'\"
'\" Generated from file 'pt_to_api\&.man' by tcllib/doctools with format 'nroff'
'\" Copyright (c) 2009 Andreas Kupries <andreas_kupries@users\&.sourceforge\&.net>
'\"
.TH "pt_export_api" i 1\&.1 tcllib "Parser Tools"
.\" The -*- nroff -*- definitions below are for supplemental macros used
.\" in Tcl/Tk manual entries.
.\"
.\" .AP type name in/out ?indent?
.\"	Start paragraph describing an argument to a library procedure.
.\"	type is type of argument (int, etc.), in/out is either "in", "out",
.\"	or "in/out" to describe whether procedure reads or modifies arg,
.\"	and indent is equivalent to second arg of .IP (shouldn't ever be
.\"	needed;  use .AS below instead)
.\"
.\" .AS ?type? ?name?
.\"	Give maximum sizes of arguments for setting tab stops.  Type and
.\"	name are examples of largest possible arguments that will be passed
.\"	to .AP later.  If args are omitted, default tab stops are used.
.\"
.\" .BS
.\"	Start box enclosure.  From here until next .BE, everything will be
.\"	enclosed in one large box.
.\"
.\" .BE
.\"	End of box enclosure.
.\"
.\" .CS
.\"	Begin code excerpt.
.\"
.\" .CE
.\"	End code excerpt.
.\"
.\" .VS ?version? ?br?
.\"	Begin vertical sidebar, for use in marking newly-changed parts
.\"	of man pages.  The first argument is ignored and used for recording
.\"	the version when the .VS was added, so that the sidebars can be
.\"	found and removed when they reach a certain age.  If another argument
.\"	is present, then a line break is forced before starting the sidebar.
.\"
.\" .VE
.\"	End of vertical sidebar.
.\"
.\" .DS
.\"	Begin an indented unfilled display.
.\"
.\" .DE
.\"	End of indented unfilled display.
.\"
.\" .SO ?manpage?
.\"	Start of list of standard options for a Tk widget. The manpage
.\"	argument defines where to look up the standard options; if
.\"	omitted, defaults to "options". The options follow on successive
.\"	lines, in three columns separated by tabs.
.\"
.\" .SE
.\"	End of list of standard options for a Tk widget.
.\"
.\" .OP cmdName dbName dbClass
.\"	Start of description of a specific option.  cmdName gives the
.\"	option's name as specified in the class command, dbName gives
.\"	the option's name in the option database, and dbClass gives
.\"	the option's class in the option database.
.\"
.\" .UL arg1 arg2
.\"	Print arg1 underlined, then print arg2 normally.
.\"
.\" .QW arg1 ?arg2?
.\"	Print arg1 in quotes, then arg2 normally (for trailing punctuation).
.\"
.\" .PQ arg1 ?arg2?
.\"	Print an open parenthesis, arg1 in quotes, then arg2 normally
.\"	(for trailing punctuation) and then a closing parenthesis.
.\"
.\"	# Set up traps and other miscellaneous stuff for Tcl/Tk man pages.
.if t .wh -1.3i ^B
.nr ^l \n(.l
.ad b
.\"	# Start an argument description
.de AP
.ie !"\\$4"" .TP \\$4
.el \{\
.   ie !"\\$2"" .TP \\n()Cu
.   el          .TP 15
.\}
.ta \\n()Au \\n()Bu
.ie !"\\$3"" \{\
\&\\$1 \\fI\\$2\\fP (\\$3)
.\".b
.\}
.el \{\
.br
.ie !"\\$2"" \{\
\&\\$1	\\fI\\$2\\fP
.\}
.el \{\
\&\\fI\\$1\\fP
.\}
.\}
..
.\"	# define tabbing values for .AP
.de AS
