\input texinfo  @c -*-texinfo-*-
@c %**start of header
@setfilename semantic-langdev.info
@set TITLE  Language Support Developer's Guide
@set AUTHOR Eric M. Ludlam, David Ponce, and Richard Y. Kim
@settitle @value{TITLE}

@c *************************************************************************
@c @ Header
@c *************************************************************************

@c Merge all indexes into a single index for now.
@c We can always separate them later into two or more as needed.
@syncodeindex vr cp
@syncodeindex fn cp
@syncodeindex ky cp
@syncodeindex pg cp
@syncodeindex tp cp

@c @footnotestyle separate
@c @paragraphindent 2
@c @@smallbook
@c %**end of header

@copying
This manual documents Application Development with Semantic.

Copyright @copyright{} 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007 Eric M. Ludlam
Copyright @copyright{} 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 David Ponce
Copyright @copyright{} 2002, 2003 Richard Y. Kim

@quotation
Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the
Invariant Sections being list their titles, with the Front-Cover Texts
being list, and with the Back-Cover Texts being list.  A copy of the
license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
License''.
@end quotation
@end copying

@ifinfo
@dircategory Emacs
@direntry
* Semantic Language Writer's guide: (semantic-langdev).
@end direntry
@end ifinfo

@iftex
@finalout
@end iftex

@c @setchapternewpage odd
@c @setchapternewpage off

@ifinfo
This file documents Language Support Development with Semantic.
@emph{Infrastructure for parser based text analysis in Emacs}

Copyright @copyright{} 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 @value{AUTHOR}
@end ifinfo

@titlepage
@sp 10
@title @value{TITLE}
@author by @value{AUTHOR}
@vskip 0pt plus 1 fill
Copyright @copyright{} 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 @value{AUTHOR}
@page
@vskip 0pt plus 1 fill
@insertcopying
@end titlepage
@page

@c MACRO inclusion
@include semanticheader.texi


@c *************************************************************************
@c @ Document
@c *************************************************************************
@contents

@node top
@top @value{TITLE}

Semantic is bundled with support for several languages such as
C, C++, Java, Python, etc.
However one of the primary gols of semantic is to provide a framework
in which anyone can add support for other languages easily.
In order to support a new lanaugage, one typically has to provide a
lexer and a parser along with appropriate semantic actions that
produce the end result of the parser - the semantic tags.

This chapter first discusses the semantic tag data structure to
familiarize the reader to the goal.  Then all the components necessary
for supporting a lanaugage is discussed starting with the writing
lexer, writing the parser, writing semantic rules, etc.
Finally several parsers bundled with semantic are discussed as case
studies.

@menu
* Tag Structure::               
* Language Support Overview::   
* Writing Lexers::              
* Writing Parsers::             
* Parsing a language file::     
* Debugging::                   
* Parser Error Handling::       
* GNU Free Documentation License::  
* Index::                       
@end menu

@node Tag Structure, Language Support Overview, top, top
@chapter Tag Structure
@cindex Tag Structure

The end result of the parser for a buffer is a list of @i{tags}.
Currently each tag is a list with up to five elements:
@example
("NAME" CLASS ATTRIBUTES PROPERTIES OVERLAY)
@end example

@var{CLASS} represents what kind of tag this is.  Common @var{CLASS}
values include @code{variable}, @code{function}, or @code{type}.
@inforef{Tag Basics, , semantic-appdev.info}.

@var{ATTRIBUTES} is a slot filled with langauge specific options for
the tag.  Function arguments, return type, and other flags all are
stored in attributes.  A language author fills in the ATTRIBUTES with
the tag constructor, which is parser style dependant.

@var{PROPERTIES} is a slot generated by the semantic parser harness,
and need not be provided by a language author.  Programmatically
access tag properties with @code{semantic--tag-put-property},
@code{semantic--tag-put-property-no-side-effect} and
@code{semantic--tag-get-property}.

@var{OVERLAY} represents positional information for this tag.  It is
automatically generated by the semantic parser harness, and need not
be provided by the language author, unless they provide a tag
expansion function via @code{semantic-tag-expand-function}.

The @var{OVERLAY} property is accessed via several functions returning
the beginning, end, and buffer of a token.  Use these functions unless
the overlay is really needed (see @inforef{Tag Query, , app-dev-guide}).
Depending on the
overlay in a program can be dangerous because sometimes the overlay is
replaced with an integer pair
@example
[ START END ]
@end example
when the buffer the tag belongs to is not in memory.  This happens
when a user has activated the Semantic Database 
@inforef{semanticdb, , semantic-appdev}.

To create tags for a functional or object oriented language, you can
use s series of tag creation functions.  @inforef{Creating Tags, , semantic-appdev}

@node Language Support Overview, Writing Lexers, Tag Structure, top
@chapter Language Support Overview
@cindex Language Support Overview

Starting with version 2.0, @semantic{} provides many ways to add support
for a language into the @semantic{} framework.

The primary means to customize how @semantic{} works is to implement
language specific versions of @i{overloadable} functions.  Semantic
has a specialized mode bound way to do this.
@ref{Semantic Overload Mechanism}.

The parser has several parts which are all also overloadable.  The
primary entry point into the parser is
@code{semantic-fetch-tags} which calls
@code{semantic-parse-region} which returns a list of semantic tags
which get set to @code{semantic--buffer-cache}.

@code{semantic-parse-region} is the first ``overloadable'' function.
The default behavior of this is to simply call @code{semantic-lex},
then pass the lexical token list to
@code{semantic-repeat-parse-whole-stream}.  At each stage, another
more focused layer provides a means of overloading.

The parser is not the only layer that provides overloadable methods.
Application APIs @inforef{top, , semantic-appdev} provide many
overload functions as well.

@menu
* Semantic Overload Mechanism::  
* Semantic Parser Structure::   
* Application API Structure::   
@end menu

@node Semantic Overload Mechanism, Semantic Parser Structure, Language Support Overview, Language Support Overview
@section Semantic Overload Mechanism

one of @semantic{}'s goals is to provide a framework for supporting a
wide range of languages.
writing parsers for some languages are very simple, e.g.,
any dialect of lisp family such as emacs-lisp and scheme.
parsers for many languages can be written in context free grammars
such as c, java, python, etc.
on the other hand, it is impossible to specify context free grammars
for other languages such as texinfo.
Yet @semantic{} already provides parsers for all these languages.

In order to support such wide range of languages,
a mechanism for customizing the parser engine at many levels
was needed to maximize the code reuse yet give each programmer
the flexibility of customizing the parser engine at many levels
of granularity.
@cindex function overloading
@cindex overloading, function
The solution that @semantic{} provides is the
@i{function overloading} mechanism which
allows one to intercept and customize the behavior
of many of the functions in the parser engine.
First the parser engine breaks down the task of parsing a language into
several steps.
Each step is represented by an Emacs-Lisp function.
Some of these are
@code{semantic-parse-region},
@code{semantic-lex},
@code{semantic-parse-stream},
@code{semantic-parse-changes},
etc.

