Developing efficient parsers in Prolog: the CLF manual (v1.0)

TL;DR

This paper introduces tools for designing efficient language parsers using Flex and Prolog DCGs, enabling integration into various systems, with initial documentation for the CLF parser framework.

Contribution

It presents a novel combination of Flex and Prolog DCGs for rapid development of efficient parsers in Prolog, initially designed for the Centaur system.

Findings

Tools facilitate quick parser development in Prolog

Parsers can be integrated into heterogeneous systems

Initial CLF documentation version released

Abstract

This document describes a couple of tools that help to quickly design and develop computer (formalized) languages. The first one use Flex to perform lexical analysis and the second is an extention of Prolog DCGs to perfom syntactical analysis. Initially designed as a new component for the Centaur system, these tools are now available independently and can be used to construct efficient Prolog parsers that can be integrated in Prolog or heterogeneous systems. This is the initial version of the CLF documentation. Updated version will be available online when necessary.