boost_1_45_0/libs/spirit/doc/qi/operator.qbk

[/==============================================================================
    Copyright (C) 2001-2010 Joel de Guzman
    Copyright (C) 2001-2010 Hartmut Kaiser

    Distributed under the Boost Software License, Version 1.0. (See accompanying
    file LICENSE_1_0.txt or copy at http://www.boost.org/LICENSE_1_0.txt)
===============================================================================/]
[section Operator]

Operators are used as a means for object composition and embedding.
Simple parsers may be composed to form composites through operator
overloading, crafted to approximate the syntax of __peg__ (PEG). An
expression such as:

    a | b

yields a new parser type which is a composite of its operands, `a` and
`b`.

This module includes different parsers which get instantiated if one of
the overloaded operators is used with more primitive parser constructs.
It includes Alternative (`|`), And-predicate (unary `&`), Difference
(`-`), Expect (`>`), Kleene star (unary `*`), Lists (`%`), Not-predicate (`!`), 
Optional (unary `-`), Permutation (`^`), Plus (unary
`+`), Sequence (`>>`), and Sequential-Or (`||`).

[heading Module Header]

    // forwards to <boost/spirit/home/qi/operator.hpp>
    #include <boost/spirit/include/qi_operator.hpp>

Also, see __include_structure__.

[/------------------------------------------------------------------------------]
[section:alternative Alternative (`a | b`)]

[heading Description]

The alternative operator, `a | b`, matches one of two or more operands
(`a`, `b`, ... etc.):

    a | b | ...

Alternative operands are tried one by one on a first-match-wins basis
starting from the leftmost operand. After a successfully matched
alternative is found, the parser concludes its search, essentially
short-circuiting the search for other potentially viable candidates.
This short-circuiting implicitly gives the highest priority to the
leftmost alternative.

Short-circuiting is done in the same manner as C or C++'s logical
expressions; e.g. `if (x < 3 || y < 2)` where, if `x < 3`, the `y < 2`
test is not done at all. In addition to providing an implicit priority
rule for alternatives which is necessary, given its non-deterministic
nature, short-circuiting improves the execution time. If the order of
your alternatives is logically irrelevant, strive to put the (expected)
most common choice first for maximum efficiency.

[heading Header]

    // forwards to <boost/spirit/home/qi/operator/alternative.hpp>
    #include <boost/spirit/include/qi_alternative.hpp>

Also, see __include_structure__.

[heading Model of]

[:__nary_parser_concept__]

[variablelist Notation
    [[`a`, `b`]     [A __parser_concept__]]
]

[heading Expression Semantics]

Semantics of an expression is defined only where it differs from, or is not
defined in __nary_parser_concept__.

[table
    [[Expression]       [Semantics]]
    [[`a | b`]          [Match `a` or `b`.]]
]

[heading Attributes]

See __qi_comp_attr_notation__.

[table
    [[Expression]       [Attribute]]
    [[`a | b`]
[``a: A, b: B --> (a | b): variant<A, B>
a: A, b: Unused --> (a | b): optional<A>
a: A, b: B, c: Unused --> (a | b | c): optional<variant<A, B> >
a: Unused, b: B --> (a | b): optional<B>
a: Unused, b: Unused --> (a | b): Unused
a: A, b: A --> (a | b): A``]]
]

[heading Complexity]

[:The overall complexity of the alternative parser is defined by the sum
of the complexities of its elements. The complexity of the alternative
parser itself is O(N), where N is the number of alternatives.]

[heading Example]

[note The test harness for the example(s) below is presented in the
__qi_basics_examples__ section.]

Some using declarations:

[reference_using_declarations_alternative]

[reference_alternative]

[endsect] [/ Alternative]

[/------------------------------------------------------------------------------]
[section:and_predicate And-Predicate (`&a`)]

[heading Description]

Syntactic predicates assert a certain conditional syntax to be satisfied
before evaluating another production. Similar to semantic predicates,
__qi_eps__, syntactic predicates do not consume any input. The /and-predicate/, 
`&a`, is a positive syntactic predicate that returns a zero
length match only if its predicate matches.

[heading Header]

    // forwards to <boost/spirit/home/qi/operator/and_predicate.hpp>
    #include <boost/spirit/include/qi_and_predicate.hpp>

Also, see __include_structure__.

[heading Model of]

[:__unary_parser_concept__]

[variablelist Notation
    [[`a`]      [A __parser_concept__]]
]

[heading Expression Semantics]

Semantics of an expression is defined only where it differs from, or is
not defined in __unary_parser_concept__.

