* * * * *
                                        
                                 Tool selection
                                        
So if I needed to parse data in C [1], why did I not use lex [2]? It's pretty
much standard on all Unix systems, right? Yes, but all it does is lexical
analysis. The job of parsing requires the use of yacc (yet another compiler-
compiler) [3]. So why didn't I use yacc (yet another compiler-compiler)?
Beacuse it doesn't do lexical analysis. If I use lex, I also need to use
yacc. Why use two tools when one [4] will suffice? They are also both a pain
to use, so it's not like I immediately think to use them (that, and the last
time I used lex in anger was over twenty years ago …)

[1] gopher://gopher.conman.org/0Phlog:2019/10/07.1
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lex_(software)
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yacc
[4] https://www.piumarta.com/software/peg/

Email author at sean@conman.org

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