Re: Interactive parsing with Bison

[Satya]

> > The commercial tools available today (there aren't many by the way)
> > take an alternative route - they let you compose your grammar in a
> > nice IDE and then point out all the conflicts, simulate a parse on a
> > test input file even before the final parser code is generated.
>
> A problem with this type of GUI is that they usually are centered
> around a limited set of commercial applications: it works well as
> long one stays within that limited scope, but one is left out in the
> cold if  one steps outside.

Yes, they have fallen into the trap of proprietary software; the
grammar format is proprietary and the so is the parser; they have no
choice; I am talking about creating one.

> For example, the use of a "make" file gives full programming control,
> that the type of IDE you mention does not.

By creating and IDE for make, we can give that flexibility to a user
who doesn't understand the language of make (but understands file
dependencies);

In our case, the user understands LR parsing in general; but not its
implementation in C; An  IDE should work at a higher level than the
code generated  by Bison in y.tab.c

> Another factor to keep in mind, is the time it takes to develop a GUI.

Accepted; there is no shortcut; of course it would be foolish to try
and make a self-centered GUI like those commercial apps; we can try to
integrate it with GDB, then write an eclipse / KDevelop plugin.

Satya.

--
"When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however
improbable, must be the truth".
-Sherlock Holmes, The sign of four.