Abstract Syntax

CMSC CS431

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Abstract Syntax Trees

So far a parser traces the derivation of a sequence of tokens The rest of the compiler needs a structural representation of the program Abstract syntax trees
Like parse trees but ignore some details Abbreviated as AST

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Abstract Syntax Tree. (Cont.)

E int | ( E ) | E + E

Consider the grammar And the string

5 + (2 + 3)

After lexical analysis (a list of tokens)

During parsing we build a parse tree
int5 + ( int2 + int3 )

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Evaluation of semantic rules

Parse-tree methods (compile time)

Build a parse tree for each input Build a dependency graph from the parse tree Obtain evaluation order from a topological order of the dependency graph

Rule-based methods (compiler-construction time)

Predetermine the order of attribute evaluation for each production

Oblivious methods (compiler-construction time)

Evaluation order is independent of semantic rules Evaluation order forced by parsing methods Restrictive in acceptable attribute definitions
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Compile-time semantic evaluation

Lexical Analyzer
Syntax Analyzer
Results interpreters compilers

Source Program

Program input

Tokens

Parse tree / Abstract syntax tree Semantic Analyzer Attributed AST

Intermediate Code Generator Code Optimizer Code Generator Target Program

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Abstract Syntax vs. Concrete Syntax

Prefix + 5 * 15 20 Infix 5 + 15 * 20 Postfix 5 15 20 * +

Concrete syntax: the syntax programmers write

Example: different notations of expressions

Abstract syntax: the syntax recognized by compilers

Identifies only the meaningful components
The operation The components of the operation

Parse Tree for 5+15*20

e e + e 5 15 e * e 20

Abstract Syntax Tree for 5 + 15 * 20 + 5 15

*
20
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Abstract syntax trees

Condensed form of parse tree for representing language constructs

Operators and keywords do not appear as leaves
They define the meaning of the interior (parent) node S IF B THEN E E T 3
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If-then-else S1 ELSE S2

S1

S2

Chains of single productions may be collapsed

+
T 5 3 5 +

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Constructing AST
Grammar:
E ::= E + T | E T | T T ::= (E) | id | num

Use syntax-directed definitions

Problem: construct an AST for each expression Attribute grammar approach

Associate each non-terminal with an AST Each AST: a pointer to a node in AST E.nptr T.nptr

Definitions: how to compute attribute?

Bottom-up: synthesized attribute if we know the AST of each child, how to compute the AST of the parent?
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Constructing AST for expressions (by Hand)

E.nptr, T.nptr: a pointer to ASTtree

Associate each non-terminal with an AST Synthesized attribute definition:

If we know the AST of each child, how to compute the AST of the parent?

Production E ::= E1 + T E ::= E1 T E ::= T T ::= (E) T ::= id

Semantic rules E.nptr=mknode_plus(E1.nptr,T.nptr) E.nptr=mknode_minus(E1.nptr,T.nptr) E.nptr=T.nptr T.nptr=E.nptr T.nptr=mkleaf_id(id.entry)

T ::= num

T.nptr=mkleaf_num(num.val)
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Example: constructing AST

1. reduce 5 to T1 using T::=num: T1.nptr = leaf(5) 2. reduce T1 to E1 using E::=T: E1.nptr = T1.nptr = leaf(5) 3. reduce 15 to T2 using T::=num: T2.nptr=leaf(15) 4. reduce T2 to E2 using E::=T: E2.nptr=T2.nptr = leaf(15) 5. reduce b to T3 using T::=num: T3.nptr=leaf(b) 6. reduce E2-T3 to E3 using E::=E-T: E3.nptr=node(-,leaf(15),leaf(b)) 7. reduce (E3) to T4 using T::=(E): T4.nptr=node(-,leaf(15),leaf(b)) 8. reduce E1+T4 to E5 using E::=E+T: E5.nptr=node(+,leaf(5), node(-,leaf(15),leaf(b)))
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Bottom-up parsing: evaluate attribute at each reduction

Parse tree for 5+(15-b) E5

E1 +
T1 ( E2 T2 15

T4
E3 ) T3 b

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Implementing AST in C
Grammar: E ::= E + T | E T | T T ::= (E) | id | num

Define different kinds of AST nodes Define AST node

typedef struct ASTnode { AstNodeTag kind; union { symbol_table_entry* id_entry; int num_value; struct ASTnode* opds[2]; } description; };

typedef enum {PLUS, MINUS, ID, NUM} ASTNodeTag;

