Augmented Syntax Diagrams - Documentation and notes
Copyright 2003-2010 James A. Mason
last updated 2010 Aug 25
About Augmented Syntax Diagrams
- Augmented Syntax Diagrams - a brief
description
of ASD grammars and how they compare with Augmented Transition Network
(ATN) grammars.
- Although Augmented Syntax Diagrams are designed to represent
grammars of natural languages, which are generally ambiguous syntactically, ASDs can
also represent grammars of programming languages and other artifical
languages. An example is
provided by a grammar for
arithmetic expressions and an evaluator that uses the grammar.
The
application
can
be
run
as
a Java applet by
clicking on this link: Evaluator.
(The applet was created by Roxanne Parent. Note: The
Evaluator applet window must be closed
by using the Action Exit menu option, not by clicking on the button in
the upper right-hand corner of the window.) When ASDParser is
used with an unambiguous grammar like that of arithmetic expressions or
of a programming language, it can parse expressions in those languages
without backtracking.
- In Appendix
C of her book Automata, Computability and Complexity
with Applications, Elaine Rich lists and provides links to
descriptions of various related representations for grammars of
programming languages, namely: BNF, EBNF, and railroad (syntax)
diagrams including Augmented Syntax Diagrams.
Usage notes
Implementation Details
Notes and documents about English