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A formal grammar that contains left recursion cannot be parsed by a LL(k)-parser or other naive recursive descent parser unless it is converted to a weakly equivalent right-recursive form. In contrast, left recursion is preferred for LALR parsers because it results in lower stack usage than right recursion.
For a general method, see removing left recursion. A simple example for left recursion removal: The following production rule has left recursion on E E -> E '+' T E -> T This rule is nothing but list of Ts separated by '+'. In a regular expression form T ('+' T)*. So the rule could be rewritten as E -> T Z Z -> '+' T Z Z -> ε Now there is no ...
A formal grammar that contains left recursion cannot be parsed by a naive recursive descent parser unless they are converted to a weakly equivalent right-recursive form. . However, recent research demonstrates that it is possible to accommodate left-recursive grammars (along with all other forms of general CFGs) in a more sophisticated top-down parser by use of curta
For example, a grammar for a context-free language is left recursive if there exists a non-terminal symbol A that can be put through the production rules to produce a string with A (as the leftmost symbol). [2] [3] All types of grammars in the Chomsky hierarchy can be recursive and it is recursion that allows the production of infinite sets of ...
LL grammars cannot have rules containing left recursion. [10] Each LL(k) grammar that is ε-free can be transformed into an equivalent LL(k) grammar in Greibach normal form (which by definition does not have rules with left recursion). [11]
Nonetheless, if there is an indirect left recursion involved, the process of rewriting can be quite complex and challenging. If the time complexity requirements are loosened from linear to superlinear, it is possible to modify the memoization table of a Packrat parser to permit left recursion, without altering the input grammar. [5]
In computer science, a recursive descent parser is a kind of top-down parser built from a set of mutually recursive procedures (or a non-recursive equivalent) where each such procedure implements one of the nonterminals of the grammar. Thus the structure of the resulting program closely mirrors that of the grammar it recognizes. [1] [2]
Grammars of this type can match anything that can be matched by a regular grammar, and furthermore, can handle the concept of recursive "nesting" ("every A is eventually followed by a matching B"), such as the question of whether a given string contains correctly nested parentheses. The rules of Context-free grammars are purely local, however ...