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NAME
pt::peg::to::json - PEG Conversion. Write JSON format
Table Of Contents
SYNOPSIS
package require Tcl 8.5 9
package require pt::peg::to::json ?1.1?
package require pt::peg
package require json::write
pt::peg::to::json reset
pt::peg::to::json configure
pt::peg::to::json configure option
pt::peg::to::json configure option value...
pt::peg::to::json convert serial
DESCRIPTION
Are you lost ? Do you have trouble understanding this document ? In that case please read the overview provided by the Introduction to Parser Tools. This document is the entrypoint to the whole system the current package is a part of.
This package implements the converter from parsing expression grammars to JSON markup.
It resides in the Export section of the Core Layer of Parser Tools, and can be used either directly with the other packages of this layer, or indirectly through the export manager provided by pt::peg::export. The latter is intented for use in untrusted environments and done through the corresponding export plugin pt::peg::export::json sitting between converter and export manager.
API
The API provided by this package satisfies the specification of the Converter API found in the Parser Tools Export API specification.
-
This command resets the configuration of the package to its default settings.
-
This command returns a dictionary containing the current configuration of the package.
pt::peg::to::json configure option
This command returns the current value of the specified configuration option of the package. For the set of legal options, please read the section Options.
pt::peg::to::json configure option value...
This command sets the given configuration options of the package, to the specified values. For the set of legal options, please read the section Options.
pt::peg::to::json convert serial
This command takes the canonical serialization of a parsing expression grammar, as specified in section PEG serialization format, and contained in serial, and generates JSON markup encoding the grammar, per the current package configuration. The created string is then returned as the result of the command.
Options
The converter to the JSON grammar exchange format recognizes the following configuration variables and changes its behaviour as they specify.
-file string
The value of this option is the name of the file or other entity from which the grammar came, for which the command is run. The default value is unknown.
-name string
The value of this option is the name of the grammar we are processing. The default value is a_pe_grammar.
-user string
The value of this option is the name of the user for which the command is run. The default value is unknown.
-indented boolean
If this option is set the system will break the generated JSON across lines and indent it according to its inner structure, with each key of a dictionary on a separate line.
If the option is not set (the default), the whole JSON object will be written on a single line, with minimum spacing between all elements.
-aligned boolean
If this option is set the system will ensure that the values for the keys in a dictionary are vertically aligned with each other, for a nice table effect. To make this work this also implies that -indented is set.
If the option is not set (the default), the output is formatted as per the value of indented, without trying to align the values for dictionary keys.
JSON Grammar Exchange Format
The json format for parsing expression grammars was written as a data exchange format not bound to Tcl. It was defined to allow the exchange of grammars with PackRat/PEG based parser generators for other languages.
It is formally specified by the rules below:
The JSON of any PEG is a JSON object.
This object holds a single key, pt::grammar::peg, and its value. This value holds the contents of the grammar.
The contents of the grammar are a JSON object holding the set of nonterminal symbols and the starting expression. The relevant keys and their values are
rules
The value is a JSON object whose keys are the names of the nonterminal symbols known to the grammar.
- Each nonterminal symbol may occur only once.
- The empty string is not a legal nonterminal symbol.
The value for each symbol is a JSON object itself. The relevant keys and their values in this dictionary are
* __is__ The value is a JSON string holding the Tcl serialization of the parsing expression describing the symbols sentennial structure, as specified in the section [PE serialization format](#section6)\. * __mode__ The value is a JSON holding holding one of three values specifying how a parser should handle the semantic value produced by the symbol\. + __value__ The semantic value of the nonterminal symbol is an abstract syntax tree consisting of a single node node for the nonterminal itself, which has the ASTs of the symbol's right hand side as its children\. + __leaf__ The semantic value of the nonterminal symbol is an abstract syntax tree consisting of a single node node for the nonterminal, without any children\. Any ASTs generated by the symbol's right hand side are discarded\. + __void__ The nonterminal has no semantic value\. Any ASTs generated by the symbol's right hand side are discarded \(as well\)\.
start
The value is a JSON string holding the Tcl serialization of the start parsing expression of the grammar, as specified in the section PE serialization format.