[table
    [[Expression]       [Semantics]]
    [[`&a`]             [If the predicate `a` matches, return a zero
                        length match. Otherwise, fail.]]
]

[heading Attributes]

See __qi_comp_attr_notation__.

[table
    [[Expression]       [Attribute]]
    [[`&a`]             [__unused_type__]]
]

[heading Complexity]

[:The complexity is defined by the complexity of the predicate, `a`]

[heading Example]

[note The test harness for the example(s) below is presented in the
__qi_basics_examples__ section.]

[reference_and_predicate]

[endsect] [/ And Predicate]

[/------------------------------------------------------------------------------]
[section:difference Difference (`a - b`)]

[heading Description]

The difference operator, `a - b`, is a binary operator that matches the
first (LHS) operand but not the second (RHS). [footnote Unlike classic
Spirit, with Spirit2, the expression will always fail if the RHS is a
successful match regardless if the RHS matches less characters. For
example, the rule `lit("policeman") - "police"` will always fail to
match. Spirit2 does not count the matching chars while parsing and there
is no reliable and fast way to check if the LHS matches more than the
RHS.]

[heading Header]

    // forwards to <boost/spirit/home/qi/operator/difference.hpp>
    #include <boost/spirit/include/qi_difference.hpp>

Also, see __include_structure__.

[heading Model of]

[:__binary_parser_concept__]

[variablelist Notation
    [[`a`, `b`]     [A __parser_concept__]]
]

[heading Expression Semantics]

Semantics of an expression is defined only where it differs from, or is
not defined in __binary_parser_concept__.

[table
    [[Expression]       [Semantics]]
    [[`a - b`]          [Parse `a` but not `b`.]]
]

[heading Attributes]

See __qi_comp_attr_notation__.

[table
    [[Expression]       [Attribute]]
    [[`a - b`]
[``a: A, b: B --> (a - b): A
a: Unused, b: B --> (a - b): Unused``]]
]

[heading Complexity]

[:The complexity of the difference parser is defined by the sum of the
complexities of both operands.]

[heading Example]

[note The test harness for the example(s) below is presented in the
__qi_basics_examples__ section.]

[reference_difference]

[endsect] [/ Difference]

[/------------------------------------------------------------------------------]
[section:expect Expectation (`a > b`)]

[heading Description]

Like the __qi_sequence__, the expectation operator, `a > b`, parses two or
more operands (`a`, `b`, ... etc.), in sequence:

    a > b > ...

However, while the plain __qi_sequence__ simply returns a no-match
(returns `false`) when one of the elements fail, the expectation: `>`
operator throws an __qi_expectation_failure__`<Iter>` when the second or
succeeding operands (all operands except the first) fail to match.

[heading Header]

    // forwards to <boost/spirit/home/qi/operator/expect.hpp>
    #include <boost/spirit/include/qi_expect.hpp>

Also, see __include_structure__.

[heading Model of]

[:__nary_parser_concept__]

[variablelist Notation
    [[`a`, `b`]     [A __parser_concept__]]
    [[`Iter`]       [A __fwditer__ type]]
]

[heading Expectation Failure]

When any operand, except the first, fail to match an
`expectation_failure<Iter>` is thrown:

    template <typename Iter>
    struct expectation_failure : std::runtime_error
    {
        Iter first;           // [first, last) iterator pointing
        Iter last;            // to the error position in the input.
        __info__ what_;       // Information about the nature of the error.
    };

[heading Expression Semantics]

Semantics of an expression is defined only where it differs from, or is not
defined in __nary_parser_concept__.

[table
    [[Expression]       [Semantics]]
    [[`a > b`]          [Match `a` followed by `b`. If `a` fails, no-match.
                        If `b` fails, throw an `expectation_failure<Iter>`]]
]

[heading Attributes]

See __qi_comp_attr_notation__.

[table
    [[Expression]       [Attribute]]
    [[`a > b`]
[``a: A, b: B --> (a > b): tuple<A, B>
a: A, b: Unused --> (a > b): A
a: Unused, b: B --> (a > b): B
a: Unused, b: Unused --> (a > b): Unused

a: A, b: A --> (a > b): vector<A>
a: vector<A>, b: A --> (a > b): vector<A>
a: A, b: vector<A> --> (a > b): vector<A>
a: vector<A>, b: vector<A> --> (a > b): vector<A>``]]
]

[heading Complexity]

[:The overall complexity of the expectation parser is defined by the sum
of the complexities of its elements. The complexity of the expectation
operator itself is O(N), where N is the number of elements in the
sequence.]