.nr )A 10n
.if !"\\$1"" .nr )A \\w'\\$1'u+3n
.nr )B \\n()Au+15n
.\"
.if !"\\$2"" .nr )B \\w'\\$2'u+\\n()Au+3n
.nr )C \\n()Bu+\\w'(in/out)'u+2n
..
.AS Tcl_Interp Tcl_CreateInterp in/out
.\"	# BS - start boxed text
.\"	# ^y = starting y location
.\"	# ^b = 1
.de BS
.br
.mk ^y
.nr ^b 1u
.if n .nf
.if n .ti 0
.if n \l'\\n(.lu\(ul'
.if n .fi
..
.\"	# BE - end boxed text (draw box now)
.de BE
.nf
.ti 0
.mk ^t
.ie n \l'\\n(^lu\(ul'
.el \{\
.\"	Draw four-sided box normally, but don't draw top of
.\"	box if the box started on an earlier page.
.ie !\\n(^b-1 \{\
\h'-1.5n'\L'|\\n(^yu-1v'\l'\\n(^lu+3n\(ul'\L'\\n(^tu+1v-\\n(^yu'\l'|0u-1.5n\(ul'
.\}
.el \}\
\h'-1.5n'\L'|\\n(^yu-1v'\h'\\n(^lu+3n'\L'\\n(^tu+1v-\\n(^yu'\l'|0u-1.5n\(ul'
.\}
.\}
.fi
.br
.nr ^b 0
..
.\"	# VS - start vertical sidebar
.\"	# ^Y = starting y location
.\"	# ^v = 1 (for troff;  for nroff this doesn't matter)
.de VS
.if !"\\$2"" .br
.mk ^Y
.ie n 'mc \s12\(br\s0
.el .nr ^v 1u
..
.\"	# VE - end of vertical sidebar
.de VE
.ie n 'mc
.el \{\
.ev 2
.nf
.ti 0
.mk ^t
\h'|\\n(^lu+3n'\L'|\\n(^Yu-1v\(bv'\v'\\n(^tu+1v-\\n(^Yu'\h'-|\\n(^lu+3n'
.sp -1
.fi
.ev
.\}
.nr ^v 0
..
.\"	# Special macro to handle page bottom:  finish off current
.\"	# box/sidebar if in box/sidebar mode, then invoked standard
.\"	# page bottom macro.
.de ^B
.ev 2
'ti 0
'nf
.mk ^t
.if \\n(^b \{\
.\"	Draw three-sided box if this is the box's first page,
.\"	draw two sides but no top otherwise.
.ie !\\n(^b-1 \h'-1.5n'\L'|\\n(^yu-1v'\l'\\n(^lu+3n\(ul'\L'\\n(^tu+1v-\\n(^yu'\h'|0u'\c
.el \h'-1.5n'\L'|\\n(^yu-1v'\h'\\n(^lu+3n'\L'\\n(^tu+1v-\\n(^yu'\h'|0u'\c
.\}
.if \\n(^v \{\
.nr ^x \\n(^tu+1v-\\n(^Yu
\kx\h'-\\nxu'\h'|\\n(^lu+3n'\ky\L'-\\n(^xu'\v'\\n(^xu'\h'|0u'\c
.\}
.bp
'fi
.ev
.if \\n(^b \{\
.mk ^y
.nr ^b 2
.\}
.if \\n(^v \{\
.mk ^Y
.\}
..
.\"	# DS - begin display
.de DS
.RS
.nf
.sp
..
.\"	# DE - end display
.de DE
.fi
.RE
.sp
..
.\"	# SO - start of list of standard options
.de SO
'ie '\\$1'' .ds So \\fBoptions\\fR
'el .ds So \\fB\\$1\\fR
.SH "STANDARD OPTIONS"
.LP
.nf
.ta 5.5c 11c
.ft B
..
.\"	# SE - end of list of standard options
.de SE
.fi
.ft R
.LP
See the \\*(So manual entry for details on the standard options.
..
.\"	# OP - start of full description for a single option
.de OP
.LP
.nf
.ta 4c
Command-Line Name:	\\fB\\$1\\fR
Database Name:	\\fB\\$2\\fR
Database Class:	\\fB\\$3\\fR
.fi
.IP
..
.\"	# CS - begin code excerpt
.de CS
.RS
.nf
.ta .25i .5i .75i 1i
..
.\"	# CE - end code excerpt
.de CE
.fi
.RE
..
.\"	# UL - underline word
.de UL
\\$1\l'|0\(ul'\\$2
..
.\"	# QW - apply quotation marks to word
.de QW
.ie '\\*(lq'"' ``\\$1''\\$2
.\"" fix emacs highlighting
.el \\*(lq\\$1\\*(rq\\$2
..
.\"	# PQ - apply parens and quotation marks to word
.de PQ
.ie '\\*(lq'"' (``\\$1''\\$2)\\$3
.\"" fix emacs highlighting
.el (\\*(lq\\$1\\*(rq\\$2)\\$3
..
.\"	# QR - quoted range
.de QR
.ie '\\*(lq'"' ``\\$1''\\-``\\$2''\\$3
.\"" fix emacs highlighting
.el \\*(lq\\$1\\*(rq\\-\\*(lq\\$2\\*(rq\\$3
..
.\"	# MT - "empty" string
.de MT
.QW ""
..
.BS
.SH NAME
pt_export_api \- Parser Tools Export API
