Re: language neutral parser

[Axel Kittenberger]

> In fact experimental trunk of bison development try to generate parser
> written with C++. C++ is absolutely not a limit, because we've changed the
> generation method. In the past bison wrote code C in a file, now all the
> code C is in the skeleton, which contains muscle (like macros), and that
> muscles are substitute by bison, with this method every body could write a
> skeleton to generate parser with a particular language (or with better
> error recovery, ...). With this method, every programming language could
> not have its own bison parser, but this will open bison to more languages.

Not true, the parser tables are they are generated are C code, yes C++ can 
use it, since C++ is backward compatible to C. But for any othe language you 
have to modifiy the bison binary itself to generate the tables in another 
way. 

Also the actions are usuable in C(++) only. For other languages you need to 
rewrite the actioner code.

I find the idea to use XML as intermetiate genial, something I woult not put 
into a drawer too soon. 

But again this appeals to something I asked already before. What is really 
the exacter mission of the official bison project?  

Just tinker in the old source somewhat, here and there? Create a C parser 
generator only? Maybe now a bit C++ also. Be an universal parser generator? 
Maybe help and encourage to develop new parser technologies? In addition to 
the difference of usual make the results available public. I guess there are 
dozends of better parser generators, but all closed source, or company intern 
after all.

I agree that today most main stream languages have their own generator. But 
this is in my eyes just an execuse, and an additional burden each language 
has to go through. I blieve the "(world) community" would really benefit of 
an universal GNU parser generator.

- There alphabet constists of far more than C.
- Axel

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