Many built-in @semantic{} functions are declared
as being @i{over-loadable} functions, i.e., functions that do
reasonable things for most languages, but can be
customized to suit the particular needs of a given language.
All @i{over-loadable} functions then can easily be @i{over-ridden}
if necessary.
The rest of this section provides details on this @i{overloading mechanism}.

Over-loadable functions are created by defining functions
with the @code{define-overload} macro rather than the usual @code{defun}.
@code{define-overload} is a thin wrapper around @code{defun}
that sets up the function so that it can be overloaded.
An @i{over-loadable} function then can be @i{over-ridden}
in one of two ways:
@code{define-mode-overload-implementation}
and
@code{semantic-install-function-overrides}.

Let's look at a couple of examples.
@code{semantic-parse-region} is one of the top level functions
in the parser engine defined via @code{define-overload}:

@example
(define-overload semantic-parse-region
  (start end &optional nonterminal depth returnonerror)
  "Parse the area between START and END, and return any tokens found.

...
  
tokens.")
@end example

The document string was truncated in the middle above since it is not
relevant here.
The macro invocation above defines the @code{semantic-parse-region}
Emacs-Lisp function that checks first if there is an overloaded
implementation.
If one is found, then that is called.
If a mode specific implementation is not found, then the default
implementation is called which in this case is to call
@code{semantic-parse-region-default}, i.e.,
a function with the same name but with the tailing @i{-default}.
That function needs to be written separately and take the same
arguments as the entry created with @code{define-overload}.

One way to overload @code{semantic-parse-region} is via
@code{semantic-install-function-overrides}.
An example from @file{semantic-texi.el} file is shown below:

@example
(defun semantic-default-texi-setup ()
  "Set up a buffer for parsing of Texinfo files."
  ;; This will use our parser.
  (semantic-install-function-overrides
   '((parse-region . semantic-texi-parse-region)
     (parse-changes . semantic-texi-parse-changes)))
  ...
  )

(add-hook 'texinfo-mode-hook 'semantic-default-texi-setup)
@end example

Above function is called whenever a buffer is setup as texinfo mode.
@code{semantic-install-function-overrides} above indicates that
@code{semantic-texi-parse-region} is to over-ride the default
implementation of @code{semantic-parse-region}.
Note the use of @code{parse-region} symbol which is
@code{semantic-parse-region} without the leading @i{semantic-} prefix.

Another way to over-ride a built-in @semantic{} function is via
@code{define-mode-overload-implementation}.
An example from @file{wisent-python.el} file is shown below.

@example
(define-mode-overload-implementation
  semantic-parse-region python-mode
  (start end &optional nonterminal depth returnonerror)
  "Over-ride in order to initialize some variables."
  (let ((wisent-python-lexer-indent-stack '(0))
        (wisent-python-explicit-line-continuation nil))
    (semantic-parse-region-default
     start end nonterminal depth returnonerror)))
@end example

Above over-rides @code{semantic-parse-region} so that for 
buffers whose major mode is @code{python-mode},
the code specified above is executed rather than the
default implementation.

@subsection Why not to use advice

One may wonder why @semantic defines an overload mechanism when
Emacs already has advice.  @xref{(elisp)Advising Functions}.

Advising is generally considered a mechanism of last resort when
modifying or hooking into an existing package without modifying
that sourse file.  Overload files advertise that they @i{should} be
overloaded, and define syntactic sugar to do so.

@node Semantic Parser Structure, Application API Structure, Semantic Overload Mechanism, Language Support Overview
@section Semantic Parser Structure

NOTE: describe the functions that do parsing, and how to overload each.

@ignore
semantic-fetch-tags is the top level function that parses the current buffer.
  semantic-parse-changes
    semantic-parse-changes-default
      semantic-edits-incremental-parser
  semantic-parse-region (overloadable)
    semantic-parse-region-default
      semantic-lex (overloadable)
        *semantic-lex-analyzer
          semantic-flex
      semantic-repeat-parse-whole-stream
        semantic-parse-stream (overloadable)
          semantic-parse-stream-default
            semantic-bovinate-stream (bovine)
          wisent-parse-stream      (wisent)
    semantic-texi-parse-region
@end ignore

@example

@ignore
semantic-post-change-major-mode-function
semantic-parser-name

semantic-toplevel-bovine-table (see semantic-active-p)
  semantic-bovinate-stream
    semantic-toplevel-bovine-table
      semantic-parse-region
        semantic-parse-region-default
          semantic-lex
          semantic-repeat-parse-whole-stream

semantic-init-db-hooks semanticdb-semantic-init-hook-fcn
semantic-init-hooks semantic-auto-parse-mode

semantic-flex-keywords-obarray (see semantic-bnf-keyword-table)
  Used by semantic-lex-keyword-symbol, semantic-lex-keyword-set,
  semantic-lex-map-keywords, semantic-flex
semantic-lex-types-obarray

* To support a new language, one must write a set of Emacs-Lisp
  functions that converts any valid text written in that language
  into a list of semantic tokens.  Typically this task is divided into two
  areas: a lexer and a parser.
* There are many ways of doing this.  However in almost all cases, two
* Parser converts
wisent parsers
bovine parsers
custom parsers
@end ignore


@end example

@node Application API Structure,  , Semantic Parser Structure, Language Support Overview
@section Application API Structure

NOTE: improve this:

How to program with the Application programming API into the data
structures created by @semantic are in the Application development
guide. Read that guide to get a feel for the specifics of what you can
customize. @inforef{top, , semantic-appdev}

Here are a list of applications, and the specific APIs that you will
need to overload to make them work properly with your language.

@table @code
@item imenu
@itemx speedbar
@itemx ecb
These tools requires that the @code{semantic-format} methods create
correct strings.
@inforef{Format Tag, ,semantic-addpev}
@item semantic-analyze
The analysis tool requires that the @code{semanticdb} tool is active,
and that the searching methods are overloaded.  In addition,
@code{semanticdb} system database could be written to provide symbols
from the global environment of your langauge.
@inforef{System Databases, , semantic-appdev}

In addition, the analyzer requires that the @code{semantic-ctxt}
methods are overloaded.  These methods allow the analyzer to look at
the context of the cursor in your language, and predict the type of
location of the cursor. @inforef{Derived Context, , semantic-appdev}.
@item semantic-idle-summary-mode
@itemx semantic-idle-completions-mode
These tools use the semantic analysis tool.
@inforef{Context Analysis. . semantic-appdev}
@end table

@menu
* Semantic Analyzer Support::   
@end menu

@node Semantic Analyzer Support,  , Application API Structure, Application API Structure
@subsection Semantic Analyzer Support

@ignore
>> From and Email I sent to get David started on supporting the analyzer

  First, context parsing needs to work.  This includes
`semantic-ctxt-current-symbol', `-function', `-assignment'.  You also
need `semantic-get-local-arguments' and -local-variables'.