Define AST node construction routines ASTnode* mkleaf_id(symbol_table_entry* e); ASTnode* mkleaf_num(int n); ASTnode* mknode_plus(struct ASTnode* opd1, struct ASTNode* opd2); ASTnode* mknode_minus(struct ASTnode* opd1, struct ASTNode* opd2);
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Implementing AST in Java

Grammar: E ::= E + T | E T | T T ::= (E) | id | num

Define different kinds of AST nodes Define AST node

typedef enum {PLUS, MINUS, ID, NUM} ASTNodeTag;

Define AST node construction routines ASTexpression* mkleaf_id(symbol_table_entry* e); ASTexpression* mkleaf_num(int n); ASTexpression* mknode_plus(struct ASTnode* opd1, struct ASTNode* opd2); ASTexpression* mknode_minus(struct ASTnode* opd1, struct ASTNode* opd2);
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class ASTexpression { public ASTNodeTag kind(); }; class ASTidentifier inherit ASTexpression { private symbol_table_entry* id_entry; } class ASTvalue inherit ASTexpression { private int num_value; } class ASTplus inherit ASTexpression { private ASTnode* opds[2]; } Class ASTminus inherit ASTexpression { private ASTnode* opds[2]; ... }

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More ASTs

Abstract syntax: S::= if-else E S S | while E S | E | E::= var | num | true | false | E bop E | uop E bop ::= < | <= | > | >= | && | = | + | * | . uop ::= - | * | & |

Abstract syntax tree

if-else < a b < 100 while = b a * 2

class ASTstmt {} class ASTifElse inherit ASTstmt { private ASTexpr* cond; private ASTstmt* tbranch; private ASTstmt* fbranch; } class ASTwhile inherit ASTstmt { private ASTexpr* cond; private ASTstmt* body;} class ASTexpr inherit ASTstmt {} class ASTvar inherit ASTexpr {}
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AST Covered

We built AST by hand in the 1st Project Lets start to see about an automated approach. Lets see what the Galles text (see slide 1542) comes to say about AST Later we will look at some code

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Semantic Actions: An Example

E int | E + E | ( E )

Consider the grammar For each symbol X define an attribute X.val

For terminals, val is the associated lexeme For non-terminals, val is the expressions value (and is computed from values of subexpressions)

We annotate the grammar with actions:

E int | E1 + E2 | ( E1 ) { E.val = int.val } { E.val = E1.val + E2.val } { E.val = E1.val }
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Semantic Actions: An Example (Cont.)

String: 5 + (2 + 3) Tokens: int5 + ( int2 + int3 ) Productions

E E1 + E2 E1 int5 E2 ( E3) E3 E4 + E5 E4 int2 E5 int3

Equations
E.val = E1.val + E2.val E1.val = int5.val = 5 E2.val = E3.val E3.val = E4.val + E5.val E4.val = int2.val = 2 E5.val = int3.val = 3
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Semantic Actions: Notes

Semantic actions specify a system of equations

Order of resolution is not specified

Example:
E3.val = E4.val + E5.val Must compute E4.val and E5.val before E3.val We say that E3.val depends on E4.val and E5.val

The parser must find the order of evaluation

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Dependency Graph
E + E2 ( E3 + 2

E1

+
5 E4 int2

Each node labeled E has one slot for the val attribute Note the dependencies

int5

+
E5 int3 3

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Evaluating Attributes

An attribute must be computed after all its successors in the dependency graph have been computed
In previous example attributes can be computed bottom-up

Such an order exists when there are no cycles

Cyclically defined attributes are not legal

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Semantic Actions: Notes (Cont.)

Synthesized attributes
Calculated from attributes of descendents in the parse tree E.val is a synthesized attribute Can always be calculated in a bottom-up order

Grammars with only synthesized attributes are called S-attributed grammars

Most frequent kinds of grammars
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Semantic Actions : Top-down Approach

Recursive-descent interpreter Consider this grammar S -> E $ E -> T E E-> +T E E -> - T E T -> F T T -> * F T T -> / F T F -> id F -> num F -> ( E )

E-> T ->

Needs type of non-terminals and tokens

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Recursive-descent interpreter

int T() { switch (tok.kind) { case ID: case NUM: case LPAREN return Tprime( F() ); default:print(expected ID, NUM, or left-paren); skipto(T_follow); return 0; }} int Tprime(int a) {switch (tok.kind) { case TIMES: eat(TIMES); return Tprime(a*F()); case DIVIDE: eat(DIVIDE); return Tprime(a/F()); case PLUS: case MINUS: case RPAREN: case EOF: return a; default: /* error handling */ }}

