A parser generator for visibly pushdown languages : translating between VPLs

Parsers often use the language class of Context-Free Grammars. This class has limitations, as it is not guaranteed to parse in polynomial time. In contrast, regular grammars can be parsed in linear time but are so restricted that many practical applications can not be modelled as a regular grammar. A language class has been proposed which adds some features to regular grammars that allow it to be used in a wide array of languages, such as JSON and XML. There is no publicly available language translator for this class, and there is a flawed parser generator. This paper introduces and expands upon a new parser generator and translator for the language class of Visibly Pushdown Grammars, using existing algorithms and concepts of both automata construction and language translation.