  The next most critical piece is to provide implementations of the
semanticdb-find search path calculation API.
`semanticdb-find-table-for-include' is a good start.  That really
should use `semantic-dependency-tag-file', but that doesn't use
semanticdb-project-root when looking for files.  Java could be
trouble here since you can import a *.

  A couple more good ones is `semanticdb-find-translate-path-brutish'
and `semanticdb-find-translate-path-includes'.  Brutish searches look
at everything in the current project.  The include path will scan
only those items explicitly included into your file.

  Last but not least, for Java, we need a semanticdb back end that
will provide tags out of a jar file.  Since most objects inherit from
a system library (like Object), you will need this to get the tag
list including `clone' and the like.
@end ignore

@node Writing Lexers, Writing Parsers, Language Support Overview, top
@chapter Writing Lexers
@cindex Writing Lexers

@ignore
Are we going to support semantic-flex as well as the new lexer?

Not in the doc - Eric
@end ignore

In order to reduce a source file into a tag table, it must first be
converted into a token stream.  Tokens are syntactic elements such as
whitespace, symbols, strings, lists, and punctuation.

The lexer uses the major-mode's syntax table for conversion.
@xref{Syntax Tables,,,elisp}.
As long as that is set up correctly (along with the important
@code{comment-start} and @code{comment-start-skip} variable) the lexer
should already work for your language.

The primary entry point of the lexer is the @dfn{semantic-lex} function
shown below.
Normally, you do not need to call this function.
It is usually called by @emph{semantic-fetch-tags} for you.

@anchor{semantic-lex}
@defun semantic-lex start end &optional depth length
Lexically analyze text in the current buffer between @var{START} and @var{END}.
Optional argument @var{DEPTH} indicates at what level to scan over entire
lists.  The last argument, @var{LENGTH} specifies that @dfn{semantic-lex}
should only return @var{LENGTH} tokens.  The return value is a token stream.
Each element is a list, such of the form
  (symbol start-expression .  end-expression)
where @var{SYMBOL} denotes the token type.
See @code{semantic-lex-tokens} variable for details on token types.  @var{END}
does not mark the end of the text scanned, only the end of the
beginning of text scanned.  Thus, if a string extends past @var{END}, the
end of the return token will be larger than @var{END}.  To truly restrict
scanning, use @dfn{narrow-to-region}.
@end defun

@menu
* Lexer Overview::              What is a Lexer?
* Lexer Output::                Output of a Lexical Analyzer
* Lexer Construction::          Constructing your own lexer
* Lexer Built In Analyzers::    Built in analyzers you can use
* Lexer Analyzer Construction::  Constructing your own anlyzers
* Keywords::                    Specialized lexical tokens.
* Keyword Properties::          
@end menu

@node Lexer Overview, Lexer Output, Writing Lexers, Writing Lexers
@section Lexer Overview

@semantic lexer breaks up the content of an Emacs buffer into a stream of
tokens.  This process is based mostly on regular expressions which in
turn depend on the syntax table of the buffer's major mode being setup
properly.
@xref{Major Modes,,,emacs}.
@xref{Syntax Tables,,,elisp}.
@xref{Regexps,,,emacs}.

The top level lexical function @dfn{semantic-lex}, calls the function
stored in @dfn{semantic-lex-analyzer}.  The default value is the
function @dfn{semantic-flex} from version 1.4 of Semantic.  This will
eventually be depricated.

In the default lexer, the following regular expressions which rely on syntax
tables are used:

@table @code
@item @code{\\s-}
whitespace characters
@item @code{\\sw}
word constituent
@item @code{\\s_}
symbol constituent
@item @code{\\s.}
punctuation character
@item @code{\\s<}
comment starter
@item @code{\\s>}
comment ender
@item @code{\\s\\}
escape character
@item @code{\\s)}
close parenthesis character
@item @code{\\s$}
paired delimiter
@item @code{\\s\"}
string quote
@item @code{\\s\'}
expression prefix
@end table

In addition, Emacs' built-in features such as
@code{comment-start-skip},
@code{forward-comment},
@code{forward-list},
and
@code{forward-sexp}
are employed.

@node Lexer Output, Lexer Construction, Lexer Overview, Writing Lexers
@section Lexer Output

The lexer, @ref{semantic-lex}, scans the content of a buffer and
returns a token list.
Let's illustrate this using this simple example.

@example
00: /*
01:  * Simple program to demonstrate semantic.
02:  */
03:
04: #include <stdio.h>
05:
06: int i_1;
07:
08: int
09: main(int argc, char** argv)
10: @{
11:     printf("Hello world.\n");
12: @}
@end example

Evaluating @code{(semantic-lex (point-min) (point-max))}
within the buffer with the code above returns the following token list.
The input line and string that produced each token is shown after
each semi-colon.

@example
((punctuation     52 .  53)     ; 04: #
 (INCLUDE         53 .  60)     ; 04: include
 (punctuation     61 .  62)     ; 04: <
 (symbol          62 .  67)     ; 04: stdio
 (punctuation     67 .  68)     ; 04: .
 (symbol          68 .  69)     ; 04: h
 (punctuation     69 .  70)     ; 04: >
 (INT             72 .  75)     ; 06: int
 (symbol          76 .  79)     ; 06: i_1
 (punctuation     79 .  80)     ; 06: ;
 (INT             82 .  85)     ; 08: int
 (symbol          86 .  90)     ; 08: main
 (semantic-list   90 . 113)     ; 08: (int argc, char** argv)
 (semantic-list  114 . 147)     ; 09-12: body of main function
 )
@end example

As shown above, the token list is a list of ``tokens''.
Each token in turn is a list of the form

@example
(TOKEN-TYPE BEGINNING-POSITION . ENDING-POSITION)
@end example

@noindent
where TOKEN-TYPE is a symbol, and the other two are integers indicating
the buffer position that delimit the token such that

@lisp
(buffer-substring BEGINNING-POSITION ENDING-POSITION)
@end lisp

@noindent
would return the string form of the token.

Note that one line (line 4 above) can produce seven tokens while
the whole body of the function produces a single token.
This is because the @var{depth} parameter of @code{semantic-lex} was
not specified.
Let's see the output when @var{depth} is set to 1.
Evaluate @code{(semantic-lex (point-min) (point-max) 1)} in the same buffer.
Note the third argument of @code{1}.

