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Re^7: Perl is not Dynamically Parseableby ikegami (Patriarch) |
on Oct 13, 2009 at 23:27 UTC ( [id://800994]=note: print w/replies, xml ) | Need Help?? |
Wikipedia says:
Perl's parser, due to it's pluggable nature, does not adhere to that definition. The output can vary for a given input, and it varies because the underlying states visited vary. I've looked at more format definitions elsewhere and reached the same conclusion.
When one discuses whether Perl can be parsed or not, one is not referring to the time it takes or even if it's finite. One is discussing whether the output is stable enough to study or store for future use. Let's take C++ for example. One would consider C++ to be parseable. One can perform static analysis on C++ code. C++ code can be compiled. Yet, it's possible to introduce an infinite loop in the parser because C++'s template system is turing complete. The difference between C++ and Perl is that C++'s parser is confined to making decision based on its input, whereas Perl's parser can make decision based on external data.
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