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Context Free Grammars & Parsing: CPSC 388 Fall 2001 Ellen Walker Hiram College

This document discusses context-free grammars and parsing. It provides examples of context-free grammars that generate specific string languages, and shows how strings are derived using the grammar rules. It also introduces concepts like parse trees, formal definitions of context-free grammars, and notation.

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35 views14 pages

Context Free Grammars & Parsing: CPSC 388 Fall 2001 Ellen Walker Hiram College

This document discusses context-free grammars and parsing. It provides examples of context-free grammars that generate specific string languages, and shows how strings are derived using the grammar rules. It also introduces concepts like parse trees, formal definitions of context-free grammars, and notation.

Uploaded by

HariharKalia
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Context Free Grammars &

Parsing
CPSC 388 Fall 2001
Ellen Walker
Hiram College
Syntax Analysis

• Program structure is sequence of


tokens
• Structure is too complex to be regular
– Parentheses & braces are nested
– If-else need to match up
• Structure is context free
Context Free Grammar

• Rules more general than RG:


– Right side can be any sequence of
terminals, non-terminals
– Left side must be a single non-terminal
• S -> abScTdef (context free)
• AS -> bSAc (not CF)
• Every Regular Grammar is also a
Context Free Grammar
Context Free Language

• The language of a CFG is the set of all


strings that can be generated by
repeatedly applying rules to the start
symbol.
• The sequence of rule applications is
called a derivation
Example CFG

• This grammar generates a*b* where the


number of a’s = number of b’s
S -> aSb | e

• Derivation of aaabbb:
S -> aSb -> aaSbb -> aaaSbbb -> aaabbb
Same # a’s as b’s

• Grammar
– S -> aSb | bSa | abS | baS | 
• Derivation
– “aabbabab”
– S-> aSb -> aabSb -> aabbaSb
->aabbabaSb -> aabbabab
Formal Description of a CFG

• A set of terminals (e.g. {a,b})


• A set of non-terminals (e.g. {S})
• A start non-terminal (e.g. S)
• A set of rules with a single nonterminal
on the left side.
Notation
• In formal (theory) CFL’s, non-terminals are
usually capital letters
E -> E O E
• In programming languages & compiler CFL’s
non-terminals are usually names, sometimes
in angle brackets (BNF)
<expr> -> <expr> <op> <expr>
• Terminals can be single or multiple-character
symbols, or token types
Parse Tree

• S (start symbol) is the root


• String is the leaves
• Intermediate nodes are non-terminals
Parse Tree Example

S-> aSb -> aabSb -> aabbaSb ->aabbab

a S b

a b S

b a S
Another Grammar
• S -> abScB | 
• B-> bB | b

• Strings to generate:
– abcb
– ababccb
• Give both derivation and parse tree
• Find a string of length 5 that is accepted
• Find a string with 2 c’s that is accepted
Grammar for Expression
• E => E O E
• E => ( E )
• E => a
• E => b
• O => +
• O => -
• O => *
Example Derivation
• E-> E O E
• -> ( E ) O E
• -> ( E O E ) O E
• -> ( a O E ) O E
• -> ( a + E ) O E
• -> ( a + b ) O E
• -> ( a + b ) * E
• -> ( a + b) * a
More CFL’s

• Palindromes over {a,b,c}


• Strings with twice as many a’s as b’s
• Strings with 3 more a’s than b’s
(hint: create a non-terminal that
generates equal #’s of a’s and b’s, then
add 3 more a’s)

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