Interpreter Design Pattern

The Interpreter design pattern is a behavioral design pattern that facilitates

the interpretation and evaluation of expressions or language grammars.

Important Topics for the Interpreter Design Pattern

What is the Interpreter Design Pattern?

 Components of the Interpreter Design Pattern ?

 Real-Life analogy of Interpreter Design Pattern ?
 Interpreter Design Pattern example ?
 When to use the Interpreter Design Pattern ?
 When not to use the Interpreter Design Pattern ?

What is the Interpreter Design Pattern?

The Interpreter design pattern is a behavioral design pattern that defines a

way to interpret and evaluate language grammar or expressions. It provides
a mechanism to evaluate sentences in a language by representing their
grammar as a set of classes. Each class represents a rule or expression in
the grammar, and the pattern allows these classes to be composed
hierarchically to interpret complex expressions.

 The pattern involves defining a hierarchy of expression classes, both

terminal and nonterminal, to represent the elements of the language’s
grammar.
 Terminal expressions represent basic building blocks, while
nonterminal expressions represent compositions of these building
blocks.
 The tree structure of the Interpreter design pattern is somewhat
similar to that defined by the composite design pattern with terminal
expressions being leaf objects and non-terminal expressions being
composites.
“This involves defining the behavior of interpreting expressions, parsing
input strings, building expression trees, and recursively evaluating
expression nodes based on predefined grammar rules”.

Components of the Interpreter Design Pattern

1. AbstractExpression

This is an abstract class or interface that declares an abstract interpret()

method. It represents the common interface for all concrete expressions
in the language.

2. TerminalExpression

These are the concrete classes that implement the AbstractExpression

interface. Terminal expressions represent the terminal symbols or leaves
in the grammar. These are the basic building blocks that the interpreter
uses to interpret the language.

For example, in an arithmetic expression interpreter, terminal expressions

could include literals such as numbers or variables representing numeric
values.

These terminal expressions would evaluate to their respective values

directly without further decomposition.

3. NonterminalExpression

These are the also concrete classes that implement the

AbstractExpression interface. Non-terminal expression classes are
responsible for handling composite expressions, which consist of multiple
sub-expressions. These classes are tasked to provide the interpretation
logic for such composite expressions.

 Another aspect of non-terminal expressions is their responsibility to

coordinate the interpretation process by coordinating the
interpretation of sub-expressions.
 This involves coordinating the interpretation calls on sub-expressions,
aggregating their results, and applying any necessary modifications or
operations to achieve the final interpretation of the entire expression

 Non-terminal expressions facilitate the traversal of expression trees

during the interpretation process.

 As part of this traversal, they recursively interpret their sub-

expressions, ensuring that each part of the expression contributes to
the overall interpretation.

4. Context

This class contains information that is global to the interpreter and is

maintained and modified during the interpretation process. The context
may include variables, data structures, or other state information that the
interpreter needs to access or modify while interpreting expressions.

5. Client

The client is responsible for creating the abstract syntax tree (AST) and
invoking the interpret() method on the root of the tree. The AST is
typically created by parsing the input language and constructing a
hierarchical representation of the expressions.

6. Interpreter

The interpreter is responsible for coordinating the interpretation process.

It manages the context, creates expression objects representing the input
expression, and interprets the expression by traversing and evaluating
the expression tree. The interpreter typically encapsulates the logic for
parsing, building the expression tree, and interpreting the expressions
according to the defined grammar.

Real-Life analogy of Interpreter Design Pattern

Imagine you are traveling to a foreign country where you do not speak
the native language. In such a scenario, you may need the assistance of
an interpreter to help you communicate effectively with the locals.

Here’s how the Interpreter pattern relates to this situation:

 Language Grammar: Just like a programming language has its own

grammar rules, each spoken language has its own grammar and
syntax. For example, English, French, or Mandarin all have their own
rules for sentence structure, word order, and vocabulary.