@example
((punctuation    52 .  53)     ; 04: #
 (INCLUDE        53 .  60)     ; 04: include
 (punctuation    61 .  62)     ; 04: <
 (symbol         62 .  67)     ; 04: stdio
 (punctuation    67 .  68)     ; 04: .
 (symbol         68 .  69)     ; 04: h
 (punctuation    69 .  70)     ; 04: >
 (INT            72 .  75)     ; 06: int
 (symbol         76 .  79)     ; 06: i_1
 (punctuation    79 .  80)     ; 06: ;
 (INT            82 .  85)     ; 08: int
 (symbol         86 .  90)     ; 08: main

 (open-paren     90 .  91)     ; 08: (
 (INT            91 .  94)     ; 08: int
 (symbol         95 .  99)     ; 08: argc
 (punctuation    99 . 100)     ; 08: ,
 (CHAR          101 . 105)     ; 08: char
 (punctuation   105 . 106)     ; 08: *
 (punctuation   106 . 107)     ; 08: *
 (symbol        108 . 112)     ; 08: argv
 (close-paren   112 . 113)     ; 08: )

 (open-paren    114 . 115)     ; 10: @{
 (symbol        120 . 126)     ; 11: printf
 (semantic-list 126 . 144)     ; 11: ("Hello world.\n")
 (punctuation   144 . 145)     ; 11: ;
 (close-paren   146 . 147)     ; 12: @}
 )
@end example

The @var{depth} parameter ``peeled away'' one more level of ``list''
delimited by matching parenthesis or braces.
The depth parameter can be specified to be any number.
However, the parser needs to be able to handle the extra tokens.

This is an interesting benefit of the lexer having the full
resources of Emacs at its disposal.
Skipping over matched parenthesis is achieved by simply calling
the built-in functions @code{forward-list} and @code{forward-sexp}.

@node Lexer Construction, Lexer Built In Analyzers, Lexer Output, Writing Lexers
@section Lexer Construction

While using the default lexer is certainly an option, particularly
for grammars written in semantic 1.4 style, it is usually more
efficient to create a custom lexer for your language.

You can create a new lexer with @dfn{define-lex}.

@defun define-lex name doc &rest analyzers
@anchor{define-lex}
Create a new lexical analyzer with @var{NAME}.
@var{DOC} is a documentation string describing this analyzer.
@var{ANALYZERS} are small code snippets of analyzers to use when
building the new @var{NAMED} analyzer.  Only use analyzers which
are written to be used in @dfn{define-lex}.
Each analyzer should be an analyzer created with @dfn{define-lex-analyzer}.
Note: The order in which analyzers are listed is important.
If two analyzers can match the same text, it is important to order the
analyzers so that the one you want to match first occurs first.  For
example, it is good to put a numbe analyzer in front of a symbol
analyzer which might mistake a number for as a symbol.
@end defun

The list of @var{analyzers}, needed here can consist of one of
several built in analyzers, or one of your own construction.  The
built in analyzers are:

@node Lexer Built In Analyzers, Lexer Analyzer Construction, Lexer Construction, Writing Lexers
@section Lexer Built In Analyzers

@defspec semantic-lex-default-action
The default action when no other lexical actions match text.
This action will just throw an error.
@end defspec

@defspec semantic-lex-beginning-of-line
Detect and create a beginning of line token (BOL).
@end defspec

@defspec semantic-lex-newline
Detect and create newline tokens.
@end defspec

@defspec semantic-lex-newline-as-whitespace
Detect and create newline tokens.
Use this ONLY if newlines are not whitespace characters (such as when
they are comment end characters) AND when you want whitespace tokens.
@end defspec

@defspec semantic-lex-ignore-newline
Detect and create newline tokens.
Use this ONLY if newlines are not whitespace characters (such as when
they are comment end characters).
@end defspec

@defspec semantic-lex-whitespace
Detect and create whitespace tokens.
@end defspec

@defspec semantic-lex-ignore-whitespace
Detect and skip over whitespace tokens.
@end defspec

@defspec semantic-lex-number
Detect and create number tokens.
Number tokens are matched via this variable:

@defvar semantic-lex-number-expression
Regular expression for matching a number.
If this value is @code{nil}, no number extraction is done during lex.
This expression tries to match C and Java like numbers.

@example
DECIMAL_LITERAL:
    [1-9][0-9]*
  ;
HEX_LITERAL:
    0[xX][0-9a-fA-F]+
  ;
OCTAL_LITERAL:
    0[0-7]*
  ;
INTEGER_LITERAL:
    <DECIMAL_LITERAL>[lL]?
  | <HEX_LITERAL>[lL]?
  | <OCTAL_LITERAL>[lL]?
  ;
EXPONENT:
    [eE][+-]?[09]+
  ;
FLOATING_POINT_LITERAL:
    [0-9]+[.][0-9]*<EXPONENT>?[fFdD]?
  | [.][0-9]+<EXPONENT>?[fFdD]?
  | [0-9]+<EXPONENT>[fFdD]?
  | [0-9]+<EXPONENT>?[fFdD]
  ;
@end example
@end defvar

@end defspec

@defspec semantic-lex-symbol-or-keyword
Detect and create symbol and keyword tokens.
@end defspec

@defspec semantic-lex-charquote
Detect and create charquote tokens.
@end defspec

@defspec semantic-lex-punctuation
Detect and create punctuation tokens.
@end defspec

@defspec semantic-lex-punctuation-type
Detect and create a punctuation type token.
Recognized punctuations are defined in the current table of lexical
types, as the value of the `punctuation' token type.
@end defspec

@defspec semantic-lex-paren-or-list
Detect open parenthesis.
Return either a paren token or a semantic list token depending on
`semantic-lex-current-depth'.
@end defspec

@defspec semantic-lex-open-paren
Detect and create an open parenthisis token.
@end defspec

@defspec semantic-lex-close-paren
Detect and create a close paren token.
@end defspec

@defspec semantic-lex-string
Detect and create a string token.
@end defspec

@defspec semantic-lex-comments
Detect and create a comment token.
@end defspec

@defspec semantic-lex-comments-as-whitespace
Detect comments and create a whitespace token.
@end defspec

@defspec semantic-lex-ignore-comments
Detect and create a comment token.
@end defspec

@node Lexer Analyzer Construction, Keywords, Lexer Built In Analyzers, Writing Lexers
@section Lexer Analyzer Construction

Each of the previous built in analyzers are constructed using a set
of analyzer construction macros.  The root construction macro is:

