Frequently Asked Questions About Merr
This FAQ has been prepared by Clint Jeffery. Last updated July 25, 2002.
- 1. What is Merr?
- Merr is a tool that generates a syntax error message handler function
for parsers written using the YACC family of parser generators.
- 2. What does "Merr" stand for?
- Merr, pronounced "mare", stands for "meta error generator".
- 3. How does Merr work, anyhow?
- Merr takes a set of example syntax errors, with diagnostic messages,
and writes a
yyerror()
function that will produce those
same messages whenever a syntax error occurs in that parse state for
that input token.
- 4. Which versions of YACC does Merr support?
- Berkeley YACC, AT&T YACC, Bison, and "iyacc" (byacc with Icon/Unicon
code generation support). A command line option is used to specify
which version of YACC to generate code for. AT&T YACC and Bison
require that you add one line to your .y file for Merr to work; Berkeley
YACC does not.