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RE: parser validation tools

  • Subject: RE: parser validation tools
  • From: "Bollinger, John Clayton" <jobollin@xxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Thu, 11 May 2000 16:05:18 +0100 (BST)

Richard Ball wrote:
> How about a single-source COMCIFS-approved tool, along the 
> lines of vcif,
> that'd rewrite (very quickly so you don't pay a big penalty 
> to use it) a
> pathalogical STAR/CIF file into a more easily parsed/used 
> style? It'd not do
> any dictionary checking or data validation, that'd be delegated to the
> downstream parser, it would just structure things better:
> 
>  - all datablocks would start on a newline with no whitespace
>  - strip comments or put them on their own lines
>  - each dataname of a loop starts a line with no embedded blank lines
>  - the ; marking the end of a text block is the only 
> character on the line
>  - only one dataname/dataitem pair per line
>  - others?

The common theme among all of those items seems to be that they are
aimed at easing parsing via _record-oriented_ file handling, ala
Fortran.  They are no special boon when using stream-oriented file
handling, ala C, Java, and others.  My solution to the problem of
Fortran not yet having stream I/O was to write some simple routines to
emulate it, which wasn't too hard.  One must also be able to pluck
tokens out of the resulting pseudo-stream, but that's downright easy.

The main usefulness of a CIF prettifier would be to make the CIF
more readable to _humans_ (which might itself justify the development
effort).  I don't necessarily see such a tool as a big advantage to
software developers -- especially to those not developing in Fortran.
Along these lines, however, what might be more useful to developers
is a CIF lexical analyzer, with appropriate Fortran, C (and perhaps
other) bindings.  That would obviate any need for the developer to
prettify a CIF before inputting it to his own program, and give him
a head start on his project at the same time.  Just where that idea
lies along the line between complete custom code and a full-blown
API like CIFtbx, I can't say.


Regards,

John Bollinger
Indiana University
Molecular Structure Center

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