@defun define-lex-analyzer name doc condition &rest forms
Create a single lexical analyzer @var{NAME} with @var{DOC}.
When an analyzer is called, the current buffer and point are
positioned in a buffer at the location to be analyzed.
@var{CONDITION} is an expression which returns @code{t} if @var{FORMS} should be run.
Within the bounds of @var{CONDITION} and @var{FORMS}, the use of backquote
can be used to evaluate expressions at compile time.
While forms are running, the following variables will be locally bound:
  @code{semantic-lex-analysis-bounds} - The bounds of the current analysis.
                  of the form (@var{START} . @var{END})
  @code{semantic-lex-maximum-depth} - The maximum depth of semantic-list
                  for the current analysis.
  @code{semantic-lex-current-depth} - The current depth of @code{semantic-list} that has
                  been decended.
  @code{semantic-lex-end-point} - End Point after match.
                   Analyzers should set this to a buffer location if their
                   match string does not represent the end of the matched text.
  @code{semantic-lex-token-stream} - The token list being collected.
                   Add new lexical tokens to this list.
Proper action in @var{FORMS} is to move the value of @code{semantic-lex-end-point} to
after the location of the analyzed entry, and to add any discovered tokens
at the beginning of @code{semantic-lex-token-stream}.
This can be done by using @dfn{semantic-lex-push-token}.
@end defun

Additionally, a simple regular expression based analyzer can be built
with:

@defun define-lex-regex-analyzer name doc regexp &rest forms
Create a lexical analyzer with @var{NAME} and @var{DOC} that will match @var{REGEXP}.
@var{FORMS} are evaluated upon a successful match.
See @dfn{define-lex-analyzer} for more about analyzers.
@end defun

@defun define-lex-simple-regex-analyzer name doc regexp toksym &optional index &rest forms
Create a lexical analyzer with @var{NAME} and @var{DOC} that match @var{REGEXP}.
@var{TOKSYM} is the symbol to use when creating a semantic lexical token.
@var{INDEX} is the index into the match that defines the bounds of the token.
Index should be a plain integer, and not specified in the macro as an
expression.
@var{FORMS} are evaluated upon a successful match @var{BEFORE} the new token is
created.  It is valid to ignore @var{FORMS}.
See @dfn{define-lex-analyzer} for more about analyzers.
@end defun

Regular expression analyzers are the simplest to create and manage.
Often, a majority of your lexer can be built this way.  The analyzer
for matching punctuation looks like this:

@example
(define-lex-simple-regex-analyzer semantic-lex-punctuation
  "Detect and create punctuation tokens."
  "\\(\\s.\\|\\s$\\|\\s'\\)" 'punctuation)
@end example

More complex analyzers for matching larger units of text to optimize
the speed of parsing and analysis is done by matching blocks.

@defun define-lex-block-analyzer name doc spec1 &rest specs
Create a lexical analyzer @var{NAME} for paired delimiters blocks.
It detects a paired delimiters block or the corresponding open or
close delimiter depending on the value of the variable
@code{semantic-lex-current-depth}.  @var{DOC} is the documentation string of the lexical
analyzer.  @var{SPEC1} and @var{SPECS} specify the token symbols and open, close
delimiters used.  Each @var{SPEC} has the form:

(@var{BLOCK-SYM} (@var{OPEN-DELIM} @var{OPEN-SYM}) (@var{CLOSE-DELIM} @var{CLOSE-SYM}))

where @var{BLOCK-SYM} is the symbol returned in a block token.  @var{OPEN-DELIM}
and @var{CLOSE-DELIM} are respectively the open and close delimiters
identifying a block.  @var{OPEN-SYM} and @var{CLOSE-SYM} are respectively the
symbols returned in open and close tokens.
@end defun

These blocks is what makes the speed of semantic's Emacs Lisp based
parsers fast.  For exmaple, by defining all text inside @{ braces @} as
a block the parser does not need to know the contents of those braces
while parsing, and can skip them all together.

@node Keywords, Keyword Properties, Lexer Analyzer Construction, Writing Lexers
@section Keywords

Another important piece of the lexer is the keyword table (see
@ref{Writing Parsers}).  You language will want to set up a keyword table for
fast conversion of symbol strings to language terminals.

The keywords table can also be used to store additional information
about those keywords.  The following programming functions can be useful
when examining text in a language buffer.

@defun semantic-lex-keyword-p name
Return non-@code{nil} if a keyword with @var{NAME} exists in the keyword table.
Return @code{nil} otherwise.
@end defun

@defun semantic-lex-keyword-put name property value
For keyword with @var{NAME}, set its @var{PROPERTY} to @var{VALUE}.
@end defun

@defun semantic-lex-keyword-get name property
For keyword with @var{NAME}, return its @var{PROPERTY} value.
@end defun

@defun semantic-lex-map-keywords fun &optional property
Call function @var{FUN} on every semantic keyword.
If optional @var{PROPERTY} is non-@code{nil}, call @var{FUN} only on every keyword which
as a @var{PROPERTY} value.  @var{FUN} receives a semantic keyword as argument.
@end defun

@defun semantic-lex-keywords &optional property
Return a list of semantic keywords.
If optional @var{PROPERTY} is non-@code{nil}, return only keywords which have a
@var{PROPERTY} set.
@end defun

Keyword properties can be set up in a grammar file for ease of maintenance.
While examining the text in a language buffer, this can provide an easy
and quick way of storing details about text in the buffer.

@node Keyword Properties,  , Keywords, Writing Lexers
@section Standard Keyword Properties

Keywords in a language can have multiple properties.  These
properties can be used to associate the string that is the keyword
with additional information.

Currently available properties are:

@table @b
@item summary
The summary property is used by semantic-summary-mode as a help
string for the keyword specified.
@end table

Notes:

Possible future properties.  This is just me musing:

@table @b
@item face
Face used for highlighting this keyword, differentiating it from the
keyword face.
@item template
@itemx skeleton
Some sort of tempo/skel template for inserting the programatic
structure associated with this keyword.
@item abbrev
As with template.
@item action
@itemx menu
Perhaps the keyword is clickable and some action would be useful.
@end table


@node Writing Parsers, Parsing a language file, Writing Lexers, top
@chapter Writing Parsers
@cindex Writing Parsers

@ignore
For the parser developer, I can think of two extra sections.  One for
semanticdb extensions,  (If a system database is needed.)  A second
for the `semantic-ctxt' extensions.  Many of the most interesting
tools will completely fail to work without local context parsing
support.

Perhaps even a section on foreign tokens.  For example, putting a
Java token into a C++ file could auto-gen a native method, just as
putting a token into a Texinfo file converts it into documentation.

In addition, in the "writing grammars" section should have
subsections as listed in the examples of the overview section.  It
might be useful to have a fourth section describing the similarities
between the two file types (by and wy) and how to use the grammar
mode.  (I'm not sure if that should be covered elsewhere.)
@end ignore

When converting a source file into a tag table it is important to
specify rules to accomplish this.  The rules are stored in the buffer
local variable @code{semantic--buffer-cache}.

