pt_peg_export_json(3)



pt::peg::export::json(3tcl)      Parser Tools      pt::peg::export::json(3tcl)

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NAME
       pt::peg::export::json - PEG Export Plugin. Write JSON format

SYNOPSIS
       package require Tcl  8.5

       package require pt::peg::export::json  ?1?

       package require pt::peg::to::json

       export serial configuration

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DESCRIPTION
       Are  you  lost ?  Do you have trouble understanding this document ?  In
       that case please read the overview  provided  by  the  Introduction  to
       Parser  Tools.  This document is the entrypoint to the whole system the
       current package is a part of.

       This package implements the parsing expression  grammar  export  plugin
       for the generation of JSON markup.

       It  resides in the Export section of the Core Layer of Parser Tools and
       is intended to be used by pt::peg::export, the export manager,  sitting
       between it and the corresponding core conversion functionality provided
       by pt::peg::to::json.

       IMAGE: arch_core_eplugins

       While the direct use of this package with a regular interpreter is pos-
       sible, this is strongly disrecommended and requires a number of contor-
       tions to provide the expected environment.  The proper way to use  this
       functionality depends on the situation:

       [1]    In  an  untrusted  environment  the proper access is through the
              package pt::peg::export and the export manager objects  it  pro-
              vides.

       [2]    In   a  trusted  environment  however  simply  use  the  package
              pt::peg::to::json and access the core  conversion  functionality
              directly.

API
       The  API  provided  by  this package satisfies the specification of the
       Plugin API found in the Parser Tools Export API specification.

       export serial configuration
              This command takes the canonical serialization of a parsing  ex-
              pression grammar, as specified in section PEG serialization for-
              mat, and contained in serial, the configuration,  a  dictionary,
              and  generates  JSON  markup  encoding the grammar.  The created
              string is then returned as the result of the command.

CONFIGURATION
       The JSON export plugin recognizes the following configuration variables
       and changes its behaviour as they specify.

       boolean indented
              If  this  flag  is  set the plugin will break the generated JSON
              code across lines and indent it according to  its  inner  struc-
              ture, with each key of a dictionary on a separate line.

              If  this  flag  is  not set (the default), the whole JSON object
              will be written on a single line, with minimum  spacing  between
              all elements.

       boolean aligned
              If  this  flag  is set the generator ensures that the values for
              the keys in a dictionary are vertically aligned with each other,
              for  a  nice  table  effect. To make this work this also implies
              that indented is set.

              If this flag is not set (the default), the output  is  formatted
              as per the value of indented, without trying to align the values
              for dictionary keys.

       Note that this plugin  ignores  the  standard  configuration  variables
       user, format, file, and name, and their values.

JSON GRAMMAR EXCHANGE FORMAT
       The  json  format for parsing expression grammars was written as a data
       exchange format not bound to Tcl. It was defined to allow the  exchange
       of  grammars  with  PackRat/PEG  based parser generators for other lan-
       guages.

       It is formally specified by the rules below:

       [1]    The JSON of any PEG is a JSON object.

       [2]    This object holds a single key, pt::grammar::peg, and its value.
              This value holds the contents of the grammar.

       [3]    The contents of the grammar are a JSON object holding the set of
              nonterminal symbols and the starting  expression.  The  relevant
              keys and their values are

              rules  The  value  is  a JSON object whose keys are the names of
                     the nonterminal symbols known to the grammar.

                     [1]    Each nonterminal symbol may occur only once.

                     [2]    The empty string is not a legal  nonterminal  sym-
                            bol.

                     [3]    The value for each symbol is a JSON object itself.
                            The relevant keys and their values in this dictio-
                            nary are

                            is     The  value is a JSON string holding the Tcl
                                   serialization of the parsing expression de-
                                   scribing  the symbols sentennial structure,
                                   as specified in the section  PE  serializa-
                                   tion format.

                            mode   The  value is a JSON holding holding one of
                                   three values specifying how a parser should
                                   handle  the  semantic value produced by the
                                   symbol.

