What (who) is parser generators - definition

PROGRAM THAT GENERATES PARSERS OR COMPILERS FROM SOURCE FILES

Parser generator; Parser generators; Compiler compiler; Compiler Compiler; Compiler generator; Semantic action routine; Compiler development tools; Metacompiler; Parser compiler

parser generator

A program which takes a formal description of a grammar (e.g. in BNF) and outputs source code for a parser which will recognise valid strings obeying that grammar and perform associated actions. Unix's yacc is a well known example.

Compiler-Compiler

An early compiler generator for the Atlas, with its own distinctive input language. ["The Compiler-Compiler", R.A. Brooker et al, Ann Rev Automatic Programming 3:229-275, Pergamon 1963]. (1994-10-24)

compiler-compiler

A utility to generate the source code of a parser, interpreter or compiler from an annotated language description (usually in BNF). Most so called compiler-compilers are really just parser generators. Examples are Bison, Eli, FSL, META 5, MUG2, Parsley, Pre-cc, Yacc. (1995-01-23)

Wikipedia

Compiler-compiler

In computer science, a compiler-compiler or compiler generator is a programming tool that creates a parser, interpreter, or compiler from some form of formal description of a programming language and machine.

The most common type of compiler-compiler is more precisely called a parser generator. It only handles syntactic analysis.

The input of a parser generator is a grammar file, typically written in Backus–Naur form (BNF) or extended Backus–Naur form (EBNF) that defines the syntax of a target programming language.

The output is the source code of a parser for the programming language. The output of the (compiled) parser source code is a parser. It may be either standalone or embedded. This parser takes as an input the source code of the target programming language source and performs some action or outputs an abstract syntax tree (AST).

Parser generators do not handle the semantics of the AST, or the generation of machine code for the target machine.

A metacompiler is a software development tool used mainly in the construction of compilers, translators, and interpreters for other programming languages. The input to a metacompiler is a computer program written in a specialized programming metalanguage designed mainly for the purpose of constructing compilers. The language of the compiler produced is called the object language. The minimal input producing a compiler is a metaprogram specifying the object language grammar and semantic transformations into an object program.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compiler-compiler