While it is certainly possible to write this table yourself, it is
most likely you will want to use the @ref{Grammar Programming
Environment}.

There are three choices for parsing your language.

@table @b
@item Bovine Parser
The @dfn{bovine} parser is the original @semantic{} parser, and is an
implementation of an @acronym{LL} parser.  For more information,
@inforef{top, the Bovine Parser Manual, bovine}.

@item Wisent Parser
The @dfn{wisent} parser is a port of the GNU Compiler Compiler Bison
to Emacs Lisp.  Wisent includes the iterative error handler of the
bovine parser, and has the same error correction as traditional
@acronym{LALR} parsers.  For more information,
@inforef{top, the Wisent Parser Manual, wisent}.

@item External Parser
External parsers, such as the texinfo parser can be implemented using
any means.  This allows the use of a regular expression parser for
non-regular languages, or external programs for speed.
@end table

@menu
* External Parsers::            Writing an external parser
* Grammar Programming Environment::  Using the grammar writing environemt
* Parser Backend Support::             Lisp needed to support a grammar.
@end menu

@node External Parsers, Grammar Programming Environment, Writing Parsers, Writing Parsers
@section External Parsers

The texinfo parser in @file{semantic-texi.el} is an example of an
external parser.  To make your parser work, you need to have a setup
function.

Note: Finish this.

@node Grammar Programming Environment, Parser Backend Support, External Parsers, Writing Parsers
@section Grammar Programming Environment

Semantic grammar files in @file{.by} or @file{.wy} format have their
own programming mode.  This mode provides indentation and coloring
services in those languages.  In addition, the grammar languages are
also supported by @semantic so tagging information is available to
tools such as imenu or speedbar.

For more information,
@inforef{top, the Grammar Framework Manual, grammar-fw}.

@node Parsing a language file, Debugging, Writing Parsers, top
@chapter Parsing a language file

The best way to call the parser from programs is via
@code{semantic-fetch-tags}.  This, in turn, uses other internal
@acronym{API} functions which plug-in parsers can take advantage of.

@defun semantic-fetch-tags
@anchor{semantic-fetch-tags}
Fetch semantic tags from the current buffer.
If the buffer cache is up to date, return that.
If the buffer cache is out of date, attempt an incremental reparse.
If the buffer has not been parsed before, or if the incremental reparse
fails, then parse the entire buffer.
If a lexcial error had been previously discovered and the buffer
was marked unparseable, then do nothing, and return the cache.
@end defun

Another approach is to let Emacs call the parser on idle time, when
needed, then use @code{semantic-fetch-available-tags} to retrieve and
process only the available tags, provided that the
@code{semantic-after-*-hook} hooks have been setup to synchronize with
new tags when they become available.

@defun semantic-fetch-available-tags
@anchor{semantic-fetch-available-tags}
Fetch available semantic tags from the current buffer.
That is, return tags currently in the cache without parsing the
current buffer.

Parse operations happen asynchronously when needed on Emacs idle time.
Use the @code{semantic-after-toplevel-cache-change-hook} and
@code{semantic-after-partial-cache-change-hook} hooks to synchronize with
new tags when they become available.
@end defun

@deffn Command semantic-clear-toplevel-cache
@anchor{semantic-clear-toplevel-cache}
Clear the toplevel tag cache for the current buffer.
Clearing the cache will force a complete reparse next time a token
stream is requested.
@end deffn

@node Parser Backend Support,  , Grammar Programming Environment, Writing Parsers
@section Parser Backend Support

Once you have written a grammar file that has been compiled into
Emacs Lisp code, additional glue needs to be written to finish
connecting the generated parser into the Emacs framework.

Large portions of this glue is automatically generated, but will
probably need additional modification to get things to work properly.

Typically, a grammar file @file{foo.wy} will create the file
@file{foo-wy.el}.  It is then useful to also create a file
@file{wisent-foo.el} (or @file{sematnic-foo.el}) to contain the parser
back end, or the glue that completes the semantic support for the
language.

@menu
* Example Backend File::
* Tag Expansion::
@end menu

@node Example Backend File, Tag Expansion, Parser Backend Support, Parser Backend Support
@subsection Example Backend File

Typical structure for this file is:

@example
;;; semantic-foo.el -- parser support for FOO.

;;; Your copyright Notice

(require 'foo-wy.el)  ;; The parser
(require 'foo) ;; major mode definition for FOO

;;; Code:

;;; Lexical Analyzer
;;
;; OPTIONAL
;; It is possible to define your lexical analyzer completely in your
;; grammar file.

(define-lex foo-lexical-analyzer
  "Create a lexical analyzer."
  ...)

;;; Expand Function
;;
;; OPTIONAL
;; Not all langauges are so complex as to need this function.
;; See `semantic-tag-expand-function' for more details.
(defun foo-tag-expand-function (tag)
  "Expand TAG into multiple tags if needed."
  ...)

;;; Parser Support
;;
;; OPTIONAL
;; If you need some specialty routines inside your grammar file
;; you can add some here.   The process may be to take diverse info
;; and reorganize it.
;;
;; It is also appropriate to write these functions in the prologue
;; of the grammar function.
(defun foo-do-something-hard (...)
  "...")

;;; Overload methods
;;
;; OPTIONAL
;; To allow your langauge to be fully supported by all the
;; applications that use semantic, it is important, but not necessary
;; to create implementations of overload methods.
(define-mode-overload-implementation some-semantic-function foo-mode (tag)
  "Implement some-semantic-function for FOO."
  )

;;;###autoload
(defun semantic-default-foo-setup ()
  "Set up a buffer for semantic parsing of the FOO language."
  (semantic-foo-by--install-parser)
  (setq semantic-tag-expand-function foo-tag-expand-function
        ;; Many other language specific settings can be done here
        ;; as well.
        )
  ;; This may be optional
  (setq semantic-lex-analyzer #'foo-lexical-analyzer)
  )

;;;###autoload
(add-hook 'foo-mode-hook 'semantic-default-foo-setup)

(provide 'semantic-c)

;;; semantic-foo.el ends here
@end example

@node Tag Expansion,  , Example Backend File, Parser Backend Support
@subsection Tag Expansion

In any language with compound tag types, you will need to implement
an @emph{expand function}.  Once written, assign it to this variable.

@defvar semantic-tag-expand-function
@anchor{semantic-tag-expand-function}
Function used to expand a tag.
It is passed each tag production, and must return a list of tags
derived from it, or @code{nil} if it does not need to be expanded.