.SH SYNOPSIS
package require \fBTcl 8\&.5 9\fR
.sp
\fBCONVERTER\fR \fBreset\fR
.sp
\fBCONVERTER\fR \fBconfigure\fR
.sp
\fBCONVERTER\fR \fBconfigure\fR \fIoption\fR
.sp
\fBCONVERTER\fR \fBconfigure\fR \fIoption\fR \fIvalue\fR\&.\&.\&.
.sp
\fBCONVERTER\fR \fBconvert\fR \fIserial\fR
.sp
\fB::export\fR \fIserial\fR \fIconfiguration\fR
.sp
.BE
.SH DESCRIPTION
.PP
Are you lost ?
Do you have trouble understanding this document ?
In that case please read the overview provided by the
\fIIntroduction to Parser Tools\fR\&. This document is the
entrypoint to the whole system the current package is a part of\&.
.PP
This document describes two APIs\&. First the API shared by all packages
for the conversion of Parsing Expression Grammars into some other
format, and then the API shared by the packages which implement the
export plugins sitting on top of the conversion packages\&.
.PP
Its intended audience are people who wish to create their own
converter for some type of output, and/or an export plugin for
their or some other converter\&.
.PP
It resides in the Export section of the Core Layer of Parser Tools\&.
.PP
IMAGE: arch_core_export
.PP
.SH "CONVERTER API"
Any (grammar) export converter has to follow the rules set out below:
.IP [1]
A converter is a package\&. Its name is arbitrary, however it is
recommended to put it under the \fB::pt::peg::to\fR
namespace\&.
.IP [2]
The package provides either a single Tcl command following the
API outlined below, or a class command whose instances follow
the same API\&. The commands which follow the API are called
\fIconverter commands\fR\&.
.IP [3]
A converter command has to provide the following three methods
with the given signatures and semantics\&. Converter commands
are allowed to provide more methods of their own, but not
less, and they may not provide different semantics for the
standardized methods\&.
.RS
.TP
\fBCONVERTER\fR \fBreset\fR
This method has to reset the configuration of the converter to its
default settings\&. The result of the method has to be the empty
string\&.
.TP
\fBCONVERTER\fR \fBconfigure\fR
This method, in this form, has to return a dictionary containing the
current configuration of the converter\&.
.TP
\fBCONVERTER\fR \fBconfigure\fR \fIoption\fR
This method, in this form, has to return the current value of the
specified configuration \fIoption\fR of the converter\&.
.sp
Please read the section \fBOptions\fR for the set of standard
options any converter has to accept\&.
Any other options accepted by a specific converter will be described
in its manpage\&.
.TP
\fBCONVERTER\fR \fBconfigure\fR \fIoption\fR \fIvalue\fR\&.\&.\&.
This command, in this form, sets the specified \fIoption\fRs of the
converter to the given \fIvalue\fRs\&.
.sp
Please read the section \fBOptions\fR for the set of standard
options a converter has to accept\&.
Any other options accepted by a specific converter will be described
in its manpage\&.
.TP
\fBCONVERTER\fR \fBconvert\fR \fIserial\fR
This method has to accept the canonical serialization of a parsing
