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YACC Basics and Example

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12 views

YACC Basics and Example

Uploaded by

vadini.vatsla76
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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YACC Basics and Example

chatgpt.com/c/673ace29-5050-8013-914f-326e96fbc6a5

YACC (Yet Another Compiler Compiler) is a tool used to generate parsers, which are
essential components in compilers and interpreters. It takes a formal grammar
specification (usually written in Backus-Naur Form or similar) and generates source code
for a parser that recognizes the language described by that grammar.

Key Features:
1. Input:

Grammar rules in a specific format.


Actions to execute when grammar rules are matched.
2. Output:

C code for the parser.


3. Usage:

Commonly used with lex, a lexical analyzer generator, to build a complete


compiler or interpreter.

Basic Steps to Use YACC:


1. Define Grammar: Write a .y file that contains grammar rules and corresponding
actions.

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2. Generate Parser: Use the yacc command to process the .y file and generate a .c
file (e.g., y.tab.c).
3. Compile and Link: Compile the generated C file, often linking it with a scanner
produced by lex.
4. Execute Parser: Run the final executable to parse input and execute actions based
on grammar rules.

Example: Simple Calculator

calc.y (YACC file):

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yacc

%{
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
%}

%token NUM
%left '+' '-'
%left '*' '/'

%%
input:
/* empty */
| input line
;

line:
'\n'
| expr '\n' { printf("Result: %d\n", $1); }
;

expr:
NUM { $$ = $1; }
| expr '+' expr { $$ = $1 + $3; }
| expr '-' expr { $$ = $1 - $3; }
| expr '*' expr { $$ = $1 * $3; }
| expr '/' expr { $$ = $1 / $3; }
;

%%
int main() {
return yyparse();
}

void yyerror(const char *s) {


fprintf(stderr, "Error: %s\n", s);
}

lex file (calc.l):

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lex

%{
#include "y.tab.h"
%}

%%
[0-9]+ { yylval = atoi(yytext); return NUM; }
[+\-*/] { return yytext[0]; }
\n { return '\n'; }
[ \t] { /* Ignore whitespace */ }
. { return yytext[0]; }
%%

Compilation:
1. Generate y.tab.c and y.tab.h using YACC:

bash

yacc -d calc.y

2. Generate lex.yy.c using Lex:

bash

lex calc.l

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3. Compile and link:

bash

gcc y.tab.c lex.yy.c -o calc -ll

4. Run the calculator:

bash

./calc

Input/Output:

Input:

3 + 4

Output:

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makefile

Result: 7

Applications of YACC:
Compilers and interpreters.
Code generation tools.
Query language parsers (e.g., SQL).
Domain-specific languages.

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