A Portable Lexical Analyzer Writing System.

Robert C. Gammill

Expert InsightsPublished 1973

LAWS, a lexical analyzer writing system implemented in FORTRAN, attempts to achieve a compromise between the contradictory demands of efficiency and portability. Simplicity is emphasized to make extension and modification easy. LAWS is a compiler for generating state transition tables and a finite state machine (FSM) directed by those tables. The language (STATE-DEF) used to program the FSM resembles Floyd-Evans Production Language. A program written in STATE-DEF, the resulting state transition table, and a flow chart of the FSM are given. Of special interest are the methods for keeping tables small and automatically translating character codes. 18 pp. Ref.

Document Details

  • Copyright: RAND Corporation
  • Availability: Web Only
  • Year: 1973
  • Pages: 18
  • Document Number: P-5117

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Gammill, Robert C., A Portable Lexical Analyzer Writing System. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 1973. https://www.rand.org/pubs/papers/P5117.html.
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