The terminal symbols of the grammar are specified implicitly as the set of all terminal symbols used in the start expression and on the RHS of the grammar rules.
As an aside to the advanced reader, this is pretty much the same as the Tcl serialization of PE grammars, as specified in section PEG serialization format, except that the Tcl dictionaries and lists of that format are mapped to JSON objects and arrays. Only the parsing expressions themselves are not translated further, but kept as JSON strings containing a nested Tcl list, and there is no concept of canonicity for the JSON either.
Example
Assuming the following PEG for simple mathematical expressions
PEG calculator (Expression)
Digit <- '0'/'1'/'2'/'3'/'4'/'5'/'6'/'7'/'8'/'9' ;
Sign <- '-' / '+' ;
Number <- Sign? Digit+ ;
Expression <- Term (AddOp Term)* ;
MulOp <- '*' / '/' ;
Term <- Factor (MulOp Factor)* ;
AddOp <- '+'/'-' ;
Factor <- '(' Expression ')' / Number ;
END;
a JSON serialization for it is
{
"pt::grammar::peg" : {
"rules" : {
"AddOp" : {
"is" : "\/ {t -} {t +}",
"mode" : "value"
},
"Digit" : {
"is" : "\/ {t 0} {t 1} {t 2} {t 3} {t 4} {t 5} {t 6} {t 7} {t 8} {t 9}",
"mode" : "value"
},
"Expression" : {
"is" : "\/ {x {t (} {n Expression} {t )}} {x {n Factor} {* {x {n MulOp} {n Factor}}}}",
"mode" : "value"
},
"Factor" : {
"is" : "x {n Term} {* {x {n AddOp} {n Term}}}",
"mode" : "value"
},
"MulOp" : {
"is" : "\/ {t *} {t \/}",
"mode" : "value"
},
"Number" : {
"is" : "x {? {n Sign}} {+ {n Digit}}",
"mode" : "value"
},
"Sign" : {
"is" : "\/ {t -} {t +}",
"mode" : "value"
},
"Term" : {
"is" : "n Number",
"mode" : "value"
}
},
"start" : "n Expression"
}
}
and a Tcl serialization of the same is
pt::grammar::peg {
rules {
AddOp {is {/ {t -} {t +}} mode value}
Digit {is {/ {t 0} {t 1} {t 2} {t 3} {t 4} {t 5} {t 6} {t 7} {t 8} {t 9}} mode value}
Expression {is {x {n Term} {* {x {n AddOp} {n Term}}}} mode value}
Factor {is {/ {x {t (} {n Expression} {t )}} {n Number}} mode value}
MulOp {is {/ {t *} {t /}} mode value}
Number {is {x {? {n Sign}} {+ {n Digit}}} mode value}
Sign {is {/ {t -} {t +}} mode value}
Term {is {x {n Factor} {* {x {n MulOp} {n Factor}}}} mode value}
}
start {n Expression}
}
The similarity of the latter to the JSON should be quite obvious.
PEG serialization format
Here we specify the format used by the Parser Tools to serialize Parsing Expression Grammars as immutable values for transport, comparison, etc.
We distinguish between regular and canonical serializations. While a PEG may have more than one regular serialization only exactly one of them will be canonical.
regular serialization
- The serialization of any PEG is a nested Tcl dictionary.
- This dictionary holds a single key, pt::grammar::peg, and its value. This value holds the contents of the grammar.
The contents of the grammar are a Tcl dictionary holding the set of nonterminal symbols and the starting expression. The relevant keys and their values are
rules
The value is a Tcl dictionary whose keys are the names of the nonterminal symbols known to the grammar.
- Each nonterminal symbol may occur only once.