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JavaCC version

Grammar S -> E $ E -> T ( + T | - T)* T -> F ( * F | - F)* F -> id | num | ( E ) Note: E > T E E -> + T E | - T E | e
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JavaCC version

void Start() : { int i; } { i=Exp() <EOF> {System.out.println(i); } } int Exp() : { int a, i; } { a=Term() ( + i=Term() { a=a+i; } | - i=Term() { a=a+i; } )* { return a; } } Int Factor() : { Token t; int i; } { t = <IDENTIFIER > {return lookup(t.image); } | t=<INTEGER_LITERAL> {return Integer.parseInt(t.image);} | ( i=Exp() ) {return i; } }
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Semantic Actions Reduce and Shift

We can now illustrate how semantic actions are implemented for LR parsing Keep attributes on the stack

On shift a, push attribute for a on stack On reduce X

pop attributes for compute attribute for X and push it on the stack
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Performing Semantic Actions. Example

{ E.val = T.val + E1.val } { E.val = T.val } { T.val = int.val * T1.val } { T.val = int.val }

Recall the example from previous lecture E T + E1 | T T int * T1 | int

Consider the parsing of the string 3 * 5 + 8

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Performing Semantic Actions. Example

shift shift shift reduce T int reduce T int * T shift shift reduce T int reduce E T reduce E T + E accept
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| int * int + int int3 | * int + int int3 * | int + int int3 * int5 | + int int3 * T5 | + int T15 | + int T15 + | int T15 + int8 | T15 + T8 | T15 + E8 | E23 |

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Inherited Attributes

Another kind of attribute Calculated from attributes of parent and/or siblings in the parse tree

Example: a line calculator

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A Line Calculator

Each line contains an expression E int | E + E Each line is terminated with the = sign LE= | +E= In second form the value of previous line is used as starting value A program is a sequence of lines P e|PL
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Attributes for the Line Calculator

Each E has a synthesized attribute val

Calculated as before

Each L has a synthesized attribute val

LE= | +E= { L.val = E.val } { L.val = E.val + L.prev }

We need the value of the previous line We use an inherited attribute L.prev

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Attributes for the Line Calculator (Cont.)

Each P has a synthesized attribute val

The value of its last line Pe { P.val = 0 } | P1 L { P.val = L.val; L.prev = P1.val } Each L has an inherited attribute prev L.prev is inherited from sibling P1.val

Example
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Example of Inherited Attributes

P val synthesized

P + E4 int2 2

L
E3 +

+ prev inherited

+ E5 int3

=
All can be computed in depth-first order
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Semantic Actions: Notes (Cont.)

Semantic actions can be used to build ASTs And many other things as well
Also used for type checking, code generation,

Process is called syntax-directed translation

Substantial generalization over CFGs

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Constructing An AST

We first define the AST data type

Supplied by us for the project

Consider an abstract tree type with two constructors:

mkleaf(n) = n PLUS

mkplus(

T1

T2

T1

T2
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Constructing a Parse Tree

We define a synthesized attribute ast

Values of ast values are ASTs We assume that int.lexval is the value of the integer lexeme Computed using semantic actions
E int | E1 + E2 | ( E1 ) E.ast = mkleaf(int.lexval) E.ast = mkplus(E1.ast, E2.ast) E.ast = E1.ast
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Parse Tree Example

Consider the string int5 + ( int2 + int3 ) A bottom-up evaluation of the ast attribute:
E.ast = mkplus(mkleaf(5), mkplus(mkleaf(2), mkleaf(3)) PLUS PLUS

3
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Review

We can specify language syntax using CFG A parser will answer whether s L(G) and will build a parse tree which we convert to an AST and pass on to the rest of the compiler

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Abtract Parse Trees : Expression Grammar

Abstract Syntax E E E E E E -> E + E -> E E -> E * E -> E / E -> id -> num

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AST : Node types

public abstract class Exp { public abstract int eval(): } public class PlusExp extends Exp { private Exp e1, e2; public PlusExp(Exp a1, Exp a2) { e1=a1; d2=a2; } public int eval() { return e1.eval()+e2.eval(): } } public class Identifier extends Exp { private String f0; public Indenfifier(String n0) { f0 = n0; } public int eval() { return lookup(f0); } } public class IntegerLiteral extends Exp { private String f0; public IntegerLiteral(String n0) { f0 = n0; } public int eval() { return Integer.parseInt(f0); } }