[heading Example]

[note The test harness for the example(s) below is presented in the
__qi_basics_examples__ section.]

Some using declarations:

[reference_using_declarations_expect]

[reference_expect]

[endsect] [/ Expectation]

[/------------------------------------------------------------------------------]
[section:kleene Kleene (`*a`)]

[heading Description]

The kleene operator, `*a`, is a unary operator that matches its operand
zero or more times.

[heading Header]

    // forwards to <boost/spirit/home/qi/operator/kleene.hpp>
    #include <boost/spirit/include/qi_kleene.hpp>

Also, see __include_structure__.

[heading Model of]

[:__unary_parser_concept__]

[variablelist Notation
    [[`a`]      [A __parser_concept__]]
]

[heading Expression Semantics]

Semantics of an expression is defined only where it differs from, or is not
defined in __unary_parser_concept__.

[table
    [[Expression]       [Semantics]]
    [[`*a`]             [Match `a` zero or more times.]]
]

[heading Attributes]

See __qi_comp_attr_notation__.

[table
    [[Expression]       [Attribute]]
    [[`*a`]
[``a: A --> *a: vector<A>
a: Unused --> *a: Unused``]]
]

[heading Complexity]

[:The overall complexity of the Kleene star is defined by the complexity
of its subject, `a`, multiplied by the number of repetitions. The
complexity of the Kleene star itself is O(N), where N is the number
successful repetitions.]

[heading Example]

[note The test harness for the example(s) below is presented in the
__qi_basics_examples__ section.]

[reference_kleene]

[endsect] [/ Kleene]

[/------------------------------------------------------------------------------]
[section:list List (`a % b`)]

[heading Description]

The list operator, `a % b`, is a binary operator that matches a list of
one or more repetitions of `a` separated by occurrences of `b`. This is
equivalent to `a >> *(b >> a)`.

[heading Header]

    // forwards to <boost/spirit/home/qi/operator/list.hpp>
    #include <boost/spirit/include/qi_list.hpp>

Also, see __include_structure__.

[heading Model of]

[:__binary_parser_concept__]

[variablelist Notation
    [[`a`, `b`]     [A __parser_concept__]]
]

[heading Expression Semantics]

Semantics of an expression is defined only where it differs from, or is
not defined in __binary_parser_concept__.

[table
    [[Expression]       [Semantics]]
    [[`a % b`]          [Match a list of one or more repetitions of `a`
                        separated by occurrences of `b`. This is equivalent
                        to `a >> *(b >> a)`.]]
]

[heading Attributes]

See __qi_comp_attr_notation__.

[table
    [[Expression]       [Attribute]]
    [[`a % b`]
[``a: A, b: B --> (a % b): vector<A>
a: Unused, b: B --> (a % b): Unused``]]
]

[heading Complexity]

[:The overall complexity of the List is defined by the complexity of its
subject, `a`, multiplied by the number of repetitions. The complexity of
the List itself is O(N), where N is the number successful repetitions.]

[heading Example]

[note The test harness for the example(s) below is presented in the
__qi_basics_examples__ section.]

[reference_list]

[endsect] [/ List]

[/------------------------------------------------------------------------------]
[section:not_predicate Not-Predicate (`!a`)]

[heading Description]

Syntactic predicates assert a certain conditional syntax to be satisfied
before evaluating another production. Similar to semantic predicates,
__qi_eps__, syntactic predicates do not consume any input. The /not-predicate/, 
`!a`, is a negative syntactic predicate that returns a zero
length match only if its predicate fails to match.

[heading Header]

    // forwards to <boost/spirit/home/qi/operator/not_predicate.hpp>
    #include <boost/spirit/include/qi_not_predicate.hpp>

Also, see __include_structure__.

[heading Model of]

[:__unary_parser_concept__]

[variablelist Notation
    [[`a`]      [A __parser_concept__]]
]

[heading Expression Semantics]

Semantics of an expression is defined only where it differs from, or is
not defined in __unary_parser_concept__.

[table
    [[Expression]       [Semantics]]
    [[`!a`]             [If the predicate `a` matches, fail. Otherwise,
                        return a zero length match.]]
]

[heading Attributes]

See __qi_comp_attr_notation__.

[table
    [[Expression]       [Attribute]]
    [[`!a`]             [__unused_type__]]
]

[heading Complexity]

[:The complexity is defined by the complexity of the predicate, `a`]

[heading Example]

[note The test harness for the example(s) below is presented in the
__qi_basics_examples__ section.]

