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NAME

       grammar::fa::dexec - Execute deterministic finite automatons

SYNOPSIS

       package require Tcl  8.4

       package require snit

       package require grammar::fa::dexec  ?0.2?

       ::grammar::fa::dexec daName fa ?-any any? ?-command cmdprefix?

       daName option ?arg arg ...?

       daName destroy

       daName put symbol

       daName reset

       daName state

       cmdprefix error code message

       cmdprefix final stateid

       cmdprefix reset

       cmdprefix state stateid

_________________________________________________________________

DESCRIPTION

       This  package  provides  a  class  for  executors  constructed  from  deterministic finite
       automatons (DFA). Executors are objects which are given a string of symbols in a  piecemal
       fashion,  perform state transitions and report back when they enter a final state, or find
       an error in the input.  For the actual creation of the DFAs the executors are based on  we
       have the packages grammar::fa and grammar::fa::op.

       The  objects follow a push model. Symbols are pushed into the executor, and when something
       important happens, i.e. error occurs, a state transition, or a final state is entered this
       will  be reported via the callback specified via the option -command. Note that conversion
       of this into a pull model where the environment retrieves messages from the object and the
       object uses a callback to ask for more symbols is a trivial thing.

       Side  note:  The  acceptor  objects  provided  by  grammar::fa::dacceptor  could have been
       implemented on top of the executors provided here,  but  were  not,  to  get  a  bit  more
       performance (we avoid a number of method calls and the time required for their dispatch).

API

       The package exports the API described here.

       ::grammar::fa::dexec daName fa ?-any any? ?-command cmdprefix?
              Creates  a  new  deterministic executor with an associated global Tcl command whose
              name is daName. This command may be  used  to  invoke  various  operations  on  the
              executor. It has the following general form:

              daName option ?arg arg ...?
                     Option and the args determine the exact behavior of the command. See section
                     EXECUTOR METHODS for more explanations.

                     The executor will be based on the deterministic finite automaton  stored  in
                     the object fa. It will keep a copy of the relevant data of the FA in its own
                     storage, in a form easy to use  for  its  purposes.  This  also  means  that
                     changes  made  to  the  fa  after  the construction of the executor will not
                     influence the executor.

                     If any has been specified, then the executor will convert all symbols in the
                     input which are unknown to the base FA to that symbol before proceeding with
                     the processing.

EXECUTOR METHODS

       All executors provide the following methods for their manipulation:

       daName destroy
              Destroys the automaton, including its storage space and associated command.

       daName put symbol
              Takes the current state of the executor and the symbol and performs the appropriate
              state  transition. Reports any errors encountered via the command callback, as well
              as entering a final state of the underlying FA.

              When an error is reported all further invokations of put will do nothing, until the
              error condition has been cleared via an invokation of method reset.

       daName reset
              Unconditionally  sets  the executor into the start state of the underlying FA. This
              also clears any error condition  put may have encountered.

       daName state
              Returns the current state of  the  underlying  FA.  This  allow  for  introspection
              without the need to pass data from the callback command.

EXECUTOR CALLBACK

       The  callback  command  cmdprefix  given  to  an  executor via the option -command will be
       executed by the object at the global level, using the syntax described  below.  Note  that
       cmdprefix  is  not simply the name of a command, but a full command prefix. In other words
       it may contain additional fixed argument words beyond the command word.

       cmdprefix error code message
              The executor has encountered an error, and message contains a  human-readable  text
              explaining  the  nature  of  the  problem.   The  code on the other hand is a fixed
              machine-readable text.  The following error codes  can  be  generated  by  executor
              objects.

              BADSYM An  unknown symbol was found in the input. This can happen if and only if no
                     -any symbol was specified.

              BADTRANS
                     The underlying FA has no transition for the  current  combination  of  input
                     symbol and state. In other words, the executor was not able to compute a new
                     state for this combination.

       cmdprefix final stateid
              The executor has entered the final state stateid.

       cmdprefix reset
              The executor was reset.

       cmdprefix state stateid
              The FA changed state due to a transition. stateid is the new state.

EXAMPLES

BUGS, IDEAS, FEEDBACK

       This document, and the package it describes,  will  undoubtedly  contain  bugs  and  other
       problems.   Please  report  such  in  the  category  grammar_fa  of the Tcllib SF Trackers
       [http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=12883].   Please  also  report  any  ideas   for
       enhancements you may have for either package and/or documentation.

KEYWORDS

       automaton,  execution,  finite  automaton,  grammar,  parsing, regular expression, regular
       grammar, regular languages, running, state, transducer

CATEGORY

       Grammars and finite automata

COPYRIGHT

       Copyright (c) 2004 Andreas Kupries <andreas_kupries@users.sourceforge.net>
       Copyright (c) 2007 Bogdan <rftghost@users.sourceforge.net>