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JavaCC Example for AST construction

Exp Start() : { Exp e; } { e=Exp() { return e; }} Exp Exp() : { Exp e1, e2; } { e1=Term() ( + e2=Term() { e1=new PlusExp(e1,e2); } | - e2=Term() { e1=new MinusExp(e1,e2); } )* { return a; } } Exp Factor() : { Token t; Exp e; } { t = <IDENTIFIER > {return new Identifier(t.image); } | t=<INTEGER_LITERAL> {return new IntegerLiteral(t.image);} | ( e=Exp() ) {return e; } }
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Positions

Must remember the position in the source file

Lexical analysis, parsing and semantic analysis are not done simultaneously. Necessary for error reporting

AST must keep the pos fields, which indicate the position within the original source file. Lexer must pass the information to the parser. Ast node constructors must be augmented to init the pos fields.
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JavaCC : Class Token

int kind; int beginLine, beginColumn, endLine, endColumn; String image; Token next; Token specialToken; static final Token newToken(int ofKind);

Each Token object has the following fields:

Unfortunately, .
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Visitors

syntax separate from interpretation style of programming

Vs. object-oriented style of programming

Visitor pattern
Visitor implements an interpretation. Visitor object contains a visit method for each syntax-tree class. Syntax-tree classes contain accept methods. Visitor calls accept(what is your class?). Then accept calls the visit of the visitor.
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Example :Expression Classes

public abstract class Exp { public abstract int accept(Visitor v): } public class PlusExp extends Exp { private Exp e1, e2; public PlusExp(Exp a1, Exp a2) { e1=a1; d2=a2; } public int accept(Visitor v) { return v.visit(this) ; } } public class Identifier extends Exp { private String f0; public Indenfifier(String n0) { f0 = n0; } public int accept(Visitor v) { return v.visit(this) ; } } public class IntegerLiteral extends Exp { private String f0; public IntegerLiteral(String n0) { f0 = n0; } public int accept(Visitor v) { return v.visit(this) ; } }
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An interpreter visitor

public interface Visitor { public int visit(PlusExp n); public int visit(Identifier n); public int visit(IntegerLiteral n); } public class Interpreter implements Visitor { public int visit(PlusExp n) { return n.e1.accept(this) + n.e2.accept(this); } public int visit(Identifier n) { return looup(n.f0); } public int visit(IntegerLiteral n) { return Integer.parseInt(n.f0); }
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Abstract Syntax for MiniJava (I)

Package syntaxtree;
Program(MainClass m, ClassDecList c1) MainClass(Identifier i1, Identifier i2, Statement s) ---------------------------abstract class ClassDecl ClassDeclSimple(Identifier i, VarDeclList vl, methodDeclList m1) ClassDeclExtends(Identifier i, Identifier j, VarDecList vl, MethodDeclList ml) ----------------------------VarDecl(Type t, Identifier i) MethodDecl(Type t, Identifier I, FormalList fl, VariableDeclList vl, StatementList sl, Exp e) Formal(Type t, Identifier i)
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Abstract Syntax for MiniJava (II)

abstract class type IntArrayType() BooleanType() IntegerType() IndentifierType(String s) --------------------------abstract class Statement Block(StatementList sl) If(Exp e, Statement s1, Statement s2) While(Exp e, Statement s) Print(Exp e) Assign(Identifier i, Exp e) ArrayAssign(Identifier i, Exp e1, Exp e2) ------------------------------------------47

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Abstract Syntax for MiniJava (III)

abstract class Exp And(Exp e1, Exp e2) LessThan(Exp e1, Exp e2) Plus(Exp e1, Exp e2) Minus(Exp e1, Exp e2) Times(Exp e1, Exp e2) Not(Exp e) ArrayLookup(Exp e1, Exp e2) ArrayLength(Exp e) Call(Exp e, Identifier i, ExpList el) IntergerLiteral(int i) True() False() IdentifierExp(String s) This() NewArray(Exp e) NewObject(Identifier i) ------------------------------------------------Identifier(Sting s) --list classes------------------------ClassDecList() ExpList() FormalList() MethodDeclList() StatementLIst() VarDeclList()
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Syntax Tree Nodes - Details

package syntaxtree; import visitor.Visitor; import visitor.TypeVisitor; public class Program { public MainClass m; public ClassDeclList cl;

public Program(MainClass am, ClassDeclList acl) { m=am; cl=acl; }

public void accept(Visitor v) { v.visit(this); } public Type accept(TypeVisitor v) { return v.visit(this); } }
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ClassDecl.java

package syntaxtree; import visitor.Visitor; import visitor.TypeVisitor; public abstract class ClassDecl { public abstract void accept(Visitor v); public abstract Type accept(TypeVisitor v); }

