Token‐by‐token Syntax‐directed Editing (Using an LR Parser)

This paper demonstrates a new approach to the building of a syntax‐directed editor (SDE). The approach does not force the user to adopt a top‐down syntax‐oriented view of editing but supports the traditional text‐editing approach of deciding which token to write next. Choices are made from menus listing only the tokens that are syntactically legal at a given point. The actual menus used by the editor are created by reference to the tables used by an LALR parser‐generator.