- The empty string is not a legal nonterminal symbol.
The value for each symbol is a Tcl dictionary itself. The relevant keys and their values in this dictionary are
+ __is__ The value is the serialization of the parsing expression describing the symbols sentennial structure, as specified in the section [PE serialization format](#section6)\. + __mode__ The value can be one of three values specifying how a parser should handle the semantic value produced by the symbol\. - __value__ The semantic value of the nonterminal symbol is an abstract syntax tree consisting of a single node node for the nonterminal itself, which has the ASTs of the symbol's right hand side as its children\. - __leaf__ The semantic value of the nonterminal symbol is an abstract syntax tree consisting of a single node node for the nonterminal, without any children\. Any ASTs generated by the symbol's right hand side are discarded\. - __void__ The nonterminal has no semantic value\. Any ASTs generated by the symbol's right hand side are discarded \(as well\)\.
start
The value is the serialization of the start parsing expression of the grammar, as specified in the section PE serialization format.
The terminal symbols of the grammar are specified implicitly as the set of all terminal symbols used in the start expression and on the RHS of the grammar rules.
canonical serialization
The canonical serialization of a grammar has the format as specified in the previous item, and then additionally satisfies the constraints below, which make it unique among all the possible serializations of this grammar.
- The keys found in all the nested Tcl dictionaries are sorted in ascending dictionary order, as generated by Tcl's builtin command lsort -increasing -dict.
- The string representation of the value is the canonical representation of a Tcl dictionary. I.e. it does not contain superfluous whitespace.
Example
Assuming the following PEG for simple mathematical expressions
PEG calculator (Expression)
Digit <- '0'/'1'/'2'/'3'/'4'/'5'/'6'/'7'/'8'/'9' ;
Sign <- '-' / '+' ;
Number <- Sign? Digit+ ;
Expression <- Term (AddOp Term)* ;
MulOp <- '*' / '/' ;
Term <- Factor (MulOp Factor)* ;
AddOp <- '+'/'-' ;
Factor <- '(' Expression ')' / Number ;
END;
then its canonical serialization (except for whitespace) is
pt::grammar::peg {
rules {
AddOp {is {/ {t -} {t +}} mode value}
Digit {is {/ {t 0} {t 1} {t 2} {t 3} {t 4} {t 5} {t 6} {t 7} {t 8} {t 9}} mode value}
Expression {is {x {n Term} {* {x {n AddOp} {n Term}}}} mode value}
Factor {is {/ {x {t (} {n Expression} {t )}} {n Number}} mode value}
MulOp {is {/ {t *} {t /}} mode value}
Number {is {x {? {n Sign}} {+ {n Digit}}} mode value}
Sign {is {/ {t -} {t +}} mode value}
Term {is {x {n Factor} {* {x {n MulOp} {n Factor}}}} mode value}
}
start {n Expression}
}
PE serialization format
Here we specify the format used by the Parser Tools to serialize Parsing Expressions as immutable values for transport, comparison, etc.
We distinguish between regular and canonical serializations. While a parsing expression may have more than one regular serialization only exactly one of them will be canonical.
Regular serialization
Atomic Parsing Expressions
- The string epsilon is an atomic parsing expression. It matches the empty string.
- The string dot is an atomic parsing expression. It matches any character.
- The string alnum is an atomic parsing expression. It matches any Unicode alphabet or digit character. This is a custom extension of PEs based on Tcl's builtin command string is.
- The string alpha is an atomic parsing expression. It matches any Unicode alphabet character. This is a custom extension of PEs based on Tcl's builtin command string is.
- The string ascii is an atomic parsing expression. It matches any Unicode character below U0080. This is a custom extension of PEs based on Tcl's builtin command string is.
- The string control is an atomic parsing expression. It matches any Unicode control character. This is a custom extension of PEs based on Tcl's builtin command string is.
