From mboxrd@z Thu Jan  1 00:00:00 1970
X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on polar.synack.me
X-Spam-Level: 
X-Spam-Status: No, score=-1.9 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00
	autolearn=unavailable autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4
Path: 
 eternal-september.org!reader01.eternal-september.org!reader02.eternal-september.org!feeder.eternal-september.org!nntp-feed.chiark.greenend.org.uk!ewrotcd!newsfeed.xs3.de!io.xs3.de!news.jacob-sparre.dk!franka.jacob-sparre.dk!pnx.dk!.POSTED.rrsoftware.com!not-for-mail
From: "Randy Brukardt" <randy@rrsoftware.com>
Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada
Subject: Re: Encaspulation: What to export
Date: Wed, 29 Nov 2017 14:42:05 -0600
Organization: JSA Research & Innovation
Message-ID: <ovn62u$r17$1@franka.jacob-sparre.dk>
References: <ovhoqv$108h$1@gioia.aioe.org> <ovhqt6$159h$1@gioia.aioe.org>
 <ovhst9$1a43$1@gioia.aioe.org> <ovigma$fi6$1@franka.jacob-sparre.dk>
 <ovjv01$1r5c$1@gioia.aioe.org> <ovkod5$7s6$1@franka.jacob-sparre.dk>
 <ovmva2$1q20$1@gioia.aioe.org>
Injection-Date: Wed, 29 Nov 2017 20:42:06 -0000 (UTC)
Injection-Info: franka.jacob-sparre.dk;
 posting-host="rrsoftware.com:24.196.82.226";
	logging-data="27687"; mail-complaints-to="news@jacob-sparre.dk"
X-Priority: 3
X-MSMail-Priority: Normal
X-Newsreader: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2900.5931
X-RFC2646: Format=Flowed; Original
X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2900.7246
Xref: reader02.eternal-september.org comp.lang.ada:49260
Date: 2017-11-29T14:42:05-06:00
List-Id: <comp.lang.ada>

"Victor Porton" <porton@narod.ru> wrote in message 
news:ovmva2$1q20$1@gioia.aioe.org...
...
> I do use the word "parsing" because it uses techniques very similar to 
> text
> parsing, namely I use recursive descent.

I'd argue that most of what is typically called "recursive descent" per se 
isn't parsing, either, as it is a free-form glob whose set of languages is 
rather hard to specify formally. (There is a rather restrictive subset of 
"recursive descent" which strictly accepts LL(1) languages; that is the only 
thing, IMHO, that deserves the term. That's rarely used in practice for a 
variety of reasons, the main one being that LL(1) languages aren't very 
interesting.)

>...  For example recursive descent may analyze the same fragment of a tree
> more than once or it may skip some parts of the tree entirely.

That's not "recursive descent", that's just some code doing whatever it is 
that you need to do. Nothing wrong with that, but calling that "parsing" or 
"recursive descent" or anything other well-known term is just abusing those 
terms.

                                             Randy.