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Flex, version 2.5 - A fast scanner generator

By Vern Paxson
This manual describes flex, a tool for generating programs that perform pattern-matching on text. The manual includes both tutorial and reference sections:
  • Description - a brief overview of the tool
  • Some Simple Examples
  • Format Of The Input File
  • Patterns
  • the extended regular expressions used by flex
  • How The Input Is Matched - the rules for determining what has been matched
  • Actions - how to specify what to do when a pattern is matched
  • The Generated Scanner - details regarding the scanner that flex produces; how to control the input source
  • Start Conditions -introducing context into your scanners, and managing "mini-scanners"
  • Multiple Input Buffers - how to manipulate multiple input sources; how to scan from strings instead of files
  • End-of-file Rules - special rules for matching the end of the input
  • Miscellaneous Macros - a summary of macros available to the actions
  • Values Available To The User - a summary of values available to the actions
  • Interfacing With Yacc - connecting flex scanners together with yacc parsers
  • Options - flex command-line options, and the "%option" directive
  • Performance Considerations - how to make your scanner go as fast as possible
  • Generating C++ Scanners - the (experimental) facility for generating C++ scanner classes
  • Incompatibilities With Lex And POSIX - how flex differs from AT&T lex and the POSIX lex standard
  • Diagnostics - those error messages produced by flex (or scanners it generates) whose meanings might not be apparent
  • Files - files used by flex
  • Deficiencies / Bugs - known problems with flex
  • See Also - other documentation, related tools
  • Author - includes contact information

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