Bison

This manual (10 September 2021) is for GNU Bison (version 3.8.1), the GNU parser generator.

Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.3 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being “A GNU Manual,” and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the license is included in the section entitled “GNU Free Documentation License.”

(a) The FSF’s Back-Cover Text is: “You have the freedom to copy and modify this GNU manual. Buying copies from the FSF supports it in developing GNU and promoting software freedom.”

Introduction
Conditions for Using Bison
GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE
1 The Concepts of Bison
- 1.1 Languages and Context-Free Grammars
- 1.2 From Formal Rules to Bison Input
- 1.3 Semantic Values
- 1.4 Semantic Actions
- 1.5 Writing GLR Parsers
- 1.6 Locations
- 1.7 Bison Output: the Parser Implementation File
- 1.8 Stages in Using Bison
- 1.9 The Overall Layout of a Bison Grammar
2 Examples
- 2.1 Reverse Polish Notation Calculator
- 2.2 Infix Notation Calculator: calc
- 2.3 Simple Error Recovery
- 2.4 Location Tracking Calculator: ltcalc
- 2.5 Multi-Function Calculator: mfcalc
- 2.6 Exercises
3 Bison Grammar Files
- 3.1 Outline of a Bison Grammar
- 3.2 Symbols, Terminal and Nonterminal
- 3.3 Grammar Rules
- 3.4 Defining Language Semantics
- 3.5 Tracking Locations
- 3.6 Named References
- 3.7 Bison Declarations
- 3.8 Multiple Parsers in the Same Program
4 Parser C-Language Interface
- 4.1 The Parser Function yyparse
- 4.2 Push Parser Interface
- 4.3 The Lexical Analyzer Function yylex
- 4.4 Error Reporting
  - 4.4.1 The Error Reporting Function yyerror
  - 4.4.2 The Syntax Error Reporting Function yyreport_syntax_error
- 4.5 Special Features for Use in Actions
- 4.6 Parser Internationalization
  - 4.6.1 Enabling Internationalization
  - 4.6.2 Token Internationalization
5 The Bison Parser Algorithm
- 5.1 Lookahead Tokens
- 5.2 Shift/Reduce Conflicts
- 5.3 Operator Precedence
- 5.4 Context-Dependent Precedence
- 5.5 Parser States
- 5.6 Reduce/Reduce Conflicts
- 5.7 Mysterious Conflicts
- 5.8 Tuning LR
- 5.9 Generalized LR (GLR) Parsing
- 5.10 Memory Management, and How to Avoid Memory Exhaustion
6 Error Recovery
7 Handling Context Dependencies
- 7.1 Semantic Info in Token Kinds
- 7.2 Lexical Tie-ins
- 7.3 Lexical Tie-ins and Error Recovery
8 Debugging Your Parser
- 8.1 Generation of Counterexamples
- 8.2 Understanding Your Parser
- 8.3 Visualizing Your Parser
- 8.4 Visualizing your parser in multiple formats
- 8.5 Tracing Your Parser
  - 8.5.1 Enabling Traces
  - 8.5.2 Enabling Debug Traces for mfcalc
9 Invoking Bison
- 9.1 Bison Options
- 9.2 Option Cross Key
- 9.3 Yacc Library
10 Parsers Written In Other Languages
- 10.1 C++ Parsers
- 10.2 D Parsers
- 10.3 Java Parsers
11 A Brief History of the Greater Ungulates
- 11.1 The ancestral Yacc
- 11.2 yacchack
- 11.3 Berkeley Yacc
- 11.4 Bison
- 11.5 Other Ungulates
12 Bison Version Compatibility: Best Practices
13 Frequently Asked Questions
- 13.1 Memory Exhausted
- 13.2 How Can I Reset the Parser
- 13.3 Strings are Destroyed
- 13.4 Implementing Gotos/Loops
- 13.5 Multiple start-symbols
- 13.6 Secure? Conform?
- 13.7 Enabling Relocatability
- 13.8 I can’t build Bison
- 13.9 Where can I find help?
- 13.10 Bug Reports
- 13.11 More Languages
- 13.12 Beta Testing
- 13.13 Mailing Lists
Appendix A Bison Symbols
Appendix B Glossary
Appendix C GNU Free Documentation License
Bibliography
Index of Terms

Bison 3.8.1

Bison

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