Modular semantic actions

Abstract

Parser generators give programmers a convenient and declarative way to write parsers and other language-processing applications, but their mechanisms for extension and code reuse often leave something to be desired. We introduce Ohm, a parser generator in which both grammars and their interpretations can be extended in safe and modular ways. Unlike many similar tools, Ohm completely separates grammars and semantic actions, avoiding the problems that arise when these two concerns are mixed. This paper describes the particular way in which Ohm achieves this separation, and discusses the resulting benefits to modularity and extensibility.