Parsing with Perl 6 Regexes and Grammars

Abstract

Write good regexes and parsers with the Perl 6 programming language. Youeell see how regexes are used for searching, parsing, and validation: in particular the grammar extension makes them uniquely suitable for parsing, the main focus of this book. eWritten by Perl 6 expert Moritz Lenz, a core contributor of Rakudo,eParsing with Perl 6 Regexes and Grammarsestarts from the very basics of regular expressions, and then explores how they integrate with regular Perl 6 code. Then follows a deeper exploration of how regexes work under the hood and a discussion of common techniques for constructing regexes and exploring the data under scrutiny. Later material goes beyond relatively simple formats to reusable named regexes and grammars, which permit code reuse in grammars, and shows how to write parsers for more involved data formats. Error reporting and case studies wrap up the topic. While regexes allow you to search for patterns in text and validate input, Perl 6 regexes advance that concept: youeell see how they are easier to read, yet much more powerful, than the traditional "Perl-compatible regular expression". With improved reusability and backtracking control, you will be able to write complete parsers with the help of this book. You will: Discover the building blocks of Perl 6 regexese Handle regex mechanics and master useful regex techniquese Extract data and work with patterns among these use casese Reuse named regexes and other grammars as components or templatese Write full parsers, including advanced error reporting and data extractione Learn how to parse nested scopes and indention-based formats. ;