expression grammar, as specified in section
\fBPEG serialization format\fR, and contained in \fIserial\fR\&.
The result of the method has to be the result of converting the input
grammar into whatever the converter is for, per its configuration\&.
.RE
.PP
.SH "PLUGIN API"
Any (grammar) export plugin has to follow the rules set out below:
.IP [1]
A plugin is a package\&.
.IP [2]
The name of a plugin package has the form
pt::peg::export::\fBFOO\fR,
where \fBFOO\fR is the name of the format the plugin will
generate output for\&.
.IP [3]
The plugin can expect that the package
\fBpt::peg::export::plugin\fR is present, as
indicator that it was invoked from a genuine plugin manager\&.
.sp
It is recommended that a plugin does check for the presence of
this package\&.
.IP [4]
A plugin has to provide a single command, in the global
namespace, with the signature shown below\&. Plugins are allowed
to provide more command of their own, but not less, and they
may not provide different semantics for the standardized
command\&.
.RS
.TP
\fB::export\fR \fIserial\fR \fIconfiguration\fR
This command has to accept the canonical serialization of a parsing
expression grammar and the configuration for the converter invoked by
the plugin\&. The result of the command has to be the result of the
converter invoked by the plugin for th input grammar and
configuration\&.
.RS
.TP
string \fIserial\fR
This argument will contain the \fIcanonical\fR serialization of the
parsing expression grammar for which to generate the output\&.
The specification of what a \fIcanonical\fR serialization is can be
found in the section \fBPEG serialization format\fR\&.
.TP
dictionary \fIconfiguration\fR
This argument will contain the configuration to configure the
converter with before invoking it, as a dictionary mapping from
options to values\&.
.sp
Please read the section \fBOptions\fR for the set of standard
options any converter has to accept, and thus any plugin as well\&.
Any other options accepted by a specific plugin will be described in
its manpage\&.
.RE
.RE
.IP [5]
A single usage cycle of a plugin consists of an invokation of
the command \fBexport\fR\&. This call has to leave the plugin in
a state where another usage cycle can be run without problems\&.
.PP
.SH OPTIONS
Each export converter and plugin for an export converter has to accept
the options below in their \fBconfigure\fR method\&. Converters are
allowed to ignore the contents of these options when performing a
conversion, but they must not reject them\&. Plugins are expected to
pass the options given to them to the converter they are invoking\&.
.TP
\fB-file\fR 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 \fBunknown\fR\&.
.TP
\fB-name\fR string
The value of this option is the name of the grammar we are processing\&.
The default value is \fBa_pe_grammar\fR\&.
.TP
\fB-user\fR string
The value of this option is the name of the user for which the command
is run\&. The default value is \fBunknown\fR\&.
.PP
.SH USAGE
To use a converter do
.CS