- The string digit is an atomic parsing expression. It matches any Unicode digit character. Note that this includes characters outside of the [0..9] range. This is a custom extension of PEs based on Tcl's builtin command string is.
- The string graph is an atomic parsing expression. It matches any Unicode printing character, except for space. This is a custom extension of PEs based on Tcl's builtin command string is.
- The string lower is an atomic parsing expression. It matches any Unicode lower-case alphabet character. This is a custom extension of PEs based on Tcl's builtin command string is.
- The string print is an atomic parsing expression. It matches any Unicode printing character, including space. This is a custom extension of PEs based on Tcl's builtin command string is.
- The string punct is an atomic parsing expression. It matches any Unicode punctuation character. This is a custom extension of PEs based on Tcl's builtin command string is.
- The string space is an atomic parsing expression. It matches any Unicode space character. This is a custom extension of PEs based on Tcl's builtin command string is.
- The string upper is an atomic parsing expression. It matches any Unicode upper-case alphabet character. This is a custom extension of PEs based on Tcl's builtin command string is.
- The string wordchar is an atomic parsing expression. It matches any Unicode word character. This is any alphanumeric character (see alnum), and any connector punctuation characters (e.g. underscore). This is a custom extension of PEs based on Tcl's builtin command string is.
- The string xdigit is an atomic parsing expression. It matches any hexadecimal digit character. This is a custom extension of PEs based on Tcl's builtin command string is.
- The string ddigit is an atomic parsing expression. It matches any decimal digit character. This is a custom extension of PEs based on Tcl's builtin command regexp.
- The expression [list t x] is an atomic parsing expression. It matches the terminal string x.
- The expression [list n A] is an atomic parsing expression. It matches the nonterminal A.
Combined Parsing Expressions
- For parsing expressions e1, e2, ... the result of [list / e1 e2 ... ] is a parsing expression as well. This is the ordered choice, aka prioritized choice.
- For parsing expressions e1, e2, ... the result of [list x e1 e2 ... ] is a parsing expression as well. This is the sequence.
- For a parsing expression e the result of [list * e] is a parsing expression as well. This is the kleene closure, describing zero or more repetitions.
- For a parsing expression e the result of [list + e] is a parsing expression as well. This is the positive kleene closure, describing one or more repetitions.
- For a parsing expression e the result of [list & e] is a parsing expression as well. This is the and lookahead predicate.
- For a parsing expression e the result of [list ! e] is a parsing expression as well. This is the not lookahead predicate.
- For a parsing expression e the result of [list ? e] is a parsing expression as well. This is the optional input.
Canonical serialization
The canonical serialization of a parsing expression has the format as specified in the previous item, and then additionally satisfies the constraints below, which make it unique among all the possible serializations of this parsing expression.
- The string representation of the value is the canonical representation of a pure Tcl list. I.e. it does not contain superfluous whitespace.
- Terminals are not encoded as ranges (where start and end of the range are identical).
Example
Assuming the parsing expression shown on the right-hand side of the rule
Expression <- Term (AddOp Term)*
then its canonical serialization (except for whitespace) is
{x {n Term} {* {x {n AddOp} {n Term}}}}
Bugs, Ideas, Feedback
This document, and the package it describes, will undoubtedly contain bugs and other problems. Please report such in the category pt of the Tcllib Trackers. Please also report any ideas for enhancements you may have for either package and/or documentation.
When proposing code changes, please provide unified diffs, i.e the output of diff -u.
Note further that attachments are strongly preferred over inlined patches. Attachments can be made by going to the Edit form of the ticket immediately after its creation, and then using the left-most button in the secondary navigation bar.
KEYWORDS
EBNF, JSON, LL(k), PEG, TDPL, context-free languages, conversion, expression, format conversion, grammar, matching, parser, parsing expression, parsing expression grammar, push down automaton, recursive descent, serialization, state, top-down parsing languages, transducer
CATEGORY
Parsing and Grammars
COPYRIGHT
Copyright © 2009 Andreas Kupries