Languages with compound definitions should use this function to expand
from one compound symbol into several.  For example, in @var{C} or Java the
following definition is easily parsed into one tag:

  int a, b;

This function should take this compound tag and turn it into two tags,
one for @var{A}, and the other for @var{B}.
@end defvar

Additionally, you can use the expand function in conjuntion with your
language for other types of compound statements.  For example, in
Common Lisp Object System, you can have a definition:

@example
(defclass classname nil
  (slots ...) ...)
@end example

This will create both the datatype @code{classname} and the functional
constructor @code{classname}.  Each slot may have a @code{:accessor}
method as well.

You can create a special compounded tag in your rule, for example:

@example
classdef: LPAREN DEFCLASS name semantic-list semantic-list RPAREN
          (TAG "custom" 'compound-class
               :value (list
                        (TYPE-TAG $3 "class" ...)
                        (FUNCTION-TAG $3 ...)
                        ))
        ;
@end example

and in your expand function, you would write:

@example
(defun my-tag-expand (tag)
  "Expand tags for my langauge."
  (when (semantic-tag-of-class-p tag 'compound-class)
     (remq nil
        (semantic-tag-get-attribute tag :value))))
@end example

This will cause the custom tag to be replaced by the tags created in
the :value attribute of the specially constructed tag.

@node Debugging, Parser Error Handling, Parsing a language file, top
@chapter Debugging

Grammars can be tricky things to debug.  There are several types of
tools for debugging in Semantic, and the type of problem you have
requires different types of tools.

@menu
* Lexical Debugging::           
* Parser Output tools::         
* Bovine Parser Debugging::     
* Wisent Parser Debugging::     
* Overlay Debugging::           
* Incremental Parser Debugging::  
* Debugging Analysis::          
* Semantic 1.4 Doc::            
@end menu

@node Lexical Debugging, Parser Output tools, Debugging, Debugging
@section Lexical Debugging

The first major problem you may encounter is with lexical analysis.
If the text is not transformed into the expected token stream, no
parser will understand it.

You can step through the lexical analyzer with the following command:

@deffn Command semantic-lex-debug arg
@anchor{semantic-lex-debug}
Debug the semantic lexer in the current buffer.
Argument @var{ARG} specifies of the analyze the whole buffer, or start at point.
While engaged, each token identified by the lexer will be highlighted
in the target buffer   @var{A} description of the current token will be
displayed in the minibuffer.  Press @kbd{SPC} to move to the next lexical token.
@end deffn

For an example of what the output of the @code{semantic-lex} function
should return, see @ref{Lexer Output}.

@node Parser Output tools, Bovine Parser Debugging, Lexical Debugging, Debugging
@section Parser Output tools

There are several tools which can be used to see what the parser
output is.  These will work for any type of parser, including the
Bovine parser, Wisent parser.

The first and easiest is a minor mode which highlights text the
parser did not understand.

@deffn Command semantic-show-unmatched-syntax-mode &optional arg
@anchor{semantic-show-unmatched-syntax-mode}
Minor mode to highlight unmatched lexical syntax tokens.
When a parser executes, some elements in the buffer may not match any
parser rules.  These text characters are considered unmatched syntax.
Often time, the display of unmatched syntax can expose coding
problems before the compiler is run.

With prefix argument @var{ARG}, turn on if positive, otherwise off.  The
minor mode can be turned on only if semantic feature is available and
the current buffer was set up for parsing.  Return non-@code{nil} if the
minor mode is enabled.

@table @kbd
@item key
binding
@item C-c ,
Prefix Command
@item C-c , `
semantic-show-unmatched-syntax-next
@end table
@end deffn

Another interesting mode will display a line between all the tags in
the current buffer to make it more obvious where boundaries lie.  You
can enable this as a minor mode.

@deffn Command semantic-show-tag-boundaries-mode &optional arg
@anchor{semantic-show-tag-boundaries-mode}
Minor mode to display a boundary in front of tags.
The boundary is displayed using an overline in Emacs @var{21}.
With prefix argument @var{ARG}, turn on if positive, otherwise off.  The
minor mode can be turned on only if semantic feature is available and
the current buffer was set up for parsing.  Return non-@code{nil} if the
minor mode is enabled.
@end deffn

Another interesting mode helps if you are worred about specific
attributes, you can se this minor mode to highlight different tokens
in different ways based on the attributes you are most concerned with.

@deffn Command semantic-highlight-by-attribute-mode &optional arg
@anchor{semantic-highlight-by-attribute-mode}
Minor mode to highlight tags based on some attribute.
By default, the protection of a tag will give it a different
background color.

With prefix argument @var{ARG}, turn on if positive, otherwise off.  The
minor mode can be turned on only if semantic feature is available and
the current buffer was set up for parsing.  Return non-@code{nil} if the
minor mode is enabled.
@end deffn

Another tool that can be used is a dump of the current list of tags.
This shows the actual Lisp representation of the tags generated in a
rather bland dump.  This can be useful if text was successfully
parsed, and you want to be sure that the correct information was
captured.

@deffn Command bovinate &optional clear
@anchor{bovinate}
Bovinate the current buffer.  Show output in a temp buffer.
Optional argument @var{CLEAR} will clear the cache before bovinating.
If @var{CLEAR} is negative, it will do a full reparse, and also not display
the output buffer.
@end deffn

@node Bovine Parser Debugging, Wisent Parser Debugging, Parser Output tools, Debugging
@section Bovine Parser Debugging

The bovine parser is described in @inforef{top, ,bovine}.

Asside using a traditional Emacs Lisp debugger on functions you
provide for token expansion, there is one other means of debugging
which interactively steps over the rules in your grammar file.

@deffn Command semantic-debug
@anchor{semantic-debug}
Parse the current buffer and run in debug mode.
@end deffn

Once the parser is activated in this mode, the current tag cache is
flushed, and the parser started.  At each stage in the LALR parser,
the current rule, and match step is highlighted in your parser source
buffer.  In a second window, the text being parsed is shown, and the
lexical token found is highlighted.  A clue of the current stack of
saved data is displayed in the minibuffer.

There is a wide range of keybindings that can be used to execute code
in your buffer.  (Not all are implemented.)

@table @kbd
@item n
@itemx SPC
Next.
@item s
Step.
@item u
Up.  (Not implemented yet.)
@item d
Down.  (Not implemented yet.)
@item f
Fail Match.  Pretend the current match element and the token in the
buffer is a failed match, even if it is not.
@item h
Print information about the current parser state.
@item s
Jump to to the source buffer.
@item p
Jump to the parser buffer.
@item q
Quit.  Exits this debug session and the parser.
@item a
Abort.  Aborts one level of the parser, possibly exiting the debugger.
@item g
Go.  Stop debugging, and just start parsing.
@item b
Set Breakpoint.  (Not implemented yet.)
@item e
@code{eval-expression}.  Lets you execute some random Emacs Lisp command.
@end table

@b{Note:} While the core of @code{semantic-debug} is a generic
debugger interface for rule based grammars, only the bovine parser has
a specific backend implementation.  If someone wants to implement a
debugger backend for wisent, that would be spiff.