    # Get the converter (single command here, not class)
    package require the-converter-package

    # Provide a configuration
    theconverter configure \&.\&.\&.

    # Perform the conversion
    set result [theconverter convert $thegrammarserial]

    \&.\&.\&. process the result \&.\&.\&.

.CE
To use a plugin \fBFOO\fR do
.CS


    # Get an export plugin manager
    package require pt::peg::export
    pt::peg::export E

    # Provide a configuration
    E configuration set \&.\&.\&.

    # Run the plugin, and the converter inside\&.
    set result [E export serial $grammarserial FOO]

    \&.\&.\&. process the result \&.\&.\&.

.CE
.SH "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\&.
.PP
We distinguish between \fIregular\fR and \fIcanonical\fR
serializations\&.
While a PEG may have more than one regular serialization only exactly
one of them will be \fIcanonical\fR\&.
.TP
regular serialization
.RS
.IP [1]
The serialization of any PEG is a nested Tcl dictionary\&.
.IP [2]
This dictionary holds a single key, \fBpt::grammar::peg\fR, and its
value\&. This value holds the contents of the grammar\&.
.IP [3]
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
.RS
.TP
\fBrules\fR
The value is a Tcl dictionary whose keys are the names of the
nonterminal symbols known to the grammar\&.
.RS
.IP [1]
Each nonterminal symbol may occur only once\&.
.IP [2]
The empty string is not a legal nonterminal symbol\&.
.IP [3]
The value for each symbol is a Tcl dictionary itself\&. The relevant
keys and their values in this dictionary are
.RS
.TP
\fBis\fR
The value is the serialization of the parsing expression describing
the symbols sentennial structure, as specified in the section
\fBPE serialization format\fR\&.
.TP
\fBmode\fR
The value can be one of three values specifying how a parser should
handle the semantic value produced by the symbol\&.
.RS
.TP
\fBvalue\fR
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\&.
.TP
\fBleaf\fR
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\&.
.TP
\fBvoid\fR
The nonterminal has no semantic value\&. Any ASTs generated by the
symbol's right hand side are discarded (as well)\&.
.RE
.RE
.RE
.TP
\fBstart\fR
The value is the serialization of the start parsing expression of the
grammar, as specified in the section \fBPE serialization format\fR\&.
.RE
.IP [4]
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\&.
.RE
.TP
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\&.
.RS
.IP [1]
The keys found in all the nested Tcl dictionaries are sorted in
ascending dictionary order, as generated by Tcl's builtin command
\fBlsort -increasing -dict\fR\&.
.IP [2]
The string representation of the value is the canonical representation
of a Tcl dictionary\&. I\&.e\&. it does not contain superfluous whitespace\&.
.RE
.PP
.SS EXAMPLE
Assuming the following PEG for simple mathematical expressions
.PP
.CS


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;

