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ECMAScript Parser (Front End)

The ECMAScript ("JavaScript") parser (front end) enables the construction of ECMAScript custom analysis tools, or source transformation tools. It is a member of SD's family of language front ends, based on first-class infrastructure (DMS) for implementing such custom tools. The ECMAScript front end includes:

• Lexical analysis including parsing sources in ASCII and ISO8859-1, and UNICODE
  • Conversion of literal values (numbers, escaped strings) into native values to enable easy computation over literal values
  • String literals represented internally in UNICODE to support 16-bit characters
• Explicit grammar directly implements ECMA-262 standard
  • Full JavaScript parser
  • Dialects for Microsoft, Netscape and ActionScript, ActionScript2 and ActionScript3 are available
  • Additional variants include JavaScript in HTML and XML files as well as Microsoft ASP
  • The fine structure of regular expression constants are parsed rather than being treated as monolithic strings
• Automatic construction of complete abstract syntax tree
  • Capture of comments and formats (shape) of literal values
  • Ability to parse large systems files into same workspace, enabling interprocedural and cross-file analysis/transformation
  • Ability to parse different languages into same workspace, enabling cross-language analysis/transformation
• Facilities to process syntax trees
  • Complete procedural API to visit/query/update/construct/print syntax trees
  • Source regeneration by prettyprinting and/or fidelity printing of syntax trees with comments and lexical formats
  • Automatically generated source-to-source transformation system
  • Ability to define custom attribute-grammar-based analyzers
• Available as source code to enable complete customization
  • Means to manage multiple language dialects with highly shared common core
• Robustness due to careful testing and application across many customers

Many of these facilities come as a consistent consequence of the front end being built to top of DMS.

Here are some sample tools (many offered by SD as products) built using the ECMAScript front end:

• Source Formatter
• Obfuscator for client-side JavaScript in HTML, ASP pages, XML, JSP and ActionScript

Your organization may use DMS with the ECMAScript front end to implement and deploy your own custom tools. The sample tools can be obtained in source form as part of the ECMAScript front end for customization. Semantic Designs is also willing to build custom tools under contract.