                                   value  The semantic value of the  nontermi-
                                          nal  symbol  is  an  abstract syntax
                                          tree consisting  of  a  single  node
                                          node  for  the  nonterminal  itself,
                                          which has the ASTs of  the  symbol's
                                          right hand side as its children.

                                   leaf   The  semantic value of the nontermi-
                                          nal symbol  is  an  abstract  syntax
                                          tree  consisting  of  a  single node
                                          node for  the  nonterminal,  without
                                          any  children. Any ASTs generated by
                                          the symbol's  right  hand  side  are
                                          discarded.

                                   void   The   nonterminal  has  no  semantic
                                          value. Any  ASTs  generated  by  the
                                          symbol's  right  hand  side are dis-
                                          carded (as well).

              start  The value is a JSON string holding the Tcl  serialization
                     of the start parsing expression of the grammar, as speci-
                     fied in the section PE serialization format.

       [4]    The terminal symbols of the grammar are specified implicitly  as
              the set of all terminal symbols used in the start expression and
              on the RHS of the grammar rules.

       As an aside to the advanced reader, this is pretty much the same as the
       Tcl  serialization  of PE grammars, as specified in section PEG serial-
       ization format, except that the Tcl dictionaries and lists of that for-
       mat are mapped to JSON objects and arrays. Only the parsing expressions
       themselves are not translated further, but kept as  JSON  strings  con-
       taining  a  nested  Tcl list, and there is no concept of canonicity for
       the JSON either.

   EXAMPLE
       Assuming the following PEG for simple mathematical expressions

              PEG calculator (Expression)
                  Digit      <- '0'/'1'/'2'/'3'/'4'/'5'/'6'/'7'/'8'/'9'       ;
                  Sign       <- '-' / '+'                                     ;
                  Number     <- Sign? Digit+                                  ;
                  Expression <- Term (AddOp Term)*                            ;
                  MulOp      <- '*' / '/'                                     ;
                  Term       <- Factor (MulOp Factor)*                        ;
                  AddOp      <- '+'/'-'                                       ;
                  Factor     <- '(' Expression ')' / Number                   ;
              END;

       a JSON serialization for it is

              {
                  "pt::grammar::peg" : {
                      "rules" : {
                          "AddOp"     : {
                              "is"   : "\/ {t -} {t +}",
                              "mode" : "value"
                          },
                          "Digit"     : {
                              "is"   : "\/ {t 0} {t 1} {t 2} {t 3} {t 4} {t 5} {t 6} {t 7} {t 8} {t 9}",
                              "mode" : "value"
                          },
                          "Expression" : {
                              "is"   : "\/ {x {t (} {n Expression} {t )}} {x {n Factor} {* {x {n MulOp} {n Factor}}}}",
                              "mode" : "value"
                          },
                          "Factor"    : {
                              "is"   : "x {n Term} {* {x {n AddOp} {n Term}}}",
                              "mode" : "value"
                          },
                          "MulOp"     : {
                              "is"   : "\/ {t *} {t \/}",
                              "mode" : "value"
                          },
                          "Number"    : {
                              "is"   : "x {? {n Sign}} {+ {n Digit}}",
                              "mode" : "value"
                          },
                          "Sign"      : {
                              "is"   : "\/ {t -} {t +}",
                              "mode" : "value"
                          },
                          "Term"      : {
                              "is"   : "n Number",
                              "mode" : "value"
                          }
                      },
                      "start" : "n Expression"
                  }
              }

       and a Tcl serialization of the same is

              pt::grammar::peg {
                  rules {
                      AddOp      {is {/ {t -} {t +}}                                                                mode value}
                      Digit      {is {/ {t 0} {t 1} {t 2} {t 3} {t 4} {t 5} {t 6} {t 7} {t 8} {t 9}}                mode value}
                      Expression {is {x {n Term} {* {x {n AddOp} {n Term}}}}                                        mode value}
                      Factor     {is {/ {x {t (} {n Expression} {t )}} {n Number}}                                  mode value}
                      MulOp      {is {/ {t *} {t /}}                                                                mode value}
                      Number     {is {x {? {n Sign}} {+ {n Digit}}}                                                 mode value}
                      Sign       {is {/ {t -} {t +}}                                                                mode value}
                      Term       {is {x {n Factor} {* {x {n MulOp} {n Factor}}}}                                    mode value}
                  }
                  start {n Expression}
              }

       The similarity of the latter to the JSON should be quite obvious.