@node Wisent Parser Debugging, Overlay Debugging, Bovine Parser Debugging, Debugging
@section Wisent Parser Debugging

Wisent does not implement a backend for @code{semantic-debug}, it
does have some debugging commands the rule actions.  You can read
about them in the wisent manual.

@inforef{Grammar Debugging, , wisent}

@node Overlay Debugging, Incremental Parser Debugging, Wisent Parser Debugging, Debugging
@section Overlay Debugging

Once a buffer has been parsed into a tag table, the next most
important step is getting those tags activated for a buffer, and
storable in a @code{semanticdb} backend.
@inforef{semanticdb, , semantic-appdev}.

These two activities depend on the ability of every tag in the table
to be linked and unlinked to the current buffer with an overlay.
@inforef{semantic-appdev, , Tag Overlay}
@inforef{semantic-appdev, , Tag Hooks}

In this case, the most important function that must be written is:

@defun semantic-tag-components-with-overlays tag
@anchor{semantic-tag-components-with-overlays}
Return the list of top level components belonging to @var{TAG}.
Children are any sub-tags which contain overlays.

Default behavior is to get @dfn{semantic-tag-components} in addition
to the components of an anonymous types (if applicable.)

Note for language authors:
  If a mode defines a language tag that has tags in it with overlays
you should still return them with this function.
Ignoring this step will prevent several features from working correctly.
This function can be overriden in semantic using the
symbol @code{tag-components-with-overlays}.
@end defun

If your are successfully building a tag table, and errors occur
saving or restoring tags from semanticdb, this is the most likely
cause of the problem.

@node Incremental Parser Debugging, Debugging Analysis, Overlay Debugging, Debugging
@section Incremental Parser Debugging

The incremental parser is a highly complex engine for quickly
refreshing the tag table of a buffer after some set of changes have
been made to that buffer by a user.

There is no debugger or interface to the incremental parser, however
there are a few minor modes which can help you identify issues if you
think there are problems while incrementally parsing a buffer.

The first stage of the incremental parser is in tracking the changes
the user makes to a buffer.  You can visibly track these changes too.

@deffn Command semantic-highlight-edits-mode &optional arg
@anchor{semantic-highlight-edits-mode}
Minor mode for highlighting changes made in a buffer.
Changes are tracked by semantic so that the incremental parser can work
properly.
This mode will highlight those changes as they are made, and clear them
when the incremental parser accounts for those edits.
With prefix argument @var{ARG}, turn on if positive, otherwise off.  The
minor mode can be turned on only if semantic feature is available and
the current buffer was set up for parsing.  Return non-@code{nil} if the
minor mode is enabled.
@end deffn

Another important aspect of the incremental parser involves tracking
the current parser state of the buffer.  You can track this state
also.

@deffn Command semantic-show-parser-state-mode &optional arg
@anchor{semantic-show-parser-state-mode}
Minor mode for displaying parser cache state in the modeline.
The cache can be in one of three states.  They are
Up to date, Partial reprase needed, and Full reparse needed.
The state is indicated in the modeline with the following characters:
@table @kbd
@item -
The cache is up to date.
@item !
The cache requires a full update.
@item ^
The cache needs to be incrementally parsed.
@item %
The cache is not currently parseable.
@item @@
Auto-parse in progress (not set here.)
@end table

With prefix argument @var{ARG}, turn on if positive, otherwise off.  The
minor mode can be turned on only if semantic feature is available and
the current buffer was set up for parsing.  Return non-@code{nil} if the
minor mode is enabled.
@end deffn

When the incremental parser starts updating the tags buffer, you can
also enable a set of messages to help identify how the incremental
parser is merging changes with the main buffer.

@defvar semantic-edits-verbose-flag
@anchor{semantic-edits-verbose-flag}
Non-@code{nil} means the incremental perser is verbose.
If @code{nil}, errors are still displayed, but informative messages are not.
@end defvar

@node Debugging Analysis, Semantic 1.4 Doc, Incremental Parser Debugging, Debugging
@section Debugging Analysis

The semantic analyzer is a at the top of the food chain when it comes
to @semantic{} service functionality.  The semantic support for a
language must be absolute before analysis will work property.

A good way to test analysis is by placing the cursor in different
places, and requesting a dump of the context.

@deffn Command semantic-analyze-current-context position
@anchor{semantic-analyze-current-context}
Analyze the current context at @var{POSITION}.
If called interactively, display interesting information about @var{POSITION}
in a separate buffer.
Returns an object based on symbol @dfn{semantic-analyze-context}.
@end deffn

@ref{Semantic Analyzer Support}
@inforef{Analyzer, , semantic-user}

@node Semantic 1.4 Doc,  , Debugging Analysis, Debugging
@section Semantic 1.4 Doc

@i{
In semantic 1.4 the following documentation was written for debugging.
I'm leaving in here until better doc for 2.0 is done.
}

Writing language files using BY is significantly easier than writing
then using regular expressions in a functional manner.  Debugging
them, however, can still prove challenging.

There are two ways to debug a language definition if it is not
behaving as expected.  One way is to debug against the source @file{.by}
file.

If your language definition was written in BNF notation, debugging is
quite easy.  The command @code{semantic-debug} will start you off.

@deffn Command semantic-debug
Reprase the current buffer and run in parser debug mode.
@end deffn

While debugging, two windows are visible.  One window shows the file
being parsed, and the syntactic token being tested is highlighted.
The second window shows the table being used (in the BY source) with
the current rule highlighted.  The cursor will sit on the specific
match rule being tested against.

In the minibuffer, a brief summary of the current situation is
listed.  The first element is the syntactic token which is a list of
the form:

@example
(TYPE START . END)
@end example

The rest of the display is a list of all strings collected for the
currently tested rule.  Each time a new rule is entered, the list is
restarted.  Upon returning from a rule into a previous match list, the
previous match list is restored, with the production of the dependent
rule in the list.

Use @kbd{C-g} to stop debugging.  There are no commands for any
fancier types of debugging.

NOTE: Semantic 2.0 has more debugging commands.  Use:
@kbd{C-h m semantic-debug-mode} to view.

@node Parser Error Handling, GNU Free Documentation License, Debugging, top
@chapter Parser Error Handling
@cindex Parser Error Handling

NOTE: Write Me

@node GNU Free Documentation License, Index, Parser Error Handling, top
@appendix GNU Free Documentation License

@include fdl.texi

@node Index,  , GNU Free Documentation License, top
@unnumbered Index
@printindex cp

@iftex
@contents
@summarycontents
@end iftex

@bye

@c Following comments are for the benefit of ispell.