.CE
.PP
then its canonical serialization (except for whitespace) is
.PP
.CS


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}
}

.CE
.PP
.SH "PE SERIALIZATION FORMAT"
Here we specify the format used by the Parser Tools to serialize
Parsing Expressions as immutable values for transport, comparison,
etc\&.
.PP
We distinguish between \fIregular\fR and \fIcanonical\fR
serializations\&.
While a parsing expression may have more than one regular
serialization only exactly one of them will be \fIcanonical\fR\&.
.TP
Regular serialization
.RS
.TP
\fBAtomic Parsing Expressions\fR
.RS
.IP [1]
The string \fBepsilon\fR is an atomic parsing expression\&. It matches
the empty string\&.
.IP [2]
The string \fBdot\fR is an atomic parsing expression\&. It matches
any character\&.
.IP [3]
The string \fBalnum\fR 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 \fBstring is\fR\&.
.IP [4]
The string \fBalpha\fR is an atomic parsing expression\&. It matches
any Unicode alphabet character\&. This is a custom extension of PEs
based on Tcl's builtin command \fBstring is\fR\&.
.IP [5]
The string \fBascii\fR 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 \fBstring is\fR\&.
.IP [6]
The string \fBcontrol\fR is an atomic parsing expression\&. It matches
any Unicode control character\&. This is a custom extension of PEs based
on Tcl's builtin command \fBstring is\fR\&.
.IP [7]
The string \fBdigit\fR 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 \fBstring is\fR\&.
.IP [8]
The string \fBgraph\fR 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 \fBstring is\fR\&.
.IP [9]
The string \fBlower\fR 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 \fBstring is\fR\&.
.IP [10]
The string \fBprint\fR 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 \fBstring is\fR\&.
.IP [11]
The string \fBpunct\fR is an atomic parsing expression\&. It matches
any Unicode punctuation character\&. This is a custom extension of PEs
based on Tcl's builtin command \fBstring is\fR\&.
.IP [12]
The string \fBspace\fR is an atomic parsing expression\&. It matches
any Unicode space character\&. This is a custom extension of PEs based
on Tcl's builtin command \fBstring is\fR\&.
.IP [13]
The string \fBupper\fR 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 \fBstring is\fR\&.
.IP [14]
The string \fBwordchar\fR 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 \fBstring is\fR\&.
.IP [15]
The string \fBxdigit\fR is an atomic parsing expression\&. It matches
any hexadecimal digit character\&. This is a custom extension of PEs
based on Tcl's builtin command \fBstring is\fR\&.
.IP [16]
The string \fBddigit\fR is an atomic parsing expression\&. It matches
any decimal digit character\&. This is a custom extension of PEs based
on Tcl's builtin command \fBregexp\fR\&.
.IP [17]
The expression
[list t \fBx\fR]
is an atomic parsing expression\&. It matches the terminal string \fBx\fR\&.
.IP [18]
The expression
[list n \fBA\fR]
is an atomic parsing expression\&. It matches the nonterminal \fBA\fR\&.
.RE
.TP
\fBCombined Parsing Expressions\fR
.RS
.IP [1]
For parsing expressions \fBe1\fR, \fBe2\fR, \&.\&.\&. the result of
[list / \fBe1\fR \fBe2\fR \&.\&.\&. ]
is a parsing expression as well\&.
This is the \fIordered choice\fR, aka \fIprioritized choice\fR\&.
.IP [2]
For parsing expressions \fBe1\fR, \fBe2\fR, \&.\&.\&. the result of
[list x \fBe1\fR \fBe2\fR \&.\&.\&. ]
is a parsing expression as well\&.
This is the \fIsequence\fR\&.
.IP [3]
For a parsing expression \fBe\fR the result of
[list * \fBe\fR]
is a parsing expression as well\&.
This is the \fIkleene closure\fR, describing zero or more
repetitions\&.
.IP [4]
For a parsing expression \fBe\fR the result of
[list + \fBe\fR]
is a parsing expression as well\&.
This is the \fIpositive kleene closure\fR, describing one or more
repetitions\&.
.IP [5]
For a parsing expression \fBe\fR the result of
[list & \fBe\fR]
is a parsing expression as well\&.
This is the \fIand lookahead predicate\fR\&.
.IP [6]
For a parsing expression \fBe\fR the result of
[list ! \fBe\fR]
is a parsing expression as well\&.
This is the \fInot lookahead predicate\fR\&.
.IP [7]
For a parsing expression \fBe\fR the result of
[list ? \fBe\fR]
is a parsing expression as well\&.
This is the \fIoptional input\fR\&.
.RE
.RE
.TP
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\&.
.RS
.IP [1]
The string representation of the value is the canonical representation
of a pure Tcl list\&. I\&.e\&. it does not contain superfluous whitespace\&.
.IP [2]
Terminals are \fInot\fR encoded as ranges (where start and end of the
range are identical)\&.
.RE
.PP
.PP
.SS EXAMPLE
Assuming the parsing expression shown on the right-hand side of the
rule
.PP
.CS


    Expression <- Term (AddOp Term)*

.CE
.PP
then its canonical serialization (except for whitespace) is
.PP
.CS


    {x {n Term} {* {x {n AddOp} {n Term}}}}

.CE
.PP
.SH "BUGS, IDEAS, FEEDBACK"
This document, and the package it describes, will undoubtedly contain
bugs and other problems\&.
Please report such in the category \fIpt\fR of the
\fITcllib Trackers\fR [http://core\&.tcl\&.tk/tcllib/reportlist]\&.
Please also report any ideas for enhancements you may have for either
package and/or documentation\&.
.PP
When proposing code changes, please provide \fIunified diffs\fR,
i\&.e the output of \fBdiff -u\fR\&.
.PP
Note further that \fIattachments\fR are strongly preferred over
inlined patches\&. Attachments can be made by going to the \fBEdit\fR
form of the ticket immediately after its creation, and then using the
left-most button in the secondary navigation bar\&.
.SH KEYWORDS
EBNF, LL(k), PEG, TDPL, context-free languages, expression, grammar, matching, parser, parsing expression, parsing expression grammar, push down automaton, recursive descent, state, top-down parsing languages, transducer
.SH CATEGORY
Parsing and Grammars
.SH COPYRIGHT
.nf
Copyright (c) 2009 Andreas Kupries <andreas_kupries@users\&.sourceforge\&.net>

.fi