On Thu, 19 Aug 2004 18:18:07 +0900, Hal Fulton <hal9000 / hypermetrics.com> wrote:
> I'm about to delve into the mysteries of parsing Ruby.
> 
> Some questions:
> 
> 1. I seem to remember that ripper is "the future" of Ruby
>     parsing, correct?
> 

Not sure anymore, but I'd love to know.

> 2. But apparently now we are still using parse.c which is
>     generated by yacc?
> 

Right.  In fact, Ripper does the same thing but gives you a Ruby
representation of the code....

> 3. My impression was that ripper itself could not create
>     an AST... correct or no??
> 

Ripper can create an AST.


> 4. There have been various attempts at Ruby parsers *in Ruby*,
>     I know... how mature are these? How accurate? How easy to
>     understand the code?
> 

Ripper is in Yacc, C, and Ruby, but I would definitely take a look at
it.  It's pretty easy to understand and relatively mature. Mark S. is
using (and enhancing) it for Cardinal.

> 5. What experts are around who are willing to answer questions
>     from time to time?
> 

If I were an expert, I would be willing. :)

Chad

> Thanks,
> Hal
> 
>