https://github.com/unidata/ast.obsolete

The goal of the ast system is provide a pure Java implementation of the Google protobuf system.
https://github.com/unidata/ast.obsolete

Last synced: about 1 month ago
JSON representation

The goal of the ast system is provide a pure Java implementation of the Google protobuf system.

• Host: GitHub
• URL: https://github.com/unidata/ast.obsolete
• Owner: Unidata
• License: other
• Created: 2011-09-15T22:33:04.000Z (over 14 years ago)
• Default Branch: master
• Last Pushed: 2011-10-21T20:00:30.000Z (about 14 years ago)
• Last Synced: 2025-01-12T15:46:21.518Z (12 months ago)
• Language: Shell
• Homepage:
• Size: 461 KB
• Stars: 1
• Watchers: 3
• Forks: 1
• Open Issues: 0
• Metadata Files:
  • Readme: README.txt
  • Changelog: CHANGES.txt
  • License: LICENSE.txt

Awesome Lists containing this project

README

          
The ast system is an implementation

of the Google protobuf system.

There are several reasons for creating ast.

- The existing C code generator (http://code.google.com/p/protobuf-c")

  IMO generates overly complicated code.

    As a rule, what is needed is code to serialize (aka encode)

  and deserialize (aka decode) protobuf messages.  The RPC

  support should be entirely separate from the (de)serialize

  code.  Even Google is deprecating the RPC output for, one

  presumes, the same reason.

- The Unidata ast compiler uses a more traditional compiler

  approach based on the use of a (mostly) read-only abstract

  syntax tree (AST).  The key is that the AST is never (well,

  almost never) modified to add language specific code, which

  is the approach of the Google compiler.  Instead, code

  generation is performed by repeatedly walking the bare AST

  to obtain information.

    The result is a much cleaner system with the AST serving as

  a well-defined and fixed intermediary between parsing and

  code generation.

- Java is a much better language that C++ for writing

  portable compilers.

- Finally, building the AST compiler helped the author to

  get a better understanding of the protobuf protocol.

A C language code generator accompanies the compiler to

demonstrate its use. Other code generators for, e.g. Java

and C++, are possible, but the existing google generators

are probably adequate for those languages.

The following documents are available:

- INSTALL.txt describes the installation procedure

- CHANGES.txt describes release changes.

- LICENSE.txt describes the license, which basically Apache v2.

- doc/astuserman.html provides a more detailed manual

  for using ast.

- doc/astinternals.html provides a detailed description

  of the internal operation of ast and how one might

  extend it for other languages.

Author: Dennis Heimbigner

Organization: UCAR/Unidata

Email: dmh@ucar.edu

Copyright 2011, UCAR/Unidata.