Syntax directed program editing

richard@harlqn.co.uk (Richard Brooksby)
Wed, 5 Feb 1992 10:31:24 GMT

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Newsgroups: comp.editors,comp.lang.misc,comp.compilers
From: richard@harlqn.co.uk (Richard Brooksby)
Summary: Why is there so little of it about?
Keywords: debug, source
Organization: Harlequin Limited, Cambridge, England
Date: Wed, 5 Feb 1992 10:31:24 GMT

Most compilers spend a large proportion of their execution time in lexing
and parsing their input (I've read that it's often between forty and fifty
percent). Programmers also spend quite a lot of time fixing trivial
syntax and grammatical errors in their code. Many programmers use editor
enhancements like Emacs C-mode to assist with coding by providing
syntax-directed features such as automatic indentation.


Why aren't there more editors which operate directly on the parse trees of
languages? Are there fundamental problems with this approach?
--
richard@harlqn.co.uk (Internet)
RPTB1@UK.AC.CAMBRIDGE.PHOENIX (JANET)
[This has been discussed in the past. My personal experience with parse tree
editors has been very negative, since there are lots of edits which are very
simple to do in text and complex to do on the parse tree, e.g. move a closing
brace up a line. Also, methods for handling partial parses of partially
written programs seem not to be well understood. -John]
--

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