PEG SERIALIZATION FORMAT
       Here we specify the format used by the Parser Tools to serialize  Pars-
       ing  Expression Grammars as immutable values for transport, comparison,
       etc.

       We distinguish between regular and canonical serializations.   While  a
       PEG  may  have  more than one regular serialization only exactly one of
       them will be canonical.

       regular serialization

              [1]    The serialization of any PEG is a nested Tcl dictionary.

              [2]    This dictionary holds a single key, pt::grammar::peg, and
                     its value. This value holds the contents of the grammar.

              [3]    The  contents of the grammar are a Tcl dictionary holding
                     the set of nonterminal symbols and the  starting  expres-
                     sion. The relevant keys and their values are

                     rules  The  value  is a Tcl dictionary whose keys are the
                            names of the  nonterminal  symbols  known  to  the
                            grammar.

                            [1]    Each  nonterminal  symbol  may  occur  only
                                   once.

                            [2]    The empty string is not a legal nonterminal
                                   symbol.

                            [3]    The  value for each symbol is a Tcl dictio-
                                   nary itself. The relevant  keys  and  their
                                   values in this dictionary are

                                   is     The  value  is  the serialization of
                                          the  parsing  expression  describing
                                          the symbols sentennial structure, as
                                          specified in the section PE  serial-
                                          ization format.

                                   mode   The value can be one of three values
                                          specifying how a parser should  han-
                                          dle  the  semantic value produced by
                                          the symbol.

                                          value  The  semantic  value  of  the
                                                 nonterminal  symbol is an ab-
                                                 stract syntax tree consisting
                                                 of a single node node for the
                                                 nonterminal itself, which has
                                                 the   ASTs  of  the  symbol's
                                                 right hand side as its  chil-
                                                 dren.

                                          leaf   The  semantic  value  of  the
                                                 nonterminal symbol is an  ab-
                                                 stract syntax tree consisting
                                                 of a single node node for the
                                                 nonterminal,    without   any
                                                 children. Any ASTs  generated
                                                 by  the  symbol's  right hand
                                                 side are discarded.

                                          void   The nonterminal has no seman-
                                                 tic value. Any ASTs generated
                                                 by the  symbol's  right  hand
                                                 side are discarded (as well).

                     start  The  value is the serialization of the start pars-
                            ing expression of the grammar, as specified in the
                            section PE serialization format.

              [4]    The terminal symbols of the grammar are specified implic-
                     itly as the set of all terminal symbols used in the start
                     expression and on the RHS of the grammar rules.

       canonical serialization
              The canonical serialization of a grammar has the format as spec-
              ified in the previous item, and then additionally satisfies  the
              constraints  below,  which make it unique among all the possible
              serializations of this grammar.

              [1]    The keys found in all the  nested  Tcl  dictionaries  are
                     sorted  in  ascending  dictionary  order, as generated by
                     Tcl's builtin command lsort -increasing -dict.

              [2]    The string representation of the value is  the  canonical
                     representation of a Tcl dictionary. I.e. it does not con-
                     tain superfluous whitespace.

