Re: Language used to write compilers

>>Slightly off-topic, but indicative, is the fact that almost no
>>compilers identify the line for both ends of a bracketting mismatch.
>
>Where would that make sense? An opening bracket too much is mismatched
>at EOF, and a closing bracket too much is mismatched at BOF?
>
>[There's more than one kind of bracket. If the parser sees a close
>paren when it's expecting a close brace, that's an error. Perl tells
>you where the open whatever was, and it's handy. -John]


Yes. If you have merely one type, then simple counting will do, but
with as few as two types, there are many other errors. It is more
than just handy in a large code - I have often had to descend to
binary chop to find where a problem is in C - and remember that it can
be in a macro, so it not easily visible :-(


Actually, there are cases even with a single type of brackets where
it can help. But I agree that it is a minor issue.




Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

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