Programmers run into parsing problems all the time. Whether it's a data format like JSON a
network protocol like SMTP a server configuration file for Apache a PostScript PDF file or a
simple spreadsheet macro language--ANTLR v4 and this book will demystify the process. ANTLR v4
has been rewritten from scratch to make it easier than ever to build parsers and the language
applications built on top. This completely rewritten new edition of the bestselling Definitive
ANTLR Reference shows you how to take advantage of these new features. Build your own languages
with ANTLR v4 using ANTLR's new advanced parsing technology. In this book you'll learn how
ANTLR automatically builds a data structure representing the input (parse tree) and generates
code that can walk the tree (visitor). You can use that combination to implement data readers
language interpreters and translators. You'll start by learning how to identify grammar
patterns in language reference manuals and then slowly start building increasingly complex
grammars. Next you'll build applications based upon those grammars by walking the
automatically generated parse trees. Then you'll tackle some nasty language problems by parsing
files containing more than one language (such as XML Java and Javadoc). You'll also see how
to take absolute control over parsing by embedding Java actions into the grammar. You'll learn
directly from well-known parsing expert Terence Parr the ANTLR creator and project lead.
You'll master ANTLR grammar construction and learn how to build language tools using the
built-in parse tree visitor mechanism. The book teaches using real-world examples and shows you
how to use ANTLR to build such things as a data file reader a JSON to XML translator an R
parser and a Java class->interface extractor. This book is your ticket to becoming a parsing
guru! What You Need: ANTLR 4.0 and above. Java development tools. Ant build system
optional(needed for building ANTLR from source)