   EXAMPLE
       Assuming the following PEG for simple mathematical expressions

              PEG calculator (Expression)
                  Digit      <- '0'/'1'/'2'/'3'/'4'/'5'/'6'/'7'/'8'/'9'       ;
                  Sign       <- '-' / '+'                                     ;
                  Number     <- Sign? Digit+                                  ;
                  Expression <- Term (AddOp Term)*                            ;
                  MulOp      <- '*' / '/'                                     ;
                  Term       <- Factor (MulOp Factor)*                        ;
                  AddOp      <- '+'/'-'                                       ;
                  Factor     <- '(' Expression ')' / Number                   ;
              END;

       then its canonical serialization (except for whitespace) is

              pt::grammar::peg {
                  rules {
                      AddOp      {is {/ {t -} {t +}}                                                                mode value}
                      Digit      {is {/ {t 0} {t 1} {t 2} {t 3} {t 4} {t 5} {t 6} {t 7} {t 8} {t 9}}                mode value}
                      Expression {is {x {n Term} {* {x {n AddOp} {n Term}}}}                                        mode value}
                      Factor     {is {/ {x {t (} {n Expression} {t )}} {n Number}}                                  mode value}
                      MulOp      {is {/ {t *} {t /}}                                                                mode value}
                      Number     {is {x {? {n Sign}} {+ {n Digit}}}                                                 mode value}
                      Sign       {is {/ {t -} {t +}}                                                                mode value}
                      Term       {is {x {n Factor} {* {x {n MulOp} {n Factor}}}}                                    mode value}
                  }
                  start {n Expression}
              }

PE SERIALIZATION FORMAT
       Here we specify the format used by the Parser Tools to serialize  Pars-
       ing Expressions as immutable values for transport, comparison, etc.

       We  distinguish  between regular and canonical serializations.  While a
       parsing expression may have more than one  regular  serialization  only
       exactly one of them will be canonical.

       Regular serialization

              Atomic Parsing Expressions

                     [1]    The  string  epsilon  is an atomic parsing expres-
                            sion. It matches the empty string.

                     [2]    The string dot is an atomic parsing expression. It
                            matches any character.

                     [3]    The  string alnum is an atomic parsing expression.
                            It matches any Unicode alphabet or  digit  charac-
                            ter.  This  is  a custom extension of PEs based on
                            Tcl's builtin command string is.

                     [4]    The string alpha is an atomic parsing  expression.
                            It matches any Unicode alphabet character. This is
                            a custom extension of PEs based on  Tcl's  builtin
                            command string is.

                     [5]    The  string ascii is an atomic parsing expression.
                            It matches any Unicode character below U0080. This
                            is  a  custom  extension  of  PEs  based  on Tcl's
                            builtin command string is.

                     [6]    The string control is an  atomic  parsing  expres-
                            sion.  It  matches  any Unicode control character.
                            This is a custom extension of PEs based  on  Tcl's
                            builtin command string is.

                     [7]    The  string digit is an atomic parsing expression.
                            It matches any Unicode digit character. Note  that
                            this  includes  characters  outside  of the [0..9]
                            range. This is a custom extension of PEs based  on
                            Tcl's builtin command string is.

                     [8]    The  string graph is an atomic parsing expression.
                            It matches any Unicode printing character,  except
                            for space. This is a custom extension of PEs based
                            on Tcl's builtin command string is.

                     [9]    The string lower is an atomic parsing  expression.
                            It matches any Unicode lower-case alphabet charac-
                            ter. This is a custom extension of  PEs  based  on
                            Tcl's builtin command string is.

                     [10]   The  string print is an atomic parsing expression.
                            It matches any Unicode printing character, includ-
                            ing space. This is a custom extension of PEs based
                            on Tcl's builtin command string is.

                     [11]   The string punct is an atomic parsing  expression.
                            It matches any Unicode punctuation character. This
                            is a  custom  extension  of  PEs  based  on  Tcl's
                            builtin command string is.

                     [12]   The  string space is an atomic parsing expression.
                            It matches any Unicode space character. This is  a
                            custom  extension  of  PEs  based on Tcl's builtin
                            command string is.

                     [13]   The string upper is an atomic parsing  expression.
                            It matches any Unicode upper-case alphabet charac-
                            ter. This is a custom extension of  PEs  based  on
                            Tcl's builtin command string is.

