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The Definitive ANTLR Reference: Building Domain-Specific Languages (Pragmatic Programmers)

List Price: $36.95
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Manufacturer: Pragmatic Bookshelf

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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 005.45
EAN: 9780978739256
Format: Illustrated
ISBN: 0978739256
Label: Pragmatic Bookshelf
Manufacturer: Pragmatic Bookshelf
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 376
Publication Date: 2007-05-17
Publisher: Pragmatic Bookshelf
Studio: Pragmatic Bookshelf

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Editorial Reviews:

ANTLR v3 is the most powerful, easy-to-use parser generator built to date, and represents the culmination of more than 15 years of research by Terence Parr. This book is the essential reference guide to using this completely rebuilt version of ANTLR, with its amazing new LL(*) parsing technology, tree construction facilities, StringTemplate code generation template engine, and sophisticated ANTLRWorks GUI development environment. Learn to use ANTLR directly from the author!

ANTLR is a parser generator-a program that generates code to translate a specified input language into a nice, tidy data structure. You might think that parser generators are only used to build compilers. But in fact, programmers usually use parser generators to build translators and interpreters for domain-specific languages such as proprietary data formats, common network protocols, text processing languages, and domain-specific programming languages.

Domain-specific languages are important to software development because they represent a more natural, high fidelity, robust, and maintainable means of encoding a problem than simply writing software in a general-purpose language. For example, NASA uses domain-specific command languages for space missions to improve reliability, reduce risk, reduce cost, and increase the speed of development. Even the first Apollo guidance control computer from the 1960s used a domain-specific language that supported vector computations.

This book is the definitive guide to using the completely rebuilt ANTLR v3 and describes all features in detail, including the amazing new LL(*) parsing technology, tree construction facilities, StringTemplate code generation template engine, and sophisticated ANTLRWorks GUI development environment. You'll learn all about ANTLR grammar syntax, resolving grammar ambiguities, parser fault tolerance and error reporting, embedding actions to interpret or translate languages, building intermediate-form trees, extracting information from trees, generating source code, and how to use the ANTLR Java API.

Spotlight customer reviews:

Customer Rating:

Summary: Readable
Comment: I have just finished reading the ANTLR ref book and I thought it was helpful, yes I also agree that it was a bit too much Java being more of a C++/C# person but I am not that picky. The one thing that I didn't like with the book was the structure. The four last chapters contain the actual theory, and one chapter in the middle was the reference. I didn't like this, it didn't feel natural. I would have liked to have the theory first and then gotten on with the details, building upon examples with increasing complexity (preferably not only in Java ;-). Also the index wasn't good, it should have been more detailed. e.g. where can I find what input.LT(1) means?

A good thing was there exists a mailing list and of course the website which helps to fill the holes that book unfortunately sometimes leaves.

Customer Rating:

Summary: An excellent book for developing language translators, especially for Java programmers
Comment: The book of Terence Parr describes his ANTLR LL top-down parser generator
very clearly and with outstanding academic style of presentation.
The ANTLR tool is powerful, I like to use it, since it easier to use and
more well documented (with the Parr's book) than the alternative javacc tool
or the traditional lex/yacc/bison tools.
Shortly, I strongly recommend the Terence's book to both the
industrial programmers/developers and to the academic community.

Customer Rating:

Summary: For Sun fans only
Comment: This book very thoroughly documents the ANTLR parser generator, but it does so with a Java bias that is so strong it excludes all of the other languages ANTLR supports. This makes sense on some level since ANTLR is a Java tool written by a Java developer, but for those of us who have an equally strong bias AGAINST Java the example code can best be described as nap inducing.

If you want to use ANTLR with C or Python or any other language, stick to the free documentation on the web.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Must read for anyone planning to do anything with parsers
Comment: ANTLR is pretty much the de facto tool when it comes to writing parsers. In this book Terence Parr has given a really nice and detailed guide to ANTLR 3. Usually a reference book is pretty dry, but not this one. Terence has a nice, relaxed writing style which makes this a very easy read. Also it has lots of examples to guide you along the way.

A must read for anyone planning to work with ANTLR, write parsers or just wanting to get an insight into parsing theory.

Customer Rating:

Summary: A Perfectly Pragmatic Guide!
Comment: If you have any interest in compiler design, building translators, building intelligent editors, code generation, understanding what goes into building your own computer language, or just how to use ANTLR v3 then you may want to get a copy of this book.

This book is all about ANTLR. ANTLR is a tool you can use to build compilers and interpreters for computer languages, but don't let that scare you off. With the increasing interest in domain specific languages, bulding intelligent editors, code generation, and model driven development books like this are becoming ever more important. Terence Parr has made the topic far more approachable than any other book I have read (or attempted to read) on the topic.

In the first few chapters the author walks readers through the phases of parser construction using language that is approachable and easy to understand. He explains the needed principles and demonstrates their application with well chosen examples.

This is followed by a quick tour of how one might use ANTLR. I love the approach taken in this chapter as it takes a small example and shows two different ways to approach the problem using ANTLR. This is coupled with explanations describing when you want to use one approach over another.

The middle section of the book goes into depth on the various aspects of ANTLR. This is the reference section. Don't expect to be able to read these chapters one after another in quick succession. There's just too much to take in all at once!

The text is littered with references both forward and back to other sections and topics of interest. You can tell the author has spent a lot of time working with compiler construction by the breadth and depth of information presented. I really liked the motivating examples he gives for certain ANTLR features such as the need to emit imaginary tokens when lexing python (see page 94 in chapter 4).

The first chapter of part three of the book delves into the depths of the parsing algorithm used in ANTLR since you will need to understand it when you run into parsing errors and need to make sense of them.

The remaining chapters are devoted to ways to deal with the problems you may run into when trying to parse various language constructs.

This book has left a very lasting impression on me. I can visualize what goes into an editor like eclipse more fully. I no longer feel that the topic of abstract syntax trees is above my head and I feel I am better equipped to tackle the dragon book. I also understand why lisp programmers say that lisp has no syntax (take a look at the serialized form of the AST from chapter 3 on page 62, it looks like a bunch of s-expressions!).

One more note: ANTLR itself is a domain specific language (DSL) and serves as a prime example of how a DSL can greatly increase the clarity of the solution to a problem if the solution is described in terms native to the problem domain. (I think that's what the folks in the lisp camp have been saying for a long time.) ANTLR helps show the value of having DSLs and this book shows how easy it can be to write one!

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