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ClassDeclExtends.java

package syntaxtree; import visitor.Visitor; import visitor.TypeVisitor; public class ClassDeclExtends extends ClassDecl { public Identifier i; public Identifier j; public VarDeclList vl; public MethodDeclList ml; public ClassDeclExtends(Identifier ai, Identifier aj, VarDeclList avl, MethodDeclList aml) { i=ai; j=aj; vl=avl; ml=aml; } public void accept(Visitor v) { v.visit(this); } public Type accept(TypeVisitor v) { return v.visit(this); } } 51

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StatementList.java

package syntaxtree; import java.util.Vector; public class StatementList { private Vector list; public StatementList() { list = new Vector(); } public void addElement(Statement n) { list.addElement(n); } public Statement elementAt(int i) { return (Statement)list.elementAt(i); } public int size() { return list.size(); } }
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Package Visitor/visitor.java

package visitor; import syntaxtree.*; public interface Visitor { public void visit(Program n); public void visit(MainClass n); public void visit(ClassDeclSimple n); public void visit(ClassDeclExtends n); public void visit(VarDecl n); public void visit(MethodDecl n); public void visit(Formal n); public void visit(IntArrayType n); public void visit(BooleanType n); public void visit(IntegerType n); public void visit(IdentifierType n); public void visit(Block n); public void visit(If n); public void visit(While n); public void visit(Print n); public void visit(Assign n); public void visit(ArrayAssign n); public void visit(And n); public void visit(LessThan n); public void visit(Plus n); public void visit(Minus n); public void visit(Times n); public void visit(ArrayLookup n); public void visit(ArrayLength n); public void visit(Call n); public void visit(IntegerLiteral n); public void visit(True n); public void visit(False n); public void visit(IdentifierExp n); public void visit(This n); public void visit(NewArray n); public void visit(NewObject n); public void visit(Not n); public void visit(Identifier n); } 53

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X = y.m(1,4+5)

Statement -> AssignmentStatement AssignmentStatement -> Identfier1 = Expression Identifier1 -> <IDENTIFIER> Expression -> Expression1 . Identifier2 ( ( ExpList)? ) Expression1 -> IdentifierExp IdentifierExp -> <IDENTIFIER> Identifier2 -> <IDENTIFIER> ExpList -> Expression2 ( , Expression3 )* Expression2 -> <INTEGER_LITERAL> Expression3 -> PlusExp -> Expression + Expression -> <INTEGER_LITERAL> , <INTEGER_LITERAL>

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AST
Statement s -> Assign (Identifier,Exp)

Identifier(x)

Call(Exp,Identifier,ExpList)
init

IdentifierExp(y)

Identifier(m)

ExpList e1
add

IntegerLiteral(1)

Plus(Exp,Exp)

add

IntegerLiteral(4)

(IntegerLiteral(5)
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MiniJava : Grammar(I)

Program -> MainClass ClassDecl *

Program(MainClass, ClassDeclList) Program Goal() : { MainClass m; ClassDeclList cl = new ClassDeclList(); ClassDecl c; } { m = MainClass() (c = ClassDecl() {cl.addElement(c);})* <EOF> {return new Program(m,cl) }

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MiniJava : Grammar(II)
MainClass(Identifier, VarDeclList)

MainClass -> class id { public static void main ( String [] id ) { Statement } } ClassDecl -> class id { VarDecl * MethodDecl * } -> class id extends id { VarDecl* MethodDecl * } VarDecl
ClassDeclSimple(), ClassDecExtends()

-> Type id ;

MethodDecl -> public Type id ( FormalList )

{ VarDecl * Statement* return Exp ; } MethodDecl(Type,Identifier,FormalList,VarDeclList StaementList, Exp)
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VarDecl(Type, Identifier)

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MiniJava : Grammar(III)
->

FormalList -> Type id FormalRest *

FormalRest ->

, Type id

Type

-> int [] -> boolean -> int -> id

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MiniJava : Grammar(IV)

Statement -> { Statement * } -> if ( Exp ) Statement else Statement -> while ( Exp ) Statement -> System.out.println ( Exp ) ; -> id = Exp ; -> id [ Exp ] = Exp ;