                     [14]   The  string  wordchar is an atomic parsing expres-
                            sion. It matches any Unicode word character.  This
                            is any alphanumeric character (see alnum), and any
                            connector  punctuation  characters  (e.g.   under-
                            score). This is a custom extension of PEs based on
                            Tcl's builtin command string is.

                     [15]   The string xdigit is an atomic parsing expression.
                            It  matches  any hexadecimal digit character. This
                            is a  custom  extension  of  PEs  based  on  Tcl's
                            builtin command string is.

                     [16]   The string ddigit is an atomic parsing expression.
                            It matches any decimal digit character. This is  a
                            custom  extension  of  PEs  based on Tcl's builtin
                            command regexp.

                     [17]   The expression [list t x] is an atomic parsing ex-
                            pression. It matches the terminal string x.

                     [18]   The expression [list n A] is an atomic parsing ex-
                            pression. It matches the nonterminal A.

              Combined Parsing Expressions

                     [1]    For parsing expressions e1, e2, ... the result  of
                            [list  /  e1  e2  ... ] is a parsing expression as
                            well.  This is the ordered choice, aka prioritized
                            choice.

                     [2]    For  parsing expressions e1, e2, ... the result of
                            [list x e1 e2 ... ] is  a  parsing  expression  as
                            well.  This is the sequence.

                     [3]    For  a  parsing expression e the result of [list *
                            e] is a parsing expression as well.  This  is  the
                            kleene  closure,  describing  zero or more repeti-
                            tions.

                     [4]    For a parsing expression e the result of  [list  +
                            e]  is  a parsing expression as well.  This is the
                            positive kleene closure, describing  one  or  more
                            repetitions.

                     [5]    For  a  parsing expression e the result of [list &
                            e] is a parsing expression as well.  This  is  the
                            and lookahead predicate.

                     [6]    For  a  parsing expression e the result of [list !
                            e] is a parsing expression as well.  This  is  the
                            not lookahead predicate.

                     [7]    For  a  parsing expression e the result of [list ?
                            e] is a parsing expression as well.  This  is  the
                            optional input.

       Canonical serialization
              The canonical serialization of a parsing expression has the for-
              mat as specified in the previous  item,  and  then  additionally
              satisfies  the constraints below, which make it unique among all
              the possible serializations of this parsing expression.

              [1]    The string representation of the value is  the  canonical
                     representation  of a pure Tcl list. I.e. it does not con-
                     tain superfluous whitespace.

              [2]    Terminals are not encoded as ranges (where start and  end
                     of the range are identical).

   EXAMPLE
       Assuming  the  parsing  expression  shown on the right-hand side of the
       rule

                  Expression <- Term (AddOp Term)*

       then its canonical serialization (except for whitespace) is

                  {x {n Term} {* {x {n AddOp} {n Term}}}}

BUGS, IDEAS, FEEDBACK
       This document, and the package it describes, will  undoubtedly  contain
       bugs  and other problems.  Please report such in the category pt of the
       Tcllib Trackers  [http://core.tcl.tk/tcllib/reportlist].   Please  also
       report  any  ideas  for  enhancements  you  may have for either package
       and/or documentation.

       When proposing code changes, please provide unified diffs, i.e the out-
       put of diff -u.

       Note  further  that  attachments  are  strongly  preferred over inlined
       patches. Attachments can be made by going  to  the  Edit  form  of  the
       ticket  immediately  after  its  creation, and then using the left-most
       button in the secondary navigation bar.

KEYWORDS
       EBNF, JSON, LL(k), PEG, TDPL, context-free languages,  export,  expres-
       sion, grammar, matching, parser, parsing expression, parsing expression
       grammar, plugin, push down automaton, recursive descent, serialization,
       state, top-down parsing languages, transducer

CATEGORY
       Parsing and Grammars

COPYRIGHT
       Copyright (c) 2009 Andreas Kupries <andreas_kupries@users.sourceforge.net>

tcllib                                 1           pt::peg::export::json(3tcl)

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