From: why the lucky stiff <ruby-talk@...>
Date: 2005-02-28T03:50:06+09:00
Subject: Re: Parsers vs. Homemade "Parsing" via REs

Randy Kramer wrote:
>    * If I did create the proper grammar rules, would parsing using something 
> like YACC be faster than a bunch of RE replacements?
> 
>    * Any recommendations for a parser in Ruby?  I think there are a couple, 
> I've been doing some Googling / reading and have come across references to 
> parse.rb and (iirc) something called Coco (??).

I've written probably twenty different parsing libraries -- including 
six complete revisions of the YAML parser -- and I personally favor 
writing the parser in C (with Bison and Re2c).  I find the two as easy 
to use as any Ruby equivalents and re2c's lexer lets me control the 
buffer better -- in case I need to turn a token into multiple events or 
backtrack.

I hope no one is using RedCloth's parser as an example.  It's awful. 
It's like when Ron Popeil injects garlic into a turkey using that freaky 
flavor syringe and you're like, "Grrrosss, he killed the turkey, 
polished it up and forced it to be a junkie."  RedCloth is all the 
regexps from textile.php and markdown.pl forced into a hot, enclosed area --

It's a breeding ground for moth and ringworm.  I have two evil Bad Luke 
hands afterwards, which first try to strangle me and, failing that, then 
go after people on the street with Ron Popeil's patented rib cage shears.

_why