 Interpreter: The interpreter in this analogy is the person who serves

as the intermediary between you and the locals. They understand both
your language (the input language) and the local language (the target
language).

 Expressions: Your spoken sentences or phrases are like expressions

in a programming language. They represent the information or
instructions you want to convey to the locals.

 Context: The context in this analogy could be the cultural background

or situational context in which the communication takes place. This
context helps the interpreter understand the nuances and subtleties of
the conversation.

 Translation Process: The interpreter listens to your spoken

expressions, interprets their meaning, and then translates them into
the local language. They may break down your sentences into smaller
units (words or phrases), understand their meaning, and then rephrase
them in the target language using the appropriate grammar and
vocabulary.

Interpreter Design Pattern example

Suppose we have a simple language that supports basic arithmetic

operations, such as addition (+), subtraction (-), multiplication (*), and
division (/). We want to create a calculator program that can interpret and
evaluate arithmetic expressions written in this language.

Benefits of using the Interpreter Pattern:

The Interpreter pattern can be applied to this scenario to provide a

structured way of interpreting and evaluating arithmetic expressions. Its
benefits include:

 Modularity: Components such as terminal and non-terminal

expressions can be easily added or modified to support new language
constructs or operations.

 Separation of Concerns: The pattern separates the grammar

interpretation from the client, allowing the client to focus on providing
input expressions while leaving the interpretation logic to the
interpreter components.

 Extensibility: New operations or language constructs can be added

without modifying existing code, promoting code reuse and
maintainability.
Communication flow of the Interpreter Design pattern using
expression ” 2+3*4 ” :

 Client: The client initiates the interpretation process by creating an

interpreter object and providing the input expression (2 + 3 * 4).

 Interpreter Initialization: The interpreter object is created, along

with any necessary context object (if applicable). In our case, we’ll
assume a simple context object is created.

 Parsing and Expression Tree Building:

o The input expression (2 + 3 * 4) is parsed to create an

expression tree representing the structure of the expression.

o Each operator and operand in the expression is represented by a

corresponding expression object.

 Expression Evaluation:

o The interpreter traverses the expression tree and starts

interpreting each node.

o For terminal expressions (operands), such as 2, 3, and 4, their

respective interpret() methods return their numeric values.

o For non-terminal expressions (operators), such as + and *,

their interpret() methods recursively call the interpret() methods
of their left and right sub-expressions and perform the respective
operations (addition and multiplication).

 Combining Interpretations:

o The interpreter combines the interpretations of sub-expressions

according to the rules defined by the expression tree.

o In our example, the multiplication operation (3 * 4) is evaluated

first, resulting in 12.
 o Then, the addition operation (2 + 12) is evaluated, resulting in
the final interpretation value of 14.

 Output: The final interpretation result (14) is returned to the client,

which can then use it for further processing or display.

Below is the code of above problem statement using Interpreter

Pattern:

Let’s break down into the component wise code:

1. Client
The client provides input expressions and interacts with the
interpreter.
 Java

public class Client {

public static void main(String[] args) {
// Input expression
String expression = "2 + 3 * 4";

// Create interpreter
Context context = new Context();
Interpreter interpreter = new Interpreter(context);

// Interpret expression
int result = interpreter.interpret(expression);
System.out.println("Result: " + result);
}
 }

2. Context
The context holds global information needed for interpretation.
 Java

public class Context {

// Any global information needed for interpretation
}

3. Abstract Expression
Defines the common interface for interpreting expressions.
 Java

public interface Expression {

int interpret(Context context);
}

4. Terminal Expression
Represents basic language elements.
 Java

public class NumberExpression implements Expression {

private int number;

public NumberExpression(int number) {

this.number = number;
}

@Override
 public int interpret(Context context) {
return number;
}
}

5. Non-Terminal Expression
Represents composite language constructs.
 Java

public class AdditionExpression implements Expression {

private Expression left;
private Expression right;

public AdditionExpression(Expression left, Expression right)

