR parsers), we take a grammar and then ...
0 votes
0 answers
126 views

Is it possible to simulate a regular expression using a single stack?

I understand that a regular expression can be converted to an equivalent DFA which can then be simulated. However, is it possible to simulate the regular expression directly with the aid of a stack ? ...
5 votes
3 answers
719 views

Formal definition of parser?

I'm looking for an accepted, formal definition of a parser as function $f$ returning an AST, but I cannot find any reference in literature; all I can find is the definition of a recognizer as a ...
-2 votes
1 answer
101 views

Has anyone ever mixed strings in a language with position?

Let the alphabet $\Sigma$ be extended to include $\bullet$, the concatenation point character. Define concatenation of such strings to be: (by example): $$ s\cdot t = (\omega \bullet \gamma ) \cdot ...
5 votes
2 answers
1k views

Brackets expression incremental parsing algorithm

I am looking for efficient and easy in implementation algorithm for incremental parsing of expressions with brackets. Consider the example with expression like "((1)())(2)". Parse tree for that ...
21 votes
3 answers
3k views

Generalizations of Brzozowski's method of derivatives of regular expressions to grammars?

Brzozowski's method of derivatives is a very pretty technique for building deterministic automata from regular expressions in a nicely algebraic way. I've worked out some cute generalizations of this ...
0 votes
1 answer
255 views

Can abstract syntax trees be unparsed in subexponential time?

Abstract problem description The way I see it, unparsing means to create a token stream from an AST, which when parsed again produces an equal AST, i.e. ...
2 votes
2 answers
619 views

are there fixed context sensitive grammars which are PSPACE complete?

wikipedia entry says without reference that "There are even some context-sensitive grammars whose fixed grammar recognition problem is PSPACE-complete." This is stronger than saying that CSG is ...
23 votes
1 answer
2k views

Can all unambiguous grammars be parsed in linear time?

When tinkering with noncanonical LR parsing, I thought up a parsing method (with infinitely sized tables, which makes it somewhat unpractical) capable of parsing exactly the unambiguous grammars in $O(...
7 votes
2 answers
814 views

Maximal munch rule issue for lexers: is detection decidable?

Edit: I realise that one of my problems is that I don't have a clear definition of my problem, which makes the question of whether it is detectable hard to answer. I'm therefore already happy with ...
19 votes
3 answers
742 views

CFG parsing using $o(n^2)$ space

There are a multitude of algorithms that can parse a context-free grammar in $O(n^3)$ time. Using matrix multiplication, one can even go asymptotically faster than that. However, all algorithms for ...
2 votes
0 answers
126 views

Ref request: grammar specification how-to

I am looking for a reference where I can learn a reasonably systematic approach to how to specify a formal grammar for a given syntax. By a "formal grammar" I mean something like a BNF description. (...
0 votes
1 answer
187 views

Describing a grammar and associated parser

In the process of writing a Turing machine simulator, I decided on a machine representation in ASCII that closely mirrors Turing's original machine tables. I am interested in the formal categorization ...
7 votes
0 answers
344 views

The semantics of Parsing Expression Grammars

Is there a simple and intuitive explanation for the fact that the following parsing expression (where S is the starting symbol, $...
1 vote
0 answers
215 views

LALR grammars subsets

If LR(0) condition for a grammar G is formulated as follows: Every state is either reduction or a shift state and it can't be both at the same time if it is a reduction state, it contains exactly one ...