The Generalized LR Parsing Algorithm

LR parsing is a widely used method of syntax analysis for a variety of reasons. First and foremost, an LR parser is a deterministic parser which is highly efficient: it scans the input string in one pass and is able to detect errors at an early stage. The availability of parser generators and compiler compilers based on LR parsing technology [2, 4] further accentuated its popularity, since such tools are essential in practical systems where grammars are often too large for a parser to be constructed by hand.