[reference_not_predicate]

[endsect] [/ Not Predicate]

[/------------------------------------------------------------------------------]
[section:optional Optional (`-a`)]

[heading Description]

The optional operator, `-a`, is a unary operator that matches its
operand zero or one time.

[heading Header]

    // forwards to <boost/spirit/home/qi/operator/optional.hpp>
    #include <boost/spirit/include/qi_optional.hpp>

Also, see __include_structure__.

[heading Model of]

[:__unary_parser_concept__]

[variablelist Notation
    [[`a`]      [A __parser_concept__]]
]

[heading Expression Semantics]

Semantics of an expression is defined only where it differs from, or is not
defined in __unary_parser_concept__.

[table
    [[Expression]       [Semantics]]
    [[`-a`]             [Match `a` zero or one time.]]
]

[heading Attributes]

See __qi_comp_attr_notation__.

[table
    [[Expression]       [Attribute]]
    [[`-a`]
[``a: A --> -a: optional<A>
a: Unused --> -a: Unused``]]
]

[heading Complexity]

[:The complexity is defined by the complexity of the operand, `a`]

[heading Example]

[note The test harness for the example(s) below is presented in the
__qi_basics_examples__ section.]

[reference_optional]

[endsect] [/ Optional]

[/------------------------------------------------------------------------------]
[section:permutation Permutation (`a ^ b`)]

[heading Description]

The permutation operator, `a ^ b`, matches one or more operands (`a`, `b`,
... etc.) in any order:

    a ^ b ^ ...

The operands are the elements in the permutation set. Each element in
the permutation set may occur at most once, but not all elements of the
given set need to be present. Note that by this definition, the
permutation operator is not limited to strict permutations.

For example:

     char_('a') ^ 'b' ^ 'c'

matches:

     "a", "ab", "abc", "cba", "bca" ... etc.

[heading Header]

    // forwards to <boost/spirit/home/qi/operator/permutation.hpp>
    #include <boost/spirit/include/qi_permutation.hpp>

Also, see __include_structure__.

[heading Model of]

[:__nary_parser_concept__]

[variablelist Notation
    [[`a`, `b`]     [A __parser_concept__]]
]

[heading Expression Semantics]

Semantics of an expression is defined only where it differs from, or is not
defined in __nary_parser_concept__.

[table
    [[Expression]       [Semantics]]
    [[`a ^ b`]          [Match `a` or `b` in any order. Each operand
                        may match zero or one time as long as at least
                        one operand matches.]]
]

[heading Attributes]

See __qi_comp_attr_notation__.

[table
    [[Expression]       [Attribute]]
    [[`a ^ b`]
[``a: A, b: B --> (a ^ b): tuple<optional<A>, optional<B> >
a: A, b: Unused --> (a ^ b): optional<A>
a: Unused, b: B --> (a ^ b): optional<B>
a: Unused, b: Unused --> (a ^ b): Unused``]]
]

[heading Complexity]

[:The overall complexity of the permutation parser is defined by the sum
of the complexities of its elements, s, multiplied by log s. The
complexity of the permutation parser itself is O(N log N), where N is
the number of elements.]

[heading Example]

[note The test harness for the example(s) below is presented in the
__qi_basics_examples__ section.]

Some using declarations:

[reference_using_declarations_permutation]

[reference_permutation]

[endsect] [/ Permutation]

[/------------------------------------------------------------------------------]
[section:plus Plus (`+a`)]

[heading Description]

The plus operator, `+a`, is a unary operator that matches its operand one
or more times.

[heading Header]

    // forwards to <boost/spirit/home/qi/operator/plus.hpp>
    #include <boost/spirit/include/qi_plus.hpp>

Also, see __include_structure__.

[heading Model of]

[:__unary_parser_concept__]

[variablelist Notation
    [[`a`]      [A __parser_concept__]]
]

[heading Expression Semantics]

Semantics of an expression is defined only where it differs from, or is not
defined in __unary_parser_concept__.

[table
    [[Expression]       [Semantics]]
    [[`+a`]             [Match `a` one or more times.]]
]

[heading Attributes]

See __qi_comp_attr_notation__.

[table
    [[Expression]       [Attribute]]
    [[`+a`]
[``a: A --> +a: vector<A>
a: Unused --> +a: Unused``]]
]

[heading Complexity]

[:The overall complexity of the Plus is defined by the complexity of its
subject, `a`, multiplied by the number of repetitions. The complexity of
the Plus itself is O(N), where N is the number successful repetitions.]