ExpList

-> Exp ExpRest * -> -> , Exp

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ExpRest

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MiniJava : Grammar(V)
-> -> -> -> -> -> -> -> -> -> -> -> ->

Exp

Exp op Exp Exp [ Exp ] Exp . length Exp . Id ( ExpList ) INTEGER_LITERAL

true false

id
this new int [ Exp ] new id ( ) ! Exp ( Exp )

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Can We Create this Framework (Semi) Automatically? Using JTB

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References

Andrew W. Appel, Modern Compiler Implementation in Java (2nd Edition), Cambridge University Press, 2002 http://compiler.kaist.ac.kr/courses/cs420/cla sstps/Chapter05.pps Modern Compiler Design, Scott Galles, Scott Jones http://www.cs.utsa.edu/~qingyi/cs4713/hando uts/AbstractSyntaxTree.ppt
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Using Java Tree Builder

CMSC 431 Shon Vick

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Lecture Outline

Introduction Syntax Directed Translation Java Virtual Machine Examples Administration

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Introduction

The Java Tree Builder (JTB) is a tool used to automatically generate syntax trees with the Java Compiler Compiler (JavaCC) parser generator. Its based on the Visitor design pattern please see the section entitled Why Visitors?

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Why Visitors?

The Visitor pattern is one among many design patterns aimed at making object-oriented systems more flexible The issue addressed by the Visitor pattern is the manipulation of composite objects. Without visitors, such manipulation runs into several problems as illustrated by considering an implementation of integer lists, written in Java

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Integer lists, written in Java (Without Generics)

interface List {} class Nil implements List {} class Cons implements List {
int head; List tail; }

What happens when we write a program which computes the sum of all components of a given List object?
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First Attempt: Instanceof and Type Casts

List l; // The List-object we are working on. int sum = 0; // Contains the sum after the loop. boolean proceed = true; What are the while (proceed) { if (l instanceof Nil) problems here? proceed = false; else if (l instanceof Cons) { sum = sum + ((Cons) l).head; // Type cast! l = ((Cons) l).tail; // Type cast! } }
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What are the problems here?

Type Casts?
We want static (compile time) type checking

Flexible?
Probably not well illustrated with this example

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Second Attempt: Dedicated Methods

interface List { int sum(); } class Nil implements List { public int sum() { return 0; } } class Cons implements List { int head; List tail; public int sum() { return head + tail.sum(); } }
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Tradeoffs

Can compute the sum of all components of a given List-object l by writing l.sum(). Advantage: type casts and instanceof operations have disappeared, and that the code can be written in a systematic way. Disadvantage: Every time we want to perform a new operation on List-objects, say, compute the product of all integer parts, then new dedicated methods have to be written for all the classes, and the classes must be recompiled

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Third Attempt: The Visitor Pattern.

interface List {
void accept(Visitor v);

} class Nil implements List { public void accept(Visitor v) { v.visitNil(this); } } class Cons implements List { int head; List tail; public void accept(Visitor v) { v.visitCons(this); } }
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Second Part of Visitor Idea

interface Visitor { void visitNil(Nil x); void visitCons(Cons x); }

class SumVisitor implements Visitor { int sum = 0; public void visitNil(Nil x) {} public void visitCons(Cons x){ sum = sum + x.head; x.tail.accept(this); } }
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Summary

Each accept method takes a visitor as argument. The interface Visitor has a header for each of the basic classes. We can now compute and print the sum of all components of a given List-object l by writing
SumVisitor sv = new SumVisitor(); l.accept(sv); System.out.println(sv.sum);

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Summary Continued

The advantage is that one can write code that manipulates objects of existing classes without recompiling those classes. The price is that all objects must have an accept method. In summary, the Visitor pattern combines the advantages of the two other approaches

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Summary Table

Frequent type casts?

Frequent recompilation?

Instanceof and type casts

Yes

No

Dedicated methods
The Visitor pattern

No
No

Yes
No
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Overview of Generated Files

To begin using JTB, simply run it using your grammar file as an argument
Run JTB without any argumentsfor list.

This will generate an augmented grammar file, as well as the needed classes

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Details

jtb.out.jj, the original grammar file, now with syntax tree building actions inserted The subdirectory/package syntaxtree which contains a java class for each production in the grammar The subdirectory/package visitor which contains Visitor.java, the default visitor interface, also ObjectVisitor.java, another default visitor interface that supports return value and argument.
ObjectDepthFirst.java is a defualt implemetation of ObjectVisitor.java.