{
this.left = left;
this.right = right;
}

@Override
public int interpret(Context context) {
return left.interpret(context) + right.interpret(context);
}
}

public class MultiplicationExpression implements Expression {

private Expression left;
private Expression right;

public MultiplicationExpression(Expression left, Expression

 right) {
this.left = left;
this.right = right;
}

@Override
public int interpret(Context context) {
return left.interpret(context) * right.interpret(context);
}
}

Complete code for the above example

Below is the complete code for the above example:
 Java

class Context {
// Any global information needed for interpretation
}

interface Expression {
int interpret(Context context);
}
class NumberExpression implements Expression {
private int number;

public NumberExpression(int number) {

this.number = number;
}
 @Override
public int interpret(Context context) {
return number;
}
}
class AdditionExpression implements Expression {
private Expression left;
private Expression right;

public AdditionExpression(Expression left, Expression right)

{
this.left = left;
this.right = right;
}
@Override
public int interpret(Context context) {
return left.interpret(context) + right.interpret(context);
}
}

class MultiplicationExpression implements Expression {

private Expression left;
private Expression right;

public MultiplicationExpression(Expression left, Expression

right) {
this.left = left;
this.right = right;
}
 @Override
public int interpret(Context context) {
return left.interpret(context) * right.interpret(context);
}
}

class Interpreter {
private Context context;

public Interpreter(Context context) {

this.context = context;
}

public int interpret(String expression) {

// Parse expression and create expression tree
Expression expressionTree =
buildExpressionTree(expression);

// Interpret expression tree

return expressionTree.interpret(context);
}

private Expression buildExpressionTree(String expression) {

// Logic to parse expression and create expression tree
// For simplicity, assume the expression is already parsed
// and represented as an expression tree
return new AdditionExpression(
new NumberExpression(2),
 new MultiplicationExpression(
new NumberExpression(3),
new NumberExpression(4)
)
);
}
}

public class Client {

public static void main(String[] args) {
// Input expression
String expression = "2 + 3 * 4";

// Create interpreter
Context context = new Context();
Interpreter interpreter = new Interpreter(context);

// Interpret expression
int result = interpreter.interpret(expression);
System.out.println("Result: " + result);
}
}

 Output

Result: 14

When to use Interpreter Design Pattern

 When dealing with domain-specific languages:

 o If you need to interpret and execute expressions or commands in
a domain-specific language (DSL), the Interpreter pattern can
provide a flexible and extensible way to implement the
language’s grammar and semantics.
 When you have a grammar to interpret:
o If you have a well-defined grammar for expressions or
commands that need to be interpreted, the Interpreter pattern
can help parse and evaluate these structures efficiently.
 When adding new operations is frequent:
o If your application frequently requires the addition of new
operations or commands, the Interpreter pattern allows you to
add new expression classes easily without modifying existing
code, thus promoting maintainability and extensibility.
 When you want to avoid complex grammar parsers:
o If building and maintaining complex grammar parsers seems
daunting or unnecessary for your use case, the Interpreter
pattern offers a simpler alternative for interpreting expressions
directly.
When not to use Interpreter Design Pattern
 For simple computations:
o If your task involves only simple computations or operations that
can be easily handled by built-in language features or libraries,
using the Interpreter pattern may introduce unnecessary
complexity.
 When performance is critical:
o Interpreting expressions through the Interpreter pattern might
introduce overhead compared to other approaches, especially for
complex expressions or large input sets. In performance-critical
applications, a more optimized solution, such as compilation to
native code, may be preferable.
 When the grammar is too complex:
 o If your grammar is highly complex, with numerous rules and
exceptions, implementing it using the Interpreter pattern may
lead to a proliferation of expression classes and increased code
complexity.
o In such cases, a dedicated parser generator or compiler may be
more suitable.
 When there’s no need for extensibility:
o If the requirements of your application are fixed and well-
defined, and there’s no anticipation of adding new operations,
commands, or language constructs in the future, then
implementing the Interpreter pattern may introduce unnecessary
complexity.