[heading Example]

[note The test harness for the example(s) below is presented in the
__qi_basics_examples__ section.]

[reference_plus]

[endsect] [/ Plus]

[/------------------------------------------------------------------------------]
[section:sequence Sequence (`a >> b`)]

[heading Description]

The sequence operator, `a >> b`, parses two or more operands (`a`,
`b`, ... etc.), in sequence:

    a >> b >> ...

[heading Header]

    // forwards to <boost/spirit/home/qi/operator/sequence.hpp>
    #include <boost/spirit/include/qi_sequence.hpp>

Also, see __include_structure__.

[heading Model of]

[:__nary_parser_concept__]

[variablelist Notation
    [[`a`, `b`]     [A __parser_concept__]]
]

[heading Expression Semantics]

Semantics of an expression is defined only where it differs from, or is not
defined in __nary_parser_concept__.

[table
    [[Expression]       [Semantics]]
    [[`a >> b`]         [Match `a` followed by `b`.]]
]

[heading Attributes]

See __qi_comp_attr_notation__.

[table
    [[Expression]       [Attribute]]
    [[`a >> b`]
[``a: A, b: B --> (a >> b): tuple<A, B>
a: A, b: Unused --> (a >> b): A
a: Unused, b: B --> (a >> b): B
a: Unused, b: Unused --> (a >> b): Unused

a: A, b: A --> (a >> b): vector<A>
a: vector<A>, b: A --> (a >> b): vector<A>
a: A, b: vector<A> --> (a >> b): vector<A>
a: vector<A>, b: vector<A> --> (a >> b): vector<A>``]]
]

[heading Complexity]

[:The overall complexity of the sequence parser is defined by the sum of
the complexities of its elements. The complexity of the sequence itself
is O(N), where N is the number of elements in the sequence.]

[heading Example]

Some using declarations:

[reference_using_declarations_sequence]

[note The test harness for the example(s) below is presented in the
__qi_basics_examples__ section.]

[reference_sequence]

[endsect] [/ Sequence]

[/------------------------------------------------------------------------------]
[section:sequential_or Sequential Or (`a || b`)]

[heading Description]

The sequential-or operator, `a || b`, matches `a` or `b` or `a` followed
by `b`.  That is, if both `a` and `b` match, it must be in sequence; this
is equivalent to `a >> -b | b`:

    a || b || ...

[heading Header]

    // forwards to <boost/spirit/home/qi/operator/sequential_or.hpp>
    #include <boost/spirit/include/qi_sequential_or.hpp>

Also, see __include_structure__.

[heading Model of]

[:__nary_parser_concept__]

[variablelist Notation
    [[`a`, `b`]     [A __parser_concept__]]
]

[heading Expression Semantics]

Semantics of an expression is defined only where it differs from, or is not
defined in __nary_parser_concept__.

[table
    [[Expression]       [Semantics]]
    [[`a || b`]         [Match `a` or `b` in sequence. equivalent to `a >> -b | b`]]
]

[heading Attributes]

See __qi_comp_attr_notation__.

[table
    [[Expression]       [Attribute]]
    [[`a || b`]
[``a: A, b: B --> (a || b): tuple<optional<A>, optional<B> >
a: A, b: Unused --> (a || b): optional<A>
a: Unused, b: B --> (a || b): optional<B>
a: Unused, b: Unused --> (a || b): Unused

a: A, b: A --> (a || b): vector<optional<A> >``]]
]

[note The sequential-or parser behaves attribute-wise very similar to the
      plain sequence parser (`a >> b`) in the sense that it exposes the
      attributes of its elements separately. For instance, if you attach a
      semantic action to the whole sequential-or:
      ``
          (int_ || int_)[print_pair(_1, _2)]
      ``
      the function object `print_pair` would be invoked with the
      attribute of the first `int_` (`boost::optional<int>`) as its first
      parameter and the attribute of the second `int_` (`boost::optional<int>`
      as well) as its second parameter.]

[heading Complexity]

[:The overall complexity of the sequential-or parser is defined by the
sum of the complexities of its elements. The complexity of the
sequential-or itself is O(N), where N is the number of elements in the
sequence.]

[heading Example]

[note The test harness for the example(s) below is presented in the
__qi_basics_examples__ section.]

Some using declarations:

[reference_using_declarations_sequential_or]

[reference_sequential_or]

[endsect] [/ Sequential Or]

[endsect]