DepthFirstVisitor.java, a default implementation which visits each node of the tree in depth-first order.

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General Instructions

To generate your parser, simply run JavaCC using jtb.out.jj as the grammar file. Let's take a look at all the files and directories JTB generates.

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The grammar file

Named jtb.out.jj This file is the same as the input grammar file except that it now contains code for building the syntax tree during parse. Typically, this file can be left alone after generation. The only thing that needs to be done to it is to run it through JavaCC to generate your parser

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The syntax tree node classes

This directory contains syntax tree node classes generated based on the productions in your JavaCC grammar. Each production will have its own class. If your grammar contains 42 productions, this directory will contain 42 classes (plus the special automatically generated nodes-these will be discussed later), with names corresponding to the left-hand side names of the productions. Like jtb.out.jj, after generation these files don't need to be edited. Generate them once, compile them once, and forget about them

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Example

Let's examine one of the classes generated from a production. Take, for example, the following production
void ImportDeclaration() : {} { "import" Name() [ "." "*" ] "; }

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What gets produced? Part 1

// Generated by JTB 1.1.2 // package syntaxtree; /** * Grammar production: * f0 -> "import" All parts of a production * f1 -> Name() are represented in the tree, * f2 -> [ "." "*" ] including tokens. * f3 -> ";" */ public class ImportDeclaration implements Node {
public NodeToken f0; public Name f1; public NodeOptional f2; public NodeToken f3;
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The Syntax Tree Classes

Notice the package "syntaxtree". The purpose of separating the generated tree node classes into their own package is that it greatly simplifies file organization, particularly when the grammar contains a large number of productions. Its often not necessary to pay the syntax classes any more attention. All of the work is to done to the visitor classes. Note that this class implements an interface named Node.
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Automatically-Generated Tree Node Interface and Classes

All tree nodes implement this List interface that NodeList, NodeListOptional, and NodeSeqeunce implement Represents ( A | B )

Node Nodelistinterface Nodechoice

Nodelist
NodeListOptional NodeOptional NodeSequence

Represents ( A ) +
Represents ( A ) * Represents [ A ] or ( A )? Represents nexted sequence like [ "extends" Name() ]

NodeToken

Represents a token string

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Node

The interface Node is implemented by all syntax tree nodes. Node looks like this:
public interface Node extends java.io.Serializable { public void accept(visitor.Visitor v); public Object accept(visitor.ObjectVisitor v, Object argu); }

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Nodes and Accept

All tree node classes implement the accept() method.

In the case of all the automatically-generated classes, the accept() method simply calls the corresponding visit(XXXX n) (where XXXX is the name of the production) method of the visitor passed to it. Note that the visit() methods are overloaded, i.e. the distinguishing feature is the argument each takes, as opposed to its name.

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Two New Features

Two features presented in JTB 1.2 may be helpful

The first is that Node extends java.io.Serializable, meaning that you can now serialize your trees (or subtrees) to an output stream and read them back in. Secondly, there is one accept() method that can take an extra argument and return a value.

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What gets produced? Part 1

// Generated by JTB 1.1.2 // package syntaxtree; /** All parts of a production * Grammar production: * f0 -> "import" are represented in the tree, * f1 -> Name() including tokens. * f2 -> [ "." "*" ] * f3 -> ";" */ public class ImportDeclaration implements Node {
public NodeToken f0; public Name f1; public NodeOptional f2; public NodeToken f3;
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NodeListInterface

The interface NodeListInterface is implemented by NodeList, NodeListOptional, and NodeSequence. NodeListInterface looks like this:
public interface NodeListInterface extends Node { public void addNode(Node n); public Node elementAt(int i); public java.util.Enumeration elements(); public int size(); }

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Details

Interface not generally needed but can be useful when writing code which only deals with the Vector-like functionality of any of the three classes listed above.

addNode() is used by the tree-building code to add nodes to the list. elements() is similar to the method of the same name in Vector, returning an Enumeration of the elements in the list. elementAt() returns the node at the ith position in the list (starting at 0, naturally). size() returns the number of elements in the list

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NodeChoice

NodeChoice is the class which JTB uses to represent choice points in a grammar. An example of this would be ( "abstract" | "final" | "public" ) JTB would represent the production void ResultType() : {} { "void" | Type() }
as a class ResultType with a single child of type NodeChoice.

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Details

The type stored by this NodeChoice would not be determined until the file was actually parsed. The node stored by a NodeChoice would then be accessible through the choice field. Since the choice is of type Node, typecasts are sometimes necessary to access the fields of the node stored in a NodeChoice.

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Implementation

public class NodeChoice implements Node { public NodeChoice(Node node, int whichChoice); public void accept(visitor.Visitor v); public Object accept(visitor.ObjectVisitor v, Object argu); public Node choice; public int which; }

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Which One?

Another feature of NodeChoice is the field which for determining which of the choices was selected The which field is used to see which choice was used

If the first choice is selected, which equals 0 (following the old programming custom to start counting at 0). If the second choice is taken, which equals 1. The third choice would be 2, etc. Note that your code could potentially break if the order of the choices is changed in the grammar.

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NodeList

NodeList is the class used by JTB to represent lists. An example of a list would be ( "[" Expression() "]" )+ JTB would represent the javacc production :
void ArrayDimensions() : {} { ( "[" Expression() "]" )+ ( "[" "]" )* }

as a class ArrayDimensions() with children NodeList and NodeListOptional respectively.

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Details

NodeLists use java.lang.Vectors to store the lists of nodes. Like NodeChoice, typecasts may occasionally be necessary to access fields of nodes contained in the list.

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Implementation

public class NodeList implements NodeListInterface { public NodeList(); public void addNode(Node n); public Enumeration elements(); public Node elementAt(int i); public int size(); public void accept(visitor.Visitor v); public Object accept(visitor.ObjectVisitor v, Object argu); public Vector nodes; }

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NodeToken

This class is used by JTB to store all tokens into the tree, including JavaCC "special tokens" (if the -tk command-line option is used). In addition, each NodeToken contains information about each token, including its starting and ending column and line numbers.

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Implementation

public class NodeToken implements Node { public NodeToken(String s); public NodeToken(String s, int kind, int beginLine, int beginColumn, int endLine, int endColumn); public String toString(); public void accept(visitor.Visitor v); public Object accept(visitor.ObjectVisitor v, Object argu); // -1 for these ints means no position info is available.

//

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Continued

public class NodeToken implements Node { // . public String tokenImage; public int beginLine, beginColumn, endLine, endColumn; // -1 if not available. // Equal to the JavaCC token "kind" integer. public int kind; // Special Token methods below public NodeToken getSpecialAt(int i); public int numSpecials(); public void addSpecial(NodeToken s); public void trimSpecials(); public String withSpecials(); public Vector specialTokens; }
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Token Details

The tokens are simply stored as strings. The field tokenImage can be accessed directly, and the toString() method returns the same string. Also available is the kind integer. JavaCC assigns each type of token a unique integer to identify it. This integer is now available in each JTB NodeToken. For more information on using the kind integer, see the JavaCC documentation.

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Member Variables of Generated Classes

Next comes the member variables of the ImportDeclaration class. These are generated based on the RHS of the production. Their type depends on the various items in the RHS and their names begin with f0 and work their way up. Why are they public?

Visitors which must access these fields reside in a different package than the syntax tree nodes Package visibility cannot be used. Breaking encapsulation was a necessary evil in this case.

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What gets produced? Part 2

public ImportDeclaration(NodeToken n0, Name n1, NodeOptional n2, NodeToken n3) { f0 = n0; f1 = n1; f2 = n2; f3 = n3; } public ImportDeclaration(Name n0, NodeOptional n1) { f0 = new NodeToken("import"); f1 = n0; f2 = n1; f3 = new NodeToken(";"); }
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Constructors

The next portion of the generated class is the standard constructor. It is called from the treebuilding actions in the annotated grammar so you will probably not need to use it. Following the first constructor is a convenience constructor with the constant tokens of the production already filled-in by the appropriate NodeToken. This constructor's purpose is to help in manual construction of syntax trees.

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What gets produced? Part 3

v.visit(this);

public void accept(visitor.Visitor v) { }

public Object
accept(visitor.ObjectVisitor v, Object argu) {

return v.visit(this,argu);
} }
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The Accept Methods

After the constructor are the accept() methods. These methods are the way in which visitors interact with the class.

void accept(visitor.Visitor v) works with Visitor Object accept(visitor.ObjectVisitor v, Object argu) works with ObjectVisitor

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Other Options?

Yes, you could use jjtree How does it compare?

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References

Java Tree Builder Documentation Why Visitors? Erich Gamma, Richard Helm, Ralph Johnson, and John Vlissides.

Design Patterns: Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software